England’s Matt Fitzpatrick made a 14-foot putt for birdie on the final hole and waited for two groups behind him to finish, winning the Valspar Championship by shooting 3-under-par 68 on Sunday at Palm Harbor, Fla.
It was a form of redemption for Fitzpatrick, who a week earlier was the runner-up in The Players Championship.
Fitzpatrick finished at 11-under 273 on Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club’s Copperhead Course, one stroke better than David Lipsky to secure his third victory on the PGA Tour.
Lipsky, who posted 70, nearly rolled in a 33-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff, but needed a tap-in to finish his round.
Fitzpatrick had a consistent tournament, turning in 68s for the first, third and fourth rounds. He last won on the tour at the 2023 RBC Heritage.
England’s Jordan Smith shot 66, putting him in third place for his best finish on the PGA Tour. Smith played the final 14 holes in 5 under after starting with a pair of birdies followed by a pair of bogeys.
South Korea’s Sungjae Im shot 74, tying for fourth place with Xander Schauffele (65) and England’s Marco Penge (71) at 8 under.
Im, who was atop the leaderboard after each of the first three rounds, fell from the top spot quickly on Sunday. He had bogeys on three of the first six holes and five of the first 10. He rallied to pull within two strokes with two holes to play but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Im was joined in the final pairing by Brandt Snedeker, who also struggled. Snedeker shot 76, finishing at 4 under and in a tie for 18th place.
Snedeker, who was seeking his first victory since 2018, had a three-putt double-bogey on the 12th hole that cost him a share of the lead and never recovered.
Schauffele and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo, who ended in a seventh-place logjam at 7 under, had the final day’s best rounds at 65.
–Field Level Media
