Paul Casey waits to start at the 14th holle at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club's Copperhead Course as a squirrel runs around the tee box during the final round of the Valspar Championship on Sunday in Palm Harbor, Fla.PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Paul Casey got the battle he expected Sunday in the Valspar Championship - just not from Dustin Johnson.
Casey and everyone else had full attention on a Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club that made the final round feel more like survival than a shootout. Casey was the ultimate survivor, closing with a 1-over-par 72 for a one-shot victory that made him the first back-to-back winner in the 19 years this PGA Tour event has been played.
He rallied from five shots behind last year with a 65. This time, he became the first winner at Innisbrook with a final round over par. Casey finished at 8-under 276 overall and moved to No. 11 in the world.
"It feels very different, but not any less cool," Casey said after making par from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole to avoid a playoff with Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen. "That golf course is so difficult that it's damn near impossible to have a clean round of golf and not make any mistake. But I was composed. I was very keen to play well. I made mistakes, but then, so did everybody else. I got it done, and I couldn't be happier."
The course was so dry and fast that no one shot better than a 68, and the average score of 72.143 was the second-highest average for a final round this year on the PGA Tour behind the Genesis Open, where wind and rain were factors.
Kokrak (71) and Oosthuizen (69) each had a share of the lead on the back nine until one mistake cost them.
Oosthuizen, who hit only six greens in regulation, opted for a fairway metal from just behind the 16th green and hit it too firmly. He missed the eight-foot par putt and never caught up.
Kokrak had a good lie in trampled, dry grass near the cart path on the 18th hole, but his shot came out short of the green into a sprinkler hole. A free drop put him in a position to putt, but he was short and left, and missed the eight-foot par putt to fall one shot behind.
Behind him was Casey, in one of the bunkers that resemble a miniature version of frequent U.S. Open host Oakmont County Club's church pews, facing a key shot into the wind to an elevated green. It came out perfectly to the right of the flag, and his birdie attempt grazed the left edge of the cup and left him with one of the easiest shots he had all day.
Nothing came easily for Johnson, who started one shot behind and failed to make a birdie putt for the first time in 31 tournaments worldwide. The last occasion was the HSBC Champions in 2017, when he lost a six-shot lead. This time, even with no birdies and two bogeys until late in the round, he was still in the mix.
That ended on the par-5 14th, when Johnson was just short of the green facing a stock chip. He ran it five feet by the hole and missed. Casey was on the hill and lofted a pitch onto the green to two feet for a birdie that restored his lead.
Johnson closed with a 74 and tied for sixth with Ryan Armour (69) and Jon Rahm (68). That group was a stroke behind Sungjae Im (70) and Bubba Watson (68).
"I didn't feel like I played bad," Johnson said. "Felt like I was swinging well, and I still feel like I'm swinging well. I still got a lot of confidence in the game but just, yeah, tough day. Tough conditions and wasn't spot on."
Former Baylor School golfer Harris English closed with a 78 and tied for 54th at 4 over.
Scott Hend wins playoff at Maybank Championship
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -Scott Hend closed with a 5-under 67, had to wait nearly two hours to see if it would be good enough, then made a thre-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win the Maybank Championship.
The 45-year-old Australian was one shot ahead of 54-hole leader Nacho Elvira when the 32-year-old Spaniard needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff. As he was hitting his short pitch, a loud clap of thunder caused him to hit the shot some 30 feet short. The storm led to a delay of 1 hour, 40 minutes, and Elvira returned to hole the birdie putt for a 70.
The playoff at Saujana Golf & Country Club didn't last as long as the delay.
Returning to the 18th, Hend's tee shot hit a tree and landed back in the fairway. His next shot went into a bunker, and he blasted out to three feet from the hole. Elvira's birdie putt stopped just short of the hole, and Hend knocked in his birdie for his third European Tour title. He also captured his 10th Asian Tour title in the co-sanctioned event.
Elvira was in contention throughout the tournament and looking to land a maiden European Tour title. Instead, he had to settle for runner-up in his second straight start, having finishing behind Justin Harding at the Qatar Masters two weeks ago.
Thailand'sJazz Janewattananond closed with a 69 to finish at 13-under 275, two shots out of the playoff. The United States' Johannes Veerman (66) was another stroke back in fourth.
Jin Young Ko rallies to win Founders Cup
PHOENIX - Jin Young Ko rallied to win the Founders Cup for her third LPGA Tour victory, closing with a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke victory over four players.
The 23-year-old South Korean birdied Nos. 14-16 and parred the final two holes to finish at 22-under 266 at Wildfire Golf club. She won when third-round leader Yu Liu missed a 15-foot par putt on the par-4 18th.
Liu (70) shared second with Carlota Ciganda (69) and sisters Jessica Korda (64) and Nelly Korda (66).