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Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re taking St. Pieters in this week’s Match Play. Primed for an upset victory. Let’s get to it!

FIRST OFF THE TEE

Something you might have missed.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is very, very quietly stringing together the best season you’ve never thought of.

Where does this “season” begin? Not at the Ryder Cup, where Fitzpatrick still has yet to earn a point across two competitions. But let’s begin just after that, with the 27-year-old’s next start at Valderrama. He won. After two lackluster starts on the PGA Tour, he nearly won again, finishing T2 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

That form seemed to carry over into 2022, where Fitzpatrick has made five starts and quietly finished inside the top 10 in four of them. Sunday’s T5 marked his best result yet, which is why he’s been flying under the radar, just outside contention. But Fitzpatrick’s PGA Tour stats page will tell you he’s been pretty good at, well, everything.

Thus far in the season (using just four measured tournaments, to be fair) Fitzpatrick ranks inside the top 30 in strokes gained off the tee, approaching the green, around the green and putting. That’s incredible. He’s fifth in strokes gained tee to green and, given his prowess once he reaches the green, he’s leading the Tour in total strokes gained at 2.053 per round.

What does this mean? That’s for you to decide — in golf, past performance isn’t always indicative of future results. But if you haven’t thought about Fitzpatrick since Whistling Straits, I’m here to remind you that he’s currently playing the best golf of his life.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Sam Burns’ giant putt

Folks, the last time someone from LSU beat Alabama with a long-range 3 in overtime was when Drew Alleman kicked a game-winning field goal to beat the Tide 9-6 on Nov. 5, 2011.

Alleman’s 25-yarder was technically longer than Sam Burns’ 32-foot bomb. And his winning effort was celebrated by the entire state of Louisiana, all at once, where Burns was greeted by his wife, his agent and a White Claw-wielding Joel Dahmen. But still!

The best way I can explain the position Burns now occupies in the golf world is that he has surpassed Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka in the world ranking. Since the beginning of 2021 he has three PGA Tour wins plus three additional podiums. And even if he had already arrived on the world stage, Sunday made it official: Sam Burns is upper echelon. He’ll be at East Lake. He’ll be on the Presidents Cup team. He’ll be on the first page of your betting sheets. He’s one of those dudes.

And he still hasn’t made his first Masters appearance.

OTHER WINNERS

These guys, too.

Davis Riley’s snowman response

If Davis Riley‘s response to making an adventurous, disastrous, calamitous triple-bogey 8 at the 5th hole was to curl up in a ball in a sunny, out-of-the-way bunker, we’d hardly have blamed him.

Instead he rallied, playing the rest of the challenging Copperhead course in two under par and making a gutsy 2 at No. 17 to work his way into a playoff. Sure, he got Burnsed once he made it that far. But losing to a 32-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole when it’s your first time in contention ain’t too shabby.

“Yeah, very solid week. A lot to build on. No, I can’t hang my head about anything,” he said. He’s right.

Brooks Koepka’s final round

After firing six-under 65 on Sunday to climb from T45 to T12, Brooks Koepka was miffed at how easy the Copperhead Course had played for the final round.

“I think the pin positions aren’t very tough, if I’m honest. I think some of the pin locations are kind of center of the green,” Koepka said. “It’s definitely gettable today, which is, it’s kind of weird.”

Gettable for you, Brooks. The rest of the field? Not so much. Sunday marked the highest scoring average of the week, Koepka’s score was the best of the day by two shots and that T12 marked his second-best result of the season. When you’re playing well, golf seems easy. Especially when you’ve got Koepka’s ceiling.

ALMOST-WINNERS

Still deserving of mention.

Justin Thomas’ golf game

From tee to green, Justin Thomas was the best golfer in the field this week. He continues to play what feels like “disappointing” golf and finishing inside the top five. In eight PGA Tour starts this season Thomas now has eight made cuts, six top-10s and two podium finishes. Thomas played arguably his best round of golf at last week’s Players Championship, where he shot three under par in horrendous weather and finished a season-worst T33. Thomas hasn’t won. He’s done everything shy of winning, though.

