For redemption, Matt Fitzpatrick required just seven days.
One week after bogeying the final hole at TPC Sawgrass to lose The Players to Cameron Young, Fitzpatrick flipped the script on Sunday at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course. Fitzpatrick carded just three birdies all day, though his last came at the par-4 18th, where Fitzpatrick’s 13-footer dropped to give him a one-shot win over David Lipsky at the Valspar Championship and his first PGA Tour title in nearly three years.
“I think the big thing was I felt like I was playing well,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was playing well going into this week, obviously wanted to continue that, and I felt like I had confidence it in myself to do so. Then obviously to sort of do that over four round was special this week.”
With the lead twosome of Sungjae Im and Brandt Snedeker combining to shoot 8 over, that ceded the stage to Fitzpatrick and Lipsky, who were tied with clubhouse leader Jordan Smith at 9 under before Fitzpatrick buried a 30-foot birdie putt at the par-3 15th and Lipsky rolled in a birdie of his own at the par-5 14th. Both Northwestern guys missed good looks at the par-3 17th, but Fitzpatrick wouldn’t be denied at the last. He left himself just 118 yards for his approach before converting the putt for a 3-under 68, his third such score of the tournament.
Lipsky, who closed in 70, found the right rough before leaving himself a 32-footer from the fringe, which he missed.
This week, Fitzpatrick continued what has been stellar ball-striking. He entered Valspar ranked seventh in strokes gained: tee-to-green before finishing fifth in that category at Innisbrook.
Im, who began the day with a two-shot advantage, bogeyed five of his first 10 holes before closing in 74 and tying for fourth at 8 under. Im’s collapse capped a startling trend for 54-hole leaders during the Florida Swing, where Shane Lowry (Cognizant Classic), Daniel Berger (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and Ludvig Aberg (The Players) all lost leads of three shots or more on Sunday.
Xander Schauffele, solo third at The Players, tied Im and Marco Penge for fourth after a closing 65.
