Erik Barnes withdraws from the 2024 Valspar Championship after the first round

Erik Barnes has pulled out of the 2024 Valspar Championship after shooting 8-over 79 in the opening round.

Barnes was playing his first event since a runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open a couple of weeks ago. However, he had a nightmare start at the Copperhead Course, sinking a double bogey after three-putting the par-4 second hole.

Barnes made one more double bogey and two bogeys to end the front nine at six-over 42. He was slightly better on the back nine, as he birdied the 13th, the only one he made on Thursday.

With three more bogeys, he ended up at 8 over 79 for the day. However, later at night, the PGA Tour announced that he had withdrawn from the event due to an unspecified reason.

A couple of weeks ago, the 36-year-old had golfer lost the Puerto Rico Open to Brice Garnett in the four-hole playoff.

It was his first-ever runner-up finish on the PGA Tour. Overall, he has made five starts this season but hasn't made the top-10. He's 218th in the Original World Golf Ranking.

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Who is leading at the Valspar Championship after Thursday's round?

Kevin Streelman displayed a putting exhibition on Thursday to card 7-under-64 in the opening round of the Valspar Championship.

In his blemish-free round, he sank seven birdies and made 10 back-to-back one-putts to take the one-stroke lead at the Copperhead Course. Overall, he made just 24 putts to complete the round.

Kevin Roy shot 6-under 65 with the help of eight birdies but also made two bogeys on day 1 of the Valspar Championship. Adam Svensson, Carl Yuan and Peter Malanti were in a three-way tie at two strokes back.

Among the top names, Justin Thomas was at T13 after shooting 3-under 68 at the Valspar Championship. He birdied four holes but also bogeyed one. Xander Schauffele and Nick Taylor were also placed at 13th alongside Thomas.

Schauffele had an unusual round as he double-bogeyed one hole and bogeyed another in the first round. Although he has made 41 straight cuts, he's looking for his first win since 2022.

The second round of the Valspar Championship begins on Friday at 7:35 am with Chesson Hadley, Josh Teater and Tyson Alexander teeing off from the first hole. Aaron Rai, Thomas Detry and Ryan Fox will be the first trio to begin from the tenth tee. The group takes off at 7:40 a.m. ET.