PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Matt Fitzpatrick put the disappointment of a close call at Sawgrass behind him Sunday when he birdied the 18th hole from just inside 15 feet to cap off a 3-under 68 and win the Valspar Championship by one shot over David Lipsky.
Fitzpatrick managed to play bogey-free on a sunbaked Copperhead course at Innisbrook that ruined the hopes of so many others, from Sungjae Im to Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker.
Fitzpatrick holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th to take the lead, only for Lipsky — playing in the group behind him — to make a 7-foot birdie on the 14th to catch him.
Fitzpatrick, who won the DP World Tour Championship to close out the European tour season last November, had the final say. His birdie putt was pure and the 2022 U.S. Open champion was emphatic thrusting his fist down to celebrate.
The victory, his third on the PGA Tour to go along with nine European tour titles, came one week after Fitzpatrick felt he did everything right only to see Cameron Young beat him on the final hole of The Players Championship.
Fitzpatrick finished at 11-under 273 on a Copperhead course that was a stern test.
LIV Golf League
MIDRAND, South Africa (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau won for the second straight week by saving par on the final hole for a 6-under 65 and hitting 3-wood from a wet lie in the rough to set up birdie in a playoff to beat Jon Rahm in LIV Golf South Africa.
DeChambeau’s final start before the Masters brought out some of his best work in winning his fifth overall LIV title. He won last week in Singapore.
DeChambeau had to get up-and-down for par on the closing hole to finish on 26-under 258 and force a playoff with Rahm (63). The par also gave Crushers the team time over South African-based Southern Guard.
Returning to the par-5 18th, DeChambeau pulled his drive into the mud and muck left of the fairway on the rain-soaked course. He hit 3-wood to 12 feet. Rahm went into a bunker and failed to make birdie, leaving DeChambeau two putts for the win.
LPGA Tour
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Hyo Joo Kim held off Nelly Korda on Sunday at Sharon Heights to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Fortinet Founders Cup.
Her opening five-stroke advantage gone after 10 holes, Kim regained the lead on the next hole and ended up with a one-shot margin after a closing bogey.
Kim shot a 1-over 73 for a 16-under 272 total. The 30-year-old South Korean player also won the 2015 event in Phoenix. She has eight LPGA Tour titles to go along with 14 KLPGA Tour victories.
Korda shot 69. The American won the season opener in Florida, then skipped the Asia swing. Earlier Sunday, brother Sebastian Korda beat top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Miami Open tennis tournament.
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Kim won for the first time in a year since the Ford Championship in Phoenix, the event that begins Thursday at Whirlwind Golf Club.
European tour
HAINAN ISLAND, China (AP) — Jordan Gumberg got up-and-down for par on the final hole for a 2-under 70 to hold off Jorge Campillo of Spain and win the Hainan Classic.
It was the second European tour title for the 30-year-old American. Gumberg was on the verge of losing his European tour card when he holed out for eagle on the final hole of the Genesis Championship, which enabled him to move into the top 115 and keep his card for 2026.
Campillo closed with a 71 and had birdie chances on the final three holes to catch Gumberg, all of them narrowly missing.
Zhou Yanhan, the 17-year-old from China who played the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour two weeks ago, closed with a 69 to tie for third with Adrian Otaegui of Spain (64) and Marcus Armitage of England (69).
PGA Tour Champions
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Steve Alker won the Cologuard Classic with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff for the second straight year, beating Padraig Harrington with a 4-footer in mid-90 degree heat.
Last year at La Paloma, Alker beat Long Island club pro Jason Caron with a 12-foot putt on the first extra hole.
Alker won for the 11th time in 100 career starts on the PGA Tour Champions. The 54-year-old New Zealander was nine strokes back after opening with an even-par 71, then shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two.
Alker closed with a 65 to post at 15-under 198. Harrington, playing behind Alker in the final group, hit his approach long and bogeyed the par-4 18th — missing a 10-foot comebacker.
Zach Johnson closed with a 67 to tie for third at 13 under in his second start on the 50-and-over tour. He won two weeks ago in Florida in his senior debut.
Other tours
Hannah Green won her third consecutive tournament and made it a major double in her native Australian by closed with a 2-under 69 for a four-shot victory in the Australia WPGA Championship. This comes a week after Green won the Australian Women’s Open. Her winning streak started by capturing the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. ... Maddie McCrary won the Orlando Health Championship at Grasslands in Lakeland, Florida, for her first Epson Tour title. She had a bogey-free week, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Mariel Galdiano. ... M.J. Daffue of South Africa closed with a 3-under 69 for a one-shot victory over Jhared Hack in the DP World PGTI Open on the Challenge Tour. ... Ritsuko Ryu closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory in the V Point SMBC Ladies on the Japan LPGA.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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