Luke Donald’s Valspar record

The last few years haven’t been particularly fruitful for Luke Donald, who has spent most of his time on Tour missing cuts. But not at Innisbrook. Donald’s T9 in 2019 was his best result of the year. His T16 this week is his best result since last spring. Perhaps fueled on by Henrik Stenson’s selection as Ryder Cup captain, Donald rallied with a 67-68 weekend. Credit to him.

NOT-WINNERS

Maybe next week?

Wesley Bryan’s near-miss

“Pros chasing status on medical extensions” is a particularly niche corner of the niche golf world. But OG trick-shot artist turned PGA Tour winner Wesley Bryan sat on the brink Sunday morning, needing a finish of solo 51st or better to keep partial status for next season.

He finished T62 instead, ultimately falling two or three (I’ll let the human calculators among you decide which) shots shy of his goal. Here’s hoping for a Bryanaissance come next season.

WHAT WE’RE SEEING

The pools for this week’s Match Play in Austin.

What jumps out? Five initial impressions:

I’m ready for Jon Rahm-Patrick Reed.

I’m ready for Scottie Scheffler to take on all of England.

I’m ready for Group 11, established ball striker paradise.

I’m ready for Maverick McNealy to make a hell of a 64 seed.

I’m ready for Bryson vs. Bland.

WHAT WE’RE HEARING

Greg Norman on a press tour.

It got lost in the shuffle given Greg Norman‘s many and varied press appearances last week (following the release of the LIV Golf schedule) but perhaps the most direct and relevant question came via the bunkered podcast. The UK-based show pressed Norman on his ties with Saudi Arabia given its record of human rights, specifically the murder of journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

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Norman didn’t take the question head on but came as close as we’ve seen him to addressing the topic.

“What happened to [Jamal] Khashoggi was reprehensible,” Norman told bunkered. “There’s not a person on this planet who would not agree with me. It’s reprehensible. But, at the end of the day, we’re not political. We’re here for the sport of golf and to build it out, and make the fanbase grow the game of golf across all platforms the best way we can.”

It’s not clear to me that LIV can avoid being political. When you’re a startup being funded by a controversial foreign government, it’s all political. That’s not to say it’s simple. You can read (and listen) more here.

WHAT ELSE WE’RE HEARING

Phil out at Augusta.

On Monday evening, the rumors swirled for just a few moments before they were officially confirmed by Augusta National: Phil Mickelson won’t be playing this year’s Masters.

We knew Mickelson was taking a hiatus following a series of interviews in which he first shredded the PGA Tour and then disparaged the people behind the funding for LIV Golf Investments, leaving himself stuck in an awkward in-between. Following the release of those interviews, Mickelson released a letter apologizing to those who may have been affected by his actions and announced he’d be stepping away from the game. We haven’t heard from him since.

On Monday, several media outlets noted that Mickelson was listed on the Masters website under “Past Champions Not Playing.” According to Augusta National, that came from Mickelson himself, who informed the club he wouldn’t be playing. The club directed further questions to Mickelson’s team.

That doesn’t exactly satisfy our curiosities, of course. We’re left in limbo, just as we were after Jay Monahan’s interview last week in which he didn’t say Mickelson was suspended but also didn’t say Mickelson wouldn’t be suspended. It’s plausible that Mickelson was encouraged to take some time away from this year’s Masters but the final decision was left up to him. Rumors are likely to continue swirling.

While we’re on Masters rumors, one noteworthy name still on the invited player list: Tiger Woods. I’m not saying there’s a chance, but if you want to say that, I’m certainly not going to stop you…

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Happy first day of spring, gang! In our collective golf minds, spring golf means flowers, green grass, Augusta National. In reality spring golf means courses just starting to open, temperatures in the 50s on a warm day, golf balls plugging in the mud and so on. But it’s officially springtime which means it’s officially golf season. Happy to be here!

WHAT’S NEXT

3 things to watch this week.

1. Friday in Austin.

Elimination day at the WGC-Match Play is one of the most underrated days on the PGA Tour schedule.

2. No. 1 back on American soil.

Jin Young Ko returns to stateside LPGA Tour play at this week’s JTBC Classic. She has been a buzzsaw of late, hitting basically every green and winning basically every tournament. This week’s event at Aviara marks a tune-up before next week’s Chevron, the first major of 2022.

3. Sam Burns and Davis Riley doing the Birdie Dance.

You’re welcome. I think?

