Matt Fitzpatrick wins Valspar with closing birdie to redeem Players loss

One week after bogeying the final hole at TPC Sawgrass, Fitzpatrick flipped the script on Sunday at Innisbrook, where Fitzpatrick’s 13-footer on No. 18 dropped to give him a one-shot win over David Lipsky at the Valspar Championship.

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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 felt like last week I played so well, right until the end,” Fitzpatrick said. “To lose the way I did, it’s always disappointing, always feels like it takes a little out of you when you spend four days of your life battling to try and get that top spot, and to lose it right at the death is always difficult to take. So, this week was important to get back on the horse and try and push myself to continue playing well.”
He did better than that.
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.

“I think probably could have done a bit better on the body language and tried to be a bit more positive, I’m not going to lie,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think outwardly I probably felt like it was getting away from me, but inwardly I didn’t necessarily feel like it was getting away from me. Because I felt yesterday nothing really happened on the front nine and then I made three in a row. I felt like that was doable again.”
When the putt disappeared, Fitzpatrick unleashed a violent fist pump.

In contention for his first PGA Tour win in nearly three years, Fitzpatrick was in the third-to-last twosome alongside Adrien Dumont de Chassart, whom Fitzpatrick took issue with regarding Chassart’s deliberate play.

“Kind of a release of that, that, yeah, I’ve done it under the pressure,” Fitzpatrick said.
Lipsky, who closed in 70, found the right rough before leaving himself a 32-footer from the fringe, which he missed.
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.
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. Fitzpatrick called his iron play the “missing link” and credited a Thursday afternoon range session with coach Mark Blackburn at TPC Sawgrass for unlocking even more with that facet of his game.
“My irons are just so much better,” Fitzpatrick said. “Just better control, better distance control, better accuracy left-to-right. Hitting the shape that I want to hit.”

Here’s how much of the $9.1 million purse will be paid out to Matt Fitzpatrick from this year’s Valspar Championship.

Not a bad recipe for the Masters, which will be Fitzpatrick’s next start, in three weeks. Fitzpatrick has two top-10s in 10 starts as a pro at Augusta National while never missing the cut. He was T-40 last year after missing two straight cuts entering that tournament.
Needless to say, Fitzpatrick is much more confident right now.
“I’m probably going to win,” Fitzpatrick said with a laugh. “No, no. Yeah, I mean, I’m obviously very confident in my game right now. But what it takes to win a major is very different to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, in my opinion. Particularly the Masters, there’s extra pressure on the Masters, no matter who you are. You know, it just has that standing above all the other events, as well as the majors, you know. The stuff that I still want to work on. I’m coming away from this week, obviously I won, delighted with where my game’s at, but there’s stuff I want to improve.”
“I want to make sure that I’m ready for when I get to Augusta to be ready to play and be ready that Thursday morning.”