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Fitzpatrick Birdies 18th to Claim Valspar Championship and Avenge Players Heartbreak

Posted : 23 March 2026

Matt Fitzpatrick earned a come-from-behind victory at the 2026 Valspar Championship, claiming his first PGA Tour win since 2023 with a one-shot victory over David Lipsky at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida. The win arrived just seven days after the 31-year-old Englishman bogeyed the final hole at TPC Sawgrass to hand victory to Cameron Young at The Players Championship.

Starting the final round three shots off the pace, Fitzpatrick closed with a bogey-free, three-under 68 to post 11-under 273 for the tournament. His round was defined by two pivotal moments: a long birdie conversion on the 15th, and a composed 14-foot putt on the 18th that gave him the outright lead. Lipsky, playing in the group behind, drove into the rough on 18 and could only manage par, leaving Fitzpatrick with the one-shot victory.

Sungjae Im, who led for all three of the first rounds, unravelled on Sunday with a two-over 74 that included five bogeys across his first 10 holes. Im's collapse continues a troubling trend across the Florida Swing, where Shane Lowry, Daniel Berger, and Ludvig Aberg all surrendered 54-hole leads of three shots or more on final-day Sundays.

Fellow Englishman Jordan Smith produced a memorable final-round charge, carding a five-under 66 to finish third at nine-under; his best ever result on the PGA Tour. Xander Schauffele and Marco Penge both closed with strong rounds to share fourth place at eight-under alongside Im.

The victory earns Fitzpatrick 500 FedEx Cup points, lifting him to third in the standings, and a winner's cheque of $1,638,000 from a tournament-record purse of $9.1 million. His tour membership exemption now extends through 2029.

Fitzpatrick was measured but emotional in his post-round assessment. "To come away with a win this week is really special, considering last week's performance," he said. "I felt frustrated all day that I had not made anything, so to hole the long one on 18 to secure the win was an amazing feeling." The 2022 US Open champion, who also won the DP World Tour Championship in November, will now take a two-week break before turning his attention to the Masters at Augusta National.

 

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