See you next week!

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — This Valspar tournament that ended on Sunday, the last moments of the month-long Florida Swing, was the throwback of throwbacks. The whole thing, really. The course, the clubhouse, the leaderboard. A bunch of young Southern golfers, out of old Southern universities, contending. Paint cans for tee markers. Reserved parking spaces for former winners painted with all your favorite Valspar paint colors.

Some of you remember the Tour in its Southern era, when a fan in a T-shirt screamed “Free Bird” at rolling putts in Atlanta and Greensboro and Charlotte. Paging Jerry Pate and Andy Bean, and, while we’re at it, Davis Love and Justin Leonard. Well, on Sunday here, on the last day of the month-long Florida Swing, this Tour was Southern again. This Sunday afternoon was no-fuss, no-pontificating, get-it-done golf.

Your protagonists:

Matthew NeSmith, 28-year-old South Carolina native who went to South Carolina;

Justin Thomas, also 28, a son of Louisville who went to Alabama;

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Davis Riley, 25, born and raised in Hattiesburg, Miss., and an Alabama golfer a few years after Thomas;

Sam Burns, also 25, a Shreveport native who played college golf at LSU.

Before heading to a resort ballroom that had been converted into the player locker room, Thomas gave Riley a bro hug and said, “You know what to do.” Thomas was one shot out of the Riley-and-Burns playoff, and he had to be hot. But Tide pride is Tide pride.

NeSmith was in the day’s final twosome. He didn’t look at scoreboards. He didn’t worry when things went south. He said his goal was to “play 18 holes and enjoy the walk.” How’s that for Southern charm? He was a shot out of the playoff, too.

One shot better than those two were Burns and Riley. Their two-man, sudden-death playoff started on the par-4 18th. It’s one of the hardest things to do in tournament golf, to go from  stroke play (the first 72 holes) to match play (the playoff). In stroke play, you’re waiting for your chances. In match play, you have to seize the moment. You have to grab it. One of the things that made Tiger Woods Tiger Woods was his incredible ability to make that move. His PGA Tour playoff record is 11 wins, one loss. Sunday night here — a gorgeous Southern night, the air cooling and dry — somebody was going to win a playoff. 

In 2018, Woods gave Burns the pep talk of all pep talks. They had played together on Sunday at Honda. Burns’ top-10 finish there got him into the following week’s tournament, which that year was the Valspar event. “He played beautifully,” Woods said that day. “Top-10 gets him into Tampa.” Ever since, Woods has had his eye on Burns, as a player to watch. Burns won his first Tour event here just last year. As Andy Bean once helped Davis Love find his footing on Tour, Woods did the same, in his own way, for Burns.

One thing any player learns from watching Woods over the years is that you don’t need to play perfect golf, or anything like it, in order to contend. And if you can contend, you can win.

After two pars on 18, Burns and Riley went to the par-4 16th hole. Burns hit it short and in the left rough. Riley was about 25 yards ahead of him and in the fairway.

By Burns’ own admission — by anybody’s admission — advantage Riley.

Burns did not care.

His second shot was a pull, too, finishing hole high but about 40 feet from the hole.

Burns did not care.

He buried the putt. Riley’s chip shot did not go in. Game, set, match. Handshakes.

“I think in the past I would have said that you have to play perfect in final rounds to have a chance to win, and in reality, that’s just not the case,” Burns said. Yep, he’s won this tournament in back-to-back years.

“Walking there off 16, Davis is in the fairway 20 or 30 yards closer [to the green] than me and I’m in the rough. Odds are in his favor. But everyone knows that in the game of golf anything can happen. That ball went in. It very well could not have.”

Anything can happen and will.

And of course he remembered his round with Woods from four years ago. “I feel like I gained some confidence from that round,” he said. “It was a cool opportunity for me to play with him on a Sunday and just get to watch him up close. That was always a dream of mine to do that. So it was also nice that I was able to play really well that day and ultimately top-10 to get into this. It was definitely a special day.”

Burns talked about how a golfer is always learning, just as any person is always learning.

Riley washed his Sunday afternoon shirt on Sunday morning.

He remembered first playing with Burns when they were maybe 11 or 12 years old, “duking it out.”

