By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PALM HARBOR – Matt Fitzpatrick (1st/-11) birdied the 72nd hole to win by one stroke for his third PGA TOUR title in his 183rd start at 31 years, 6 months, 21 days. Before the final round, Fitz had never birdied the 18th hole at this event in 11 previous rounds.

He now has three PGA TOUR wins: The 2022 U.S. Open, 2023 RBC Heritage, 2026 Valspar Championship.

Fitzpatrick won 500 FedExCup points to move from No. 8 to No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings.

He was the only player to shoot four rounds in the 60s this week and he carded only four bogeys for the week, the fewest of any player in the field. Included with that fact was another amazing feat: He was bogey-free for his last 36 holes to become the third winner of this event to record a bogey-free final round (2012 Luke Donald, 2013 Kevin Streelman).

Fitzpatrick finished runner-up at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, bogeying the final hole to lose to Cameron Young by one stroke. The last player to finish runner-up then win the following week was Davis Thompson (2024 Rocket Classic/T2, 2024 John Deere Classic/Won).

Fitzpatrick joined Luke Donald (2012) and Paul Casey (2018, 2019) as players from England to win the Valspar Championship, and Fitz was the 11th international player to win this event.

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Valspar Championship | Final Leaderboard

1 Matt Fitzpatrick 68 69 68 68 273 (-11)

2 David Lipsky 69 65 70 70 274 (-10)

3 Jordan Smith 69 68 72 66 275 (-9)

T4 Three players 276 (-8)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

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PALM HARBOR – Davis Riley, a PGA Tour rookie, holds the lead/co-lead after any round for the first time in his PGA career and seeks his first win on Tour in his 25th career start. He shot a career-low, bogey-free 9-under (62) Saturday and his (195 ) total set the 54-hole Valspar Championship record.

After setting the Valspar Championship 36-hole scoring record and tying the 18-hole tournament low score, Matthew NeSmith sits two shots back heading into today’s final round.

There have been six rounds of (64) or better this week, the most through three rounds at the Valspar Championship with the previous best of five at the 2004 event.

Valspar Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Davis Riley 65-68-62—195 (-18)

Matthew NeSmith 67-61-69—197 (-16)

Justin Thomas 66-66-66—198 (-15)

Sam Burns 64-67-67—198 (-15)

Adam Hadwin 64-66-70—200 (-13)

Full Leaderboard (link)

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PALM HARBOR – Seeking his first career PGA Tour title, Matthew NeSmith birdied six of his last nine holes to tie the Valspar Championship’s low 18-hole score of 10-under (61) (Padraig Harrington from R-1 in 2012). NeSmith remains the only player bogey-free through 36 holes.

The 2017 Valspar Championship winner, Adam Hadwin, sits solo-second in bid to become the event’s fourth multiple winner while Sam Burns is in serious contention to join Paul Casey (2018-19) as only players to successfully defend a Valspar Championship title.

Justin Thomas opened with consecutive rounds of 66 or better for the seventh time on Tour but is four back. He has converted for the win on 3-of-6 previous occasions.

In search of his fourth career PGA Tour title and first since the 2017 RBC Canadian Open, 18-hole co-leader Jhonattan Vegas followed a 7-under (64) in R-1 with an even-par (71) and sits T-10 at 7-under (135).

As the second round came to a finish, 72 players at 3-under (139) or better made the cut from a field of 142 professionals and two amateurs.

Valspar Leaderboard After 36 Holes:

Matthew NeSmith 67-61—128 (-14)

Adam Hadwin 64-66—130 (-12)

Sam Burns 64-67—131 (-11)

Scott Stallings 65-66—131 (-11)

Justin Thomas 66-66—132 (-10)

Full Leaderboard (link)

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PALM HARBOR – Four players, including defending champion Sam Burns, share the first-round lead, tying the most in Valspar Championship history (2014). Burns holds the best first-round position by a defending champion in Valspar Championship history and he became the second defending champion to hold the first-round lead/co-lead in a Tour event this season. The other? Kevin Na, Sony Open in Hawaii.

Co-leaders Burns (2021) and Adam Hadwin (2017) seek to become the fourth multiple winners of the event.

Dustin Johnson opened with a 4-under 67 in his 300th PGA Tour start while Lee Hodges became the first player during the Shotlink era to birdie the first five holes of a round at the event.

After battling the weather and sub-par rounds a week ago, 89 players posted under-par scores in the first round, a Valspar Championship record upending the 76 in 2012.

