Viktor Hovland defeated Justin Thomas by one stroke to clinch the Valspar Championship, his seventh PGA Tour win but first since 2023.
Hovland came into the Valspar Championship off a streak of missing the cut in his last three events. His highest finish this season was a tie for 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Hovland has been very open about his struggles with his golf swing to start the year: “It’s fun to be in contention, but it is a little bit more stressful when you don’t feel super comfortable over the ball. But, man, it’s fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there,” he said Saturday night.
That’s why it was extra exciting that the final round of the Valspar started with a three-way tie shared by Hovland, Nico Echavarria and Jacob Bridgeman at 7-under. Meanwhile, Thomas started the day two shots behind after a third-round 65 that vaulted him up the leaderboard.
By the time Hovland and Thomas made the turn, the two were alone in the lead at 8-under par. Thomas seemed to take control of the tournament, with four birdies in a five-hole stretch. The final three holes at the Copperhead course are all named after snakes. These three finishing holes are amongst the hardest on the PGA Tour. Standing on the 16th tee and entering the so-called “Snake Pit,” Thomas held a two-shot lead over Hovland but an errant tee shot into the trees forced him to pitch out, leaving him 150 yards for his third shot. With a two-putt bogey, Thomas dropped his lead to just one stroke heading to the 17th tee.
Hovland made birdie on the 16th hole and hit his tee shot on the 17th hole to 11 feet. Once again, Thomas hit a poor tee shot that left him in thick rough on the left side of the fairway. By the time Thomas reached his ball, he found himself down one stroke after Hovland rolled in his birdie putt on 17.
Thomas’ downward spiral continued when his shot out of the rough landed in a bunker 25 yards away from the green. From there, his bunker shot came up short, leaving him with a 12-feet putt for par to stay one shot behind Hovland. His par putt missed to the right, meaning Thomas would have to settle for his second bogey in the last three holes.
Meanwhile Hovland’s tee shot missed right, but he had no trouble hitting his approach to just in front of the green. After a chip, Hovland two-putted for bogey and a one-shot victory over Justin Thomas.
The PGA Tour now heads to Texas for the two weeks leading up to the Masters. The first stop is in Houston for the Texas Children’s Houston Open, where Stephen Jaeger will look to defend his title.