He made a triple bogey on 5 because he hit “just a bad tee shot.”

Burns and Riley played each other in high school and in college and now they have faced each other in a Tour playoff. These two sons of the South. The winner won with a mediocre tee shot, an OK second — and a great putt. Davis Riley knows how it goes. Because that’s how it goes.

“Davis is a heck of a player,” Burns said. “Davis and I have been friends for a long time. We’ve played a lot of golf together. Unfortunately, he went to Alabama.”

No, he’s not gonna give it a rest.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger

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Sam Burns canned a 32-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Davis Riley to defend his Valspar Championship title.

Take a closer look at the equipment he used to win PGA Tour title No. 3.

Driver: Callaway Rogue ST LS Triple Diamond (Fujikura Ventus Blue 7TX shaft), 10.5 degrees

4-wood: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero (Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft), 17 degrees

Utility wood: Callaway Apex UW (Fujikura Ventus Blue 8X shaft), 21 degrees

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW; Project X 6.5 shafts)

Wedges: Callaway Apex TCB (AW; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shaft), Callaway Jaws MD5 (56, 60 degrees; True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts)

Putter: Odyssey O-Works Black 7S

Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X

Grips: Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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Davis Riley came to the fifth hole with a two-shot lead. He left trailing by one. What happened in between was tough to watch. What happened after was extremely impressive.

Let’s start with the basics: Riley is an Alabama grad with a textbook swing and an enviable on-course disposition. He’s a rookie on the PGA Tour this year, though his promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour came at least a year overdue; he won twice on the feeder circuit in 2020. Thus far on Tour, his only brush with contention had been a T7 at a windy, wild Butterfield Bermuda Championship last fall.

But here he was, 58 holes into the Valspar Championship, holding the lead at a big-time Tour event.

And then things got weird.

Riley’s tee shot at the par-5 fifth sailed left and settled behind a tree. After some deliberation he decided his best course of action was to play left, down the sixth fairway, up near the 8th tee.

“Yeah, I just hit a bad tee shot and then from there it was just kind of a cluster,” Riley explained afterwards. He took aim at the tee box itself, which he hoped would leave him with an angle and a look at the flagstick. Instead he pulled it long and left of that target and drew a strange lie. That’s where things got messy.

“Honestly, I think where it went wrong was after I dropped, got relief from the tee marker,” Riley said. “Yeah, it was just sandy, kind of weird grass over there, and maybe I just tried to hit too much of a perfect shot instead of making sure I blast it over the green and give myself just an up and in at par.”

Riley had just over 100 yards left to the hole. But he caught too much dirt with his wedge and his next shot traveled about half the required distance, caught a tree and settled at the base of that tree. The lie was bad and the position was even worse; Riley’s only chance to hit the ball would have been left-handed. He took an unplayable lie instead. Now hitting his fifth shot, Riley sailed his pitch shot through the green and into the rough.

Later, the NBC broadcast would retrace his steps with a particularly vivid graphic that made it clear the extent to which Riley had been on the move.

His sixth came out with too much speed, too. Now he was playing his seventh and still wasn’t on the green. After a lag putt from the edge of the rough, Riley mercifully completed the hole. His 8 was the only triple bogey on the hole all week, and it had taken him some 30 minutes.

Suddenly his chances at the tournament seemed over; Riley was facing a one-shot deficit and all the negative momentum in the world. But golf is a funny game. From the rough right of the sixth fairway, Riley found the front right edge of the green and executed a tough two-putt. Two holes later he canned a 50-footer for birdie. Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course was showing its teeth, which meant his competition was struggling, too. Riley buried a seven-footer for par at No. 9. He was hanging tough.

His back nine got off to a textbook start. Par at 11. Two-putt birdie at the par-5 11th. A bogey at No. 12 was a minor setback and he just missed a birdie look from inside 10 feet at No. 14. But he made pars at the challenging 15th and 16th holes and stepped to the 17th tee just one shot off Sam Burns’ lead.

He stepped over his golf ball on the tee of the 198-yard par-3. Then he stepped off. When he stepped back up he made one of the best swings of the entire week; he hit a tight draw that tracked at the flag the entire time, pitched just short of the hole and rolled to six feet. It was the best tee shot of the day at No. 17. He buried it for birdie.

