Fitzpatrick birdies 18th to win Valspar Championship

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.

The final hour turned into a duel with Lipsky, the 37-year-old American who has won on four tours around the world but never on the PGA Tour.

Fitzpatrick, who missed four birdie chances from inside 10 feet in a seven-hole stretch around the turn, 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.

Lipsky's birdie chance from just outside 30 feet on the 18th just missed to the left.

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.

They were tied when Fitzpatrick hit a drive that he felt was right down the middle, only to run through into the pine needles that forced him to lay up. He wound up missed a 7-foot par par putt. But there was no letdown at Innisbrook.

“The big thing was I felt I was playing well,” Fitzpatrick said. “I wanted to continue that and felt like I had the confidence in myself to do so. To do that for four rounds was special this week.”

Fitzpatrick finished at 11-under 273 on a Copperhead course that was a stern test, with the putting surfaces already having a yellow sheen during the opening round and the course getting firmer and faster each day under an abundance of sun.

Lipsky missed a birdie chance from 15 feet at the par-3 17th — on about the same line as Fitzpatrick missed moments earlier — and his tee shot went into a quirky lie in the rough on the 18th. Adding to the difficulty was hearing the big roar ahead when Fitzpatrick made birdie.

"I was right in between clubs," Lipsky said. "I took a more aggressive play. Almost pulled it off. It was close. Hats off to Matt."

It still was a big week for Lipsky, who began the year with conditional status after finishing at No. 107. This matches his best finish on the PGA Tour and moves him to No. 33 in the FedEx Cup and is likely to get him into a signature event after the Masters.

Jordan Smith of England finished third.

Im began the final round with a three-shot lead, and that was gone quickly due to a putter that went cold on him. The South Korean, who had led since the opening round, shot 40 on the front nine and didn't make his first birdie until the 11th hole. He closed with a 74 and tied for fourth.

Brandt Snedeker, the 45-year-old who last won in August 2018, birdied the opening hole and didn't make another birdie. He was still tied for the lead until three-putting for double bogey on the 12th hole, the start of a rough back nine that sent him to a 40 and a 76 to tie for 17th.

"Stood on the 10th tee tied for the lead, which is all you can do," Snedeker said. "My swing left me on the back nine. I really struggled. ... All those putts I’ve been making all week dried up today."

Marco Penge, among five players tied for the lead at some point in the final round, fell back with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 16. He birdied the 18th for a 71 to join Im and Xander Schauffele (65) in a tie for fourth.

Schauffele finished his round and was ready to drive home to south Florida when he looked at the leaderboard and realized he probably needed to stick around given how firm it was. He finally left two hours later when Smith posted at 9-under 275.