Viktor Hovland arrived at the 2025 Valspar Championship at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort lost.
The 2023 FedEx Cup Champion had missed three consecutive cuts as he tried desparately to rediscover the swing that had him as high as No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Hovland found something this week at the Cooperhead Course. While the Norwegian star is still uncomfortable with his swing, he found himself entering the final round tied for the lead with Jacob Bridgeman and Nico Echavarria.
Looking for his first win since the 2023 Tour Championship, Hovland hoped the swing feel he has been working on would be good enough to get him across the finish line Sunday.
“I mean it’s fun to be in contention but it is a little bit more stressful when you don’t feel super comfortable over the ball,” Hovland said Saturdya. “But, man, it’s fun to see some putts go in and still see the ball end up close to the hole and put some good scores up there.”
Hovland has been in the wilderness for quite some time. He had just two top-10 finishes last year and hadn’t finished in the top 20 this season entering the week.
But the Cooperhead Course sets up well for Hovland to play well while still trying to find the Viktor Hovland of old.
“It’s golf, it’s a crazy game,” Hovland said. “I do think for just this type of golf course really fits me right now. It’s not like you have to bomb the drivers everywhere, it’s more of a positioning golf course. I do feel like I can hit some nice iron shots that end up close to the hole, because my even though I haven’t been swinging it all that great my stats with the irons have been pretty decent the last few weeks. So at a golf course like this I still feel like I can give myself a lot of looks for birdie.”
Justin Thomas caught and passed Hovland early on the back nine Sunday. But Hovland birdied 14, 16 and 17 to retake the lead while Thomas faltered in the Snake Pit to give the Norwegian his seventh PGA Tour win.
Below you will find the complete payout breakdown for the Valspar Championship. You can view the final leaderboard here.
2025 Valspar Championship money: How much every player made
(Editor’s Note: Amateur Luke Clanton finished in a tie for 42nd place. Since he does not collect payment, the rest of the results from T42 are shifted to reflect that.)
1. Viktor Hovland, $1,566,000
2. Justin Thomas, $948,300
3. Jacob Bridgeman, $600,300
T4. Billy Horschel, $366,125
Bud Cauley, $366,125
Ryo Hisatsune, $366,125
7. Davis Riley, $293,625
T8. Shane Lowry, $245,775
Seamus Power, $245,775
Lucas Glover, $245,775
Corey Conners, $245,775
T12. Xander Schauffele, $178,350
Eric Cole, $178,350
Kevin Yu, $178,350
Ricky Castillo, $178,350
T16: Tommy Fleetwood, $128,325
Sam Ryder, $128,325
Matt McCarty, $128,325
Nico Echavarria, $128,325
Henrik Norlander, $128,325
Byeong Hun An, $128,325
T22: Thomas Detry, $81,200
Victor Perez, $81,200
Emiliano Grillo, $81,200
Rasmus Neegaard-Petersen, $81,200
Joe Highsmith, $81,200
Jeremy Paul, $81,200
T28: Jordan Spieth, $55,843
Sepp Straka, $55,843
Mac Meissner, $55,843
Michael Kim, $55,843
Steven Fisk, $55,843
Matti Schmid, $55,843
J.T. Poston, $55,843
Patrick Fishburn, $55,843
T36. Tom Kim, $40,527
Thorbjorn Olesen, $40,527
Mackenzie Hughes, $40,527
Sami Valimaki, $40,527
Sahith Theegala, $40,527
Stephan Jaeger, $40,527
T42: Noah Goodwin, $31,755
Andrew Novak, $31,755
Chandler Phillips, $31,755
Kaito Onishi, $31,755
T46.Ryan Fox, $23,701
Danny Willett, $23,701
Neal Shipley, $23,701
Will Zalatoris, $23,701
Mark Hubbard, $23,701
Matthieu Pavon, $23,701
Gary Woodland, $23,701
T53. Keith Mitchell, $20,677
Harry Hall, $20,677
Max McGreevy, $20,677
T56, Adam Scott, $19,749
David Lipsky, $19,749
C.T. Pan, $19,749
Doug Ghim, $19,749
Kevin Velo, $19,749
Ryan Gerard, $19,749
Brandt Snedeker, $19,749
T63: John Pak, $18,705
Nate Lashley, $18,705
Luke List, $18,705
Sam Stevens, $18,705
Jesper Svensson, $18,705
68. Will Chandler, $18,183
69. Kevin Kisner, $17,574
Mason Andersen, $17,574
Beau Hossler, $17,574
Camillo Villegas, $17,574
Braden Thornberry, $17,574
Rafael Campos, $17,574
75. Antoine Rozner, $16,965
76. Kris Ventura, $16, 791
77. Aaron Baddeley, $16,617