“I knew I needed to make a birdie to at least be tied going into the last hole,” Riley said post-round. “I just told myself I need to hit a good shot and, yeah, I made a really good swing on it. Hit it right on the button, and then to cap it off with the putt was nice.”

Easier said than done, but suddenly Riley was tied for the lead. He split the tight fairway at the par-4 finisher, found the middle of the green and left himself with a putt to win the tournament. It wiggled just right.

What happened next was outside Riley’s control. Facing down one of the best golfers in the world in Sam Burns, Riley got up-and-down for par at the first playoff hole and could only watch as Burns buried a 30-footer for birdie on the second.

When his chip to tie slipped past the pin, Riley was left with the silver medal and a bittersweet conclusion to a week in Tampa. Emphasis on the sweet.

“We’ve played a lot of golf together, he’s somebody that I’ve always looked up to,” Burns said of his vanquished opponent. “He’s a world-class player, great guy.”

Justin Thomas stuck around to root on Riley, who followed in his footsteps at Alabama.

“It’s incredible,” Thomas said, asked to describe his game. “He’s a great player. No matter what happens today it was a great week, a huge learning experience for him.”

NBC analyst and longtime Tour caddie John Wood was particularly impressed with Riley’s moxie.

“HUGE future ahead,” he wrote on Twitter.

As for Riley himself?

“Yeah, very solid week. A lot to build on,” he said. “No, I can’t hang my head about anything. I played a lot of good golf and unfortunately I didn’t have my best stuff today and I stumbled on hole 5 today and that kind of cost me.”

An understatement on all fronts, good and bad. He’ll fit right in on Tour.

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Wesley Bryan knew he was going to need a good one.

He entered Sunday’s final round at the Valspar Championship in a share of 53rd position. Typically, Tour pros near the bottom of the leaderboard approach final rounds with apathy; there’s neither stress nor fear of consequence. Bryan is no stranger to that approach, having once blitzed through his final round at the BMW Championship in less than 90 minutes.

But this was no ordinary round. Bryan was making the final start of his major medical extension, an exemption category that allowed him a certain number of starts with which he could regain his card. He needed a sixth-place finish to retain full PGA Tour status, while solo 51st or better would allow him to claim partial status alongside pros who finished Nos. 126-150 on the FedEx Cup points list last season.

For Bryan, even getting to the weekend was no simple task. With three holes to play on Friday, he sat just outside the cut line. He make a 16-footer for birdie at No. 7 (his 16th hole of the day) to get just inside that cut line. At No. 8 he found a bush, hacked out of it (below) and got up-and-down for a miraculous bogey that gave himself a chance. And then he striped a drive down the fairway at No. 9, hit a wedge to three feet and rolled it in to make the weekend.

Bryan played well on Saturday but finished with a bogey to post one-under 70, leaving him just outside the top 50 as he stared down Sunday.

“It’s going to take a special one,” Bryan said post-round to the PGA Tour.

But on Sunday, as conditions toughened, Bryan’s birdie reserves seemed to dry up. He hit just eight of 18 greens and spent most of the day scrambling for par. As he reached the Valpsar’s Snake Pit — the challenging trio of 16, 17 and 18 — he needed to play them in at least one under par to have a chance. Instead he bogeyed 16, made two more pars to finish and signed for a two-over 73 and a share of 62nd.

After the round he took to Twitter to express his thanks to those who have followed his chase for status.

“Been a long few years, spent most of it rehabbing shoulder and wrist,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone for the support this week….definitely felt the love out there. I tried my hardest….came up short. It stings, but I’m not done trying.”

What “not done trying” means is that Bryan will continue to hunt for starts on Tour for the rest of the season using his status as a past champion. He’ll hope to tee it up as soon as next week’s Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship and is confirmed in the field at the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters.

At the time of his victory at the 2017 RBC, Bryan was on a rapid ascent through the world rankings. The trick-shot-artist-turned-pro won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016 before bursting onto the PGA Tour and winning that following April. He had four other top-seven finishes that year.

But since then Bryan has battled injuries and struggled to find his form. His T12 at the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship was his best result since 2017. He made zero starts in 2019 and just 23 total in the three years since. Bryan’s 2022 began with a promising T27 at the Sony Open but he missed his next three cuts entering this week’s Valspar.

