Fitzpatrick goes from disappointment to winning at Valspar Championship

Matt Fitzpatrick took longer than usual to get over his loss last week at The Players Championship, mainly because he played so well and did so little wrong until Cameron Young won on the difference of one tee shot at the final hole.

“To lose it right at the death is always difficult to take,” Fitzpatrick said.

Seven days later, he found the best antidote. Fitzpatrick was locked in a duel with David Lipsky in the final hour at the Valspar Championship and this time delivered the goods, a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet on the final hole for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot victory. “I knew that I was playing well,” Fitzpatrick said. “And it was like, let’s just keep pushing and give ourselves the best chance we can.” That’s all he could asked on a tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook that doomed 54-hole leader Sungjae Im and crushed the hopes of 45-year-old Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker. They were among five players who had a share of the lead at some point, all jostling for position.

Fitzpatrick missed four birdie chances from inside 10 feet in a seven-hole stretch around the turn, his body language indicating he was letting it slip away. His big surprise was seeing a leaderboard at the turn that showed him tied - he figured he would be a few shots behind.

And then he 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 US 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. He closed with a 70 to match his best finish on tour.

The victory for Fitzpatrick, his third on the PGA Tour to go along with nine European tour titles, came one week after he had a one-shot lead going to the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass, only for Young to make birdie and win with a par on the closing hole when Fitzpatrick’s tee shot ran through the fairway and forced him to lay up. He missed a 7-foot par putt to force a playoff.

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 a 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 a conditional status after finishing at No. 107. He moves to No. 33 in the FedEx Cup and is likely to get him into the next signature event a week 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.

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.