Valspar Leaderboard After 18 Holes:

Jhonattan Vegas 64 (-7)

Sam Burns 64 (-7)

Adam Hadwin 64 (-7)

David Lipsky 64 (-7)

Four players 65 (-6)

Full Leaderboard (link)

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PALM HARBOR – Happy St. Patrick’s Day as the PGA Tour tees-it-up at the Valspar Championship at Innesbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Florida. After a rain-soaked, thundershower-laced and one-day delayed PLAYERS, the PGA Tour is looking forward to sunny skies today.

Since Sunday, 10 players have withdrawn from the Valspar as of this morning (see list below).

This week’s Valspar Championship returns to its traditional March date and will wrap up the PGA Tour’s four-tournament Florida Swing after previously being contested in May, 2021. The three winners in Florida so far have included a first-time winner (Sepp Straka, The Honda Classic) and two players who entered the week in the Top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and picked up their second wins of the season (Scottie Scheffler/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Cameron Smith/The PLAYERS Championship).

Five of the Top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are scheduled to compete in the Valspar Championship, the most for the tournament since 2015 (5). This is the seventh event this season with at least five of the Top 10 players and second consecutive. No. 2 Collin Morikawa, No. 3 Viktor Hovland, No. 8 Justin Thomas, No. 9 Xander Schauffele, and rounding it out, No. 10 Dustin Johnson.

There have been 11 Holes-in-One at the Valspar.

Among all the players in the field this weekend, only Denny McCarthy and Sam Ryder have made the cut in the three prior Florida Swing events. Meanwhile, Shane Lowry has pocketed the most FedEx Cup points during the three Florida events with 357. Viktor Hovland registered 298 points.

The 2020 FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson is making his 300th career start on the Tour this week. In his first 299 starts, Johnson collected 24 wins (8.0%), and 113 Top-10s (37.8%). DJ has won on Tour in each of the last 14 seasons (2008 through 2020-21), which is tied with Tiger Woods for the third-longest streak to start a career.

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Wrap-Up of the Valspar Championship

Sam Burns became the fifth player to pick-up his first PGA Tour win at the Valspar Championship, taking honors in his 76th pro start. Burns’ previous-best career finish came at 2021 The Genesis Invitational where he placed No. 3.

Burns joined Jason Kokrak, Carlos Ortiz and Joel Dahmen as first-time winners this season.

Second-place finisher Keegan Bradley fell to 0-for-3 when holding a 54-hole lead/co-lead (P2/2012 The Genesis Invitational, 2nd/2013 AT&T Byron Nelson, 2nd/2021 Valspar Championship). Bradley was in search of his first Tour win since the 2018 BMW Championship.

PGATourBrunch will be posting at 12:00 Noon (EDT) Wednesday with a look at the Wells Fargo.

This Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC) – (First Look)

2021 Valspar Championship – Final Leaderboard

Sam Burns 67-63-69-68—267 (-17)

Keegan Bradley 64-66-69-71—270 (-14)

Viktor Hovland 69-69-68-65—271 (-13)

Cameron Tringale 69-67-67-68—271 (-13)

Abraham Ancer 67-70-66-69—272 (-12)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

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PGA Tour Brunch’s Coverage of Final Round at Valspar

Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns tied the 54-hole tournament scoring record (199) at (-14) and remain tied for the lead entering the final round, but both are 0-for-2 with the 54-hole lead/co-lead on the Tour.

Max Homa is looking to become the third player with multiple victories this season, joining Bryson DeChambeau and Stewart Cink. Homa is in 3rd place, but only one stroke back (-13).

There have been 91 hole-outs this week, the most through three rounds at the Valspar Championship during the ShotLink era (2003-present).

Round 4 Tee Times begin today at 8:20am and run through 2:05pm (EDT) when the leaders, Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns, tee-off together once again.

Weather: Mostly sunny skies give way to partial clouds. Can’t rule out an isolated shower or thunderstorm developing this afternoon across interior sections. Otherwise, it will remain dry today. A light SE wind this morning will shift out of the SW and increase to 10-15 mph this afternoon.

PGATourBrunch will be posting at 12:00 Noon (EDT) Monday with a recap of the Valspar Championship and a quick look at the Wells Fargo.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: The Valspar Championship

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @ValsparChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Valspar Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today, May 2 – Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: Today, PGA Tour Live Featured Groups runs from 8:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes goes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage today from 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

How to Watch: (PGATourCom)

2021 Valspar Championship – Leaderboard After R-2

Keegan Bradley 64-66-69—199 (-14)

Sam Burns 67-63-69—199 (-14)

Max Homa 66-68-66—200 (-13)

Ted Potter, Jr. 67-73-63—203 (-10)

Abraham Ancer 67-70-66—203 (-10)

Joaquin Niemann 68-68-67—203 (-10)

Cameron Tringale 69-67-67—203 (-10

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the The Valspar After 36 Holes

Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns are tied for the lead at (-12) after 36 holes at the Valspar Championship. On Friday, Burns shot a tournament low eight-under (63) to match his opening round (67). Bradley, the leader after 18 holes with a scorching, bogey-free (64), shot five-under (66) and will join Burns in the final group today.