He finished the week at two under par. Four under would have given him a 10-way tie of 48th place; five under would have guaranteed him partial status for next season. Instead he’ll start on the steepest road in the golf world: the one that leads back to the gates of the PGA Tour.

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The trophy, Sam Burns says, is in his living room. And when he does living room-type things, he’ll sneak a peek at the hardware from last year’s Valspar Championship, where Burns won for the first time. “Obviously kind of always puts a smile on my face just to look back on this week last year,” he said.  

But his biggest takeaway?

“I think it was kind of sticking more to my game plan coming down the stretch, and for a while there, I thought I kind of needed to play perfect, but really just needed to kind of play steady and hit the correct shots, and I was able to do that here last year and it worked out,” Burns said earlier this week. “So I think that was a big learning lesson for me.”

On Sunday, it was more of the same. And then some. Burns played steady. Burns hit the correct shots. And an amazing one. It worked out. 

He is your Valspar Championship champion again.

Starting the day three shots back, Burns methodically picked apart a softer-than-usual-but-still-surly Innisbrook course to pull into the lead. Then, on the second hole of a playoff with third-round leader Davis Riley, Burns dropped a 32-footer for birdie, and the 25-year-old is now a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. 

A back-and-forth between Burns and Riley began after Riley disastrously triple-bogeyed the par-5 5th. On the par-3 17th, Burns was up two, then he bogeyed after hitting his tee shot into a greenside bunker, Riley birdied in the group behind after hitting to 6 feet, and they were even. After pars on 18, they went to the first playoff hole, also on 18. 

Each parred. On the second playoff hole, Burns hit his second shot just onto the fringe, Riley hit just off the green, then Burns followed with his 32-footer. The tournament was over when Riley chipped past the hole. 

Each had finished at 17-under, Burns after a two-under 69, and Riley after a 72. Justin Thomas and Matthew NeSmith were a shot back, and Matt Fitzpatrick and Brian Harman two.  

“Sam is a hell of a player,” Riley said afterward. “Anytime you give somebody who’s playing well a putt within 30 feet, you always think there’s a chance, so I went into there thinking he was going to give it a really good run. It doesn’t surprise me. He’s been a very putter for a long time.” 

The takeaway 

You have to think Burns is going to win a major this year, right? 

The 15 big shots 

— Davis Riley begins the final round with a two-shot lead over Matthew NeSmith, and a three-shot lead over Justin Thomas and Sam Burns. Riley is at 18-under, NeSmith is at 16-under, and Thomas and Burns are at 15-under. 

— Thomas and Burns each birdie the 616-yard, par-5 5th, and there are now three players — Thomas, Burns and NeSmith — two shots back of Riley.  

— Riley wrecks on the 5th and falls out of the lead. He hits his drive left, goes even farther left on his second shot, chunks his third shot, takes an unplayable lie penalty, pitches over the green twice and makes a triple-bogey eight. NeSmith, Thomas and Burns are now tied for the lead, at 16-under. Riley is at 15-under, and Adam Hadwin is at 14-under. 

— NeSmith bogeys the 446-yard, par-4 6th after hitting his tee shot very left, and he falls out of the lead. Thomas and Burns are at 16-under, Riley and NeSmith are at 15-under, and Hadwin is at 14-under.   

— Thomas bogeys the 244-yard, par-3 8th after missing the green to the left on his tee shot, and he falls out of the lead. Burns is at 16-under, Thomas, Riley and NeSmith are at 15-under, and Hadwin is at 14-under. 

— Riley chips in from just off the green on the 8th, and he jumps into a share of the lead. Riley and Burns are at 16-under, Thomas and NeSmith (who also birdied 8) are at 15-under, and Hadwin is at 14-under.

— Burns birdies the 572-yard, par-5 11th, and he takes the outright lead. He’s at 17-under, Riley is at 16-under, NeSmith is at 15-under, and Thomas (who bogeyed 11), Hadwin and Brian Harman are at 14-under. 

— Riley birdies the 11th on a 5-foot putt to pull into a tie for the lead, then seconds later, Burns birdies the 365-yard, par-4 12th on a 15-foot putt. Burns is at 18-under, Riley is at 17-under, NeSmith is at 15-under, and Thomas, Hadwin, Harman and Xander Schauffele are at 14-under. 

