2026 Valspar Championship grades: Matt Fitzpatrick picks up first win since 2023 as Sungjae Im falls off late

A week after coming up just short at The Players, Fitzpatrick found his way back into the winner's circle

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A week after Matt Fitzpatrick nearly ran down a struggling leader for his third career win at The Players, only to get beaten by Cam Young in his same pairing, he found himself in the same position on Sunday at the Valspar Championship.
This time, Fitzpatrick was able to hold off David Lipsky in the group behind him and picked up the win in comeback fashion with a 3-under 68 on Sunday that moved him to 11 under for the championship.
Fitzpatrick began the day trailing Sungjae Im by three shots, but quickly climbed into a share of the lead at 9 under as Im backed up to the field with a rough start to his round. Both Im and the biggest surprise of the week, 45-year-old Brandt Snedeker, struggled to get any positive momentum going in the final pairing, and by the time they reached the back nine, they were no longer part of the conversation.
The battle down the back nine was a scrappy one, where everyone in the final few groups was struggling to hit quality shots on an increasingly challenging golf course. Fitzpatrick was able to finally break free from the pack to take the solo lead at 10 under with a 30-footer for birdie on the par-3 15th.

Lipsky quickly joined him with a birdie in the group behind at the par-5 14th, and as they made their way to the always difficult Snake Pit, it was anyone's tournament. Both Fitzpatrick and Lipsky parred the 16th and then hit terrific tee shots into the long par-3 17th to inside 15 feet, but neither could hole the birdie putt. On the 18th, Fitzpatrick threaded his drive into the narrow fairway, which allowed him to throw a dart to 14 feet below the hole, where he again poured in a huge putt to take the lead.

This time, Lipsky couldn't find the answer after driving it in the rough and only managing a par. That gave Fitzpatrick the outright win, which felt like a bit of cosmic justice after playing so well down the stretch at TPC Sawgrass, only to get bested by some incredible play by Cameron Young.
The win is Fitzpatrick's first since the 2023 RBC Heritage and affirms his place as one of the best players on the PGA Tour this season. After a lean 2024 and a slow start in 2025, Fitzpatrick started to turn his game around in the middle of last year and kept that momentum going with a terrific start to 2026. Still, he needed a win to really stamp his return to the top of the sport, and on Sunday he got that in comeback fashion on a difficult course. Grade: A+

Here are the rest of the notable names on the leaderboard at the 2026 Valspar Championship.
3. Jordan Smith (-9): Smith's 5-under 66 on Sunday gave him the clubhouse lead for an awfully long time, but eventually Fitzpatrick and Lipsky nudged ahead of him. Still, Smith's final round charge gave him his highest career finish and just his second career top 10 on the PGA Tour, which is a big accomplishment for the Englishman as he banked some much-needed FedEx Cup points this week. Grade: A-
T4. Xander Schauffele (-8): Prior to Smith posting 9 under, Schauffele's 8 under stood as the clubhouse lead for an awful lot longer than he would've expected. His 6-under 65 was one of the rounds of the day and he'll mostly be kicking himself for not playing well enough on Friday and Saturday to put himself in better position to capitalize on a Sunday collapse from the leaders. Schauffele continues to trend in the right direction with his game, but the last piece of the puzzle is the hardest, as he has to figure out how to put a full 72 holes together to snap his winless drought. Grade: B

T4. Sungjae Im (-8): All Im needed on Sunday to win was an even par performance in the final round, but he imploded early with five bogeys in his first 10 holes (without a birdie in that span). He did rally some on the back nine to stay inside the top 10, but this tournament was his for the taking and he just couldn't keep a hold on that trophy. Overall, Im showed positive signs this week after a rough first two starts of the season, and he'll look to build off what he did the first three days to put himself in contention. Still, this should've been the third PGA Tour victory of his career, and instead he was barely part of the coverage on the back nine. Grade: B-
T11. Jordan Spieth (-6): Spieth's game continues to provide reason to believe he's starting to find his edge again, but it's hard to get too excited about his prospects of winning with how much he's struggled to put together complete rounds. Sunday's final round was his best of the week with a 68, but he had multiple opportunities this week to shoot something in the mid-60s, only to walk off the course with a 69 or 70. That's the next step for Spieth, but it's clear his game is back in a very good place. Grade: B-
T14. Brandt Snedeker (-5): The coolest story of the week did not produce the fairytale ending folks were rooting for. Snedeker had the solo lead early on the front nine on Sunday, but after scrambling his way to the top all week, the poor ball-striking finally caught up to him in the final round. It's a bit tough to grade Sneds' performance this week. On the one hand, he made his first cut of the year and was the biggest surprise of the tournament. On the other hand, the 45-year-old likely won't ever have a better shot at a 10th career PGA Tour win. In the immediate, that latter point will probably dominate his thoughts, but eventually he'll probably look back fondly on this week, even if it ended in a difficult Sunday afternoon. Grade: B

T19. Brooks Koepka (-4): The good news for Koepka is his putter wasn't the issue this week, as he finished 26th in strokes gained putting, and he continues to be one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour. The bad news is he was dreadful off the tee and around the greens on a golf course where you have to be sharp in those areas. Still, there's progress happening with his game and if he can get it sorted off the tee, with the way he's hitting his irons and a putter that's no longer giving him fits, he can be a threat this year. The progress might be happening slower than he'd like, but it's there. Grade: C+
T30. Justin Thomas (-3): Not JT's best week. Iron play continues to be a work in progress and he's still trying to put all the pieces together after a long layoff. Grade: C