They set the Valspar Championship 36-hole scoring record at 12-under (130) (Previous: 131 by K.J. Choi/2002).

For Sam Burns, this marks the fifth time this season he is in Top-5 after the opening two rounds, the most of any player on Tour.

Two-time defending champion Paul Casey opened with 3-under (68) and followed Friday with an even par (71) in a bid to earn a third consecutive title at the Valspar Championship. He’s currently T-33.

The cutline came in at (-1).

Notables who missed the cut at Valspar include: Emiliano Grillo (66) and (76) – (E); Patrick Reed (70 and (72) – E; Phil Mickelson (73) and (69) – E; Graham McDowell (74) and (73) – (+5) and Justin Rose (74) and (73) – (+5).

After receiving widespread attention ahead of his PGA Tour debut, Monday qualifier Michael Visacki (T-114) with (74) and (71) for (+3), missed the cut.

Tournament Tee Times begin today at 8:20am and run through 2:05pm (EDT) when Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns tee-off.

Weather: A weak frontal boundary will stall across Central Florida on Saturday shifting the wind from the northeast during the morning before the sea breeze moves onshore during the afternoon. The front will move back to the north on Sunday allowing hot and humid conditions to return into early next week. The west coast of Florida will remain dry this weekend with any isolated shower and thunderstorm chances remaining over the weekend. Temperatures Saturday expected to be 71-85-degrees and winds expected 6-12 mph.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

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PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the The Valspar After 18-Holes

Keegan Bradley holds a two-stroke lead, the eighth 18-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA Tour career and second at the Valspar Championship (T1/2016; MC). The lead marks Bradley’s fifth straight 18-hole position of T-6 or better at the event but he has not finished better than T-31 in his previous four outings at Valspar.

Two-time defending champion Paul Casey opened with 3-under (68) as he tried to earn a third consecutive title at the Valspar Championship.

Emiliano Grillo (T-2) at (-5) hit 12 of 13 fairways, and is tied with Tom Lewisfor the most of any player in the field.

After receiving widespread attention ahead of his PGA Tour debut, Monday qualifier Michael Visacki (T-129) made birdie on No. 1 before carding a 3-over (74) in opening round.

2021 Valspar Championship – Round 1 Leaderboard

Keegan Bradley 64 (-7)

Emiliano Grillo 66 (-5)

Ryan Moore 66 (-5)

Hank Lebioda 66 (-5)

Max Homa 66 (-5)

Patton Kizzire 66 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Last Chance for April Showers PGA Tour Brunch Special Discount:

Get 20% off for 1 year

The post PGA Tour: Second Round Action Underway at Valspar Championship appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), Palm Harbor, Florida

ARCHITECT: Larry Packard

YARDS/PAR: 7,340 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,900,000/$1,242,000

DEFENDING Champion (March 2019) – Paul Casey – (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @ValsparChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Valspar Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today, April 29 and Friday, April 30: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 – Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups Today and Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Live Featured Groups runs from 8:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes goes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage on Today and Friday from 12:00pm Noon to 6:00pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

Notebook:

Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back, will attempt for a very rare three-peat at The Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort.

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. It’s the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May instead of its usual place in March.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished T-6 at the 2019 Valspar Championship and missed the cut at his other starts at the event (2008, 2010).

Among players making their tournament debut is two-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland who enters the week in the Top 15 in both the FedExCup (No. 7) and World Golf rankings (No. 15).

The 2016 Valspar Championship winner – Charl Schwartzel – lost in a playoff at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Schwartzel and partner Louis Oosthuizen fell to Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the only team/match play event on Tour.

In the last two weeks, Peter Uihlein won on the Korn Ferry Tour (MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute) and earned a career-best result on the PGA Tour (3rd/Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Richy Werenski).

Uihlein earned a spot in this field via the top-five at the Zurich Classic.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return today and into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before the 6:55am (EDT) tee times on Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

Field Updates:

Tom Hoge (commit) / Grayson Murray (out)
Anirban Lahiri (out) / Grayson Murray (back in)
Nate Lashley (out) / D.J. Trahan (in)
Carlos Ortiz (out) / Peter Uihlein (commit)

Steve Stricker (out) / Ryan Brehm (in)
Cameron Champ (out) / Sebastian Cappelen (in)
Will Gordon (out) / J.J. Spaun (in)
Brice Garnett (out) / Tim Wilkinson (in)

Sepp Straka (out) / Nelson Ledesma (in)
Tyrrell Hatton (out) / Kiradech Aphibarnrat (in)

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