Somehow, someway, Viktor Hovland capped off the Florida Swing with a victory at the Valspar Championship — one week after firing a first-round 80 at TPC Sawgrass and missing a third straight cut at The Players.
He began the day in a share of the lead with Nico Echavarria and Jacob Bridgeman but quickly seized control with birdies on two of his first three holes. Hovland then cooled off a bit, dropping a shot on the par-4 7th, which put him in a tie with Justin Thomas atop the leaderboard at 8-under par. But Thomas then caught fire on the back-nine, making four birdies over a five-hole stretch to leap up to 12-under. After Thomas birdied the par-3 15th, it looked like Thomas would be the one snapping a long winless drought, not Hovland. And yet, Hovland never folded. Instead, Thomas did, making bogies on the challenging par-4 16th and the 18th to finish at 10-under. Hovland birdied the 16th, thanks to a gorgeous approach from 186 yards out that settled six feet away. That proved the difference, as Hovland added another par-breaker on the par-3 17th. He then had a two-shot cushion as he played the 18th and ultimately won by a stroke.
The win gives him his first victory since the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake and will also provide him with ample momentum going into Augusta National next month. Hovland’s swing has been all over the place as of late, but perhaps he can sustain this groove going into the bulk of major championship season.
Valspar Championship Final Leaderboard & Payout:
1. Viktor Hovland -11 — $1,566,000
2. Justin Thomas -10 — $948,300
3. Jacob Bridgeman -9 — $600,300
T4. Billy Hotschel -8 — $366,126
T4. Bud Cauley -8 — $366,126
T4. Ryo Hisatsune -8 — $366,126
7. Davis Riley -7 — $293,626
T8. Lucas Glover -6 — $237,076
T8. Seamus Power -6 — $237,076
T8. Shane Lowry -6 — $237,076
T8. Corey Conners -6 — $237,076
T12. Kevin Yu -5 — $178,350
T12. Eric Cole -5 — $178,350
T12. Xander Schauffele -5 — $178,350
T12. Ricky Castillo -5 — $178,350
T16. Nico Echavarria -4 — $128,326
T16. Henrik Norlander -4 — $128,326
T16. Tommy Fleetwood -4 — $128,326
T16. Byeong Hun An -4 — $128,326
T16. Sam Ryder -4 — $128,326
T16. Matt McCarty -4 — $128,326
T22. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen -3 — $81,200
T22. Emiliano Grillo -3 — $81,200
T22. Thomas Detry -3 — $81,200
T22. Victor Perez -3 — $81,200
T22. Jeremy Paul -3 — $81,200
T22. Joe Highsmith -3 — $81,200
T28. Jordan Spieth -2 — $55,844
T28. Michael Kim -2 — $55,844
T28. Matti Schmid -2 — $55,844
T28. J.T. Poston -2 — $55,844
T28. Sepp Straka -2 — $55,844
T28. Patrick Fishburn -2 — $55,844
T28. Steven Fisk -2 — $55,844
T28. Mac Meissner -2 — $55,844
T36. Thorbjørn Olesen -1 — $40,528
T36. Mackenzie Hughes -1 — $40,528
T36. Stephan Jaeger -1 — $40,528
T36. Sahith Theegala -1 — $40,528
T36. Sami Valimaki -1 — $40,528
T36. Tom Kim -1 — $40,528
T42. Andrew Novak E — $31,756
T42. Noah Goodwin E — $31,756
T42. Kaito Onishi E — $31,756
T42. Chandler Phillips E — $31,756
T42. Luke Clanton (a) E — $0
T47. Ryan Fox +1 — $23,702
T47. Gary Woodland +1 — $23,702
T47. Neal Shipley +1 — $23,702
T47. Danny Willett +1 — $23,702
T47. Mark Hubbard +1 — $23,702
T47. Matthieu Pavon +1 — $23,702
T54. Keith Mitchell +2 — $20,678
T54. Harry Hall +2 — $20,678
T54. Max McGreevy +2 — $20,678
T57. Adam Scott +3 — $19,750
T57. Brandt Snedeker +3 — $19,750
T57. C.T. Pan +3 — $19,750
T57. David Lipsky +3 — $19,750
T57. Doug Ghim +3 — $19,750
T57. Kevin Velo +3 — $19,750
T57. Ryan Gerard +3 — $19,750
T64. Luke List +4 — $18,706
T64. Nate Lashley +4 — $18,706
T64. Sam Stevens +4 — $18,706
T64. Jesper Svensson +4 — $18,706
T64. John Pak +4 — $18,706
69. Will Chandler +5 — $18,184
T70. Camilo Villegas +6 — $17,574
T70. Kevin Kisner +6 — $17,574
T70. Rafael Campos +6 — $17,574
T70. Beau Hossler +6 — $17,574
T70. Braden Thornberry +6 — $17,574
T70. Mason Anderson +6 — $17,574
76. Antoine Rozner +7 — $16,966
77. Kris Ventura +8 — $16,792
78. Aaron Baddeley +10 — $16,618
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
