The Valspar Championship will begin Thursday with anywhere from 144 to 154 players. Here’s why.

The original Valspar field size was 144 players, but the tournament agreed earlier in 2024 to expand to as many as 156 players, to increase playing time for as many fully exempt TOUR members as possible (including Korn Ferry Tour, DP World Tour and PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry graduates).

Including all commitments through fully exempt categories, the Valspar field was set at 155 players. Garrick Higgo withdrew on Wednesday afternoon, moving the field to 154 players. (Higgo was scheduled to compete in Thursday’s first grouping, 7:35 a.m. ET off No. 1; Ben Griffin and Matt NeSmith will now play as a twosome.)

Alternates will not replace player withdrawals unless the field drops below 144 players. (Patton Kizzire is currently first alternate, followed by Kevin Chappell.)

If necessary to achieve the same objective, this provision also will apply to next week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open and the following week’s Valero Texas Open.