— Riley bogeys the 12th after hitting into the upslope of a greenside bunker, and he falls to 16-under. Burns is at 18-under, Riley is at 16-under, and Thomas and NeSmith are at 15-under. 

— Thomas birdies the 581-yard, par-5 14th — his second-straight birdie — and he is two back. Burns is at 18-under, Thomas and Riley are at 16-under, and Harman and NeSmith are at 15-under. 

— Burns rolls in a 9-foot bogey putt on the 198-yard, par-3 17th after hitting into the bunker on his tee shot, and his lead shrinks to one. He’s at 17-under, Thomas and Riley are at 16-under, and NeSmith is at 15-under. 

— Riley and NeSmith birdie the 17th, and Riley pulls into a share of the lead. Burns and Riley are at 17-under, and Thomas and NeSmith are at 16-under. 

— Burns pars the 419-yard, par-4 18th, and he finishes at 17-under. In the group behind, Riley hits his approach to 15 feet, but can’t birdie, and they go to a playoff. 

— On the first playoff hole, back on the 18th, Burns hits his tee shot down the left side of the fairway, and Riley hits his into the right rough. On the second shots, Riley hits into a left greenside bunker, and Burns hits over the flag. On the third shots, Riley hits out of the sand to 2 feet, and Burns misses a 35-footer for birdie to the left of the hole. They both par. 

— On the second playoff hole, the 463-yard, par-4 16th, Burns hits his tee shot into the left rough, and Riley hits his into the fairway. On the second shots, Burns hits to the left side of the green, and Riley hits just over the green. On the third shots, Burns drops a 32-footer for birdies, and Riley chips past the hole, and Burns is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour. 

The final word

“Just tried to stay steady today. A lot of times on Sundays, if you just kind of plot your way around, make a bunch of pars, throw in a few birdies here and there, a lot of times it works well.” — Sam Burns on NBC

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After three days of play, we’ve reached the final round at the 2022 Valspar Championship. Below, find everything you need to know about Sunday’s money breakdown, including purse, payout info and winner’s share.

2022 Valspar Championship final round preview

The passing of last week’s Players Championship marked a significant anniversary in the golf world – one that Justin Thomas would rather forget. The World’s No. 8 player has now gone a calendar year without a PGA Tour victory, a streak of frustration dating back to last year’s Players. At the Valspar, Thomas enters Sunday’s final round with his best recent chance of nabbing a victory, trailing by just three strokes heading into the final day of play.

If Thomas is to grab his first victory in a year, he’ll have to chase down Davis Riley in the process. Riley, a 25-year-old former University of Alabama player, is looking for his first career victory at the Valspar. In addition to Thomas, Riley will have to fend off Sam Burns, Robert Streb and Xander Schauffele on Sunday in Palm Harbor.

Below, find everything you need to know about payout information, including winner’s share for the Valspar’s $7.8 million purse; you can catch the action from 3-6 p.m. ET on NBC.

2022 Valspar Championship payout info, winner’s share

1. 1,404,000
2. 850,200
3. 538,200
4. 382,200
5. 319,800
6. 282,750
7. 263,250
8. 243,750
9. 228,150
10. 212,550
11. 196,950
12. 181,350
13. 165,750
14. 150,150
15. 142,350
16. 134,550
17. 126,750
18. 118,950
19. 111,150
20. 103,350
21. 95,550
22. 87,750
23. 81,510
24. 75,270
25. 69,030
26. 62,790
27. 60,450
28. 58,110
29. 55,770
30. 53,430
31. 51,090
32. 48,750
33. 46,410
34. 44,460
35. 42,510
36. 40,560
37. 38,610
38. 37,050
39. 35,490
40. 33,930
41. 32,370
42. 30,810
43. 29,250
44. 27,690
45. 26,130
46. 24,570
47. 23,010
48. 21,762
49. 20,670
50. 20,046
51. 19,578
52. 19,110
53. 18,798
54. 18,486
55. 18,330
56. 18,174
57. 18,018
58. 17,862
59. 17,706
60. 17,550
61. 17,394
62. 17,238
63. 17,082
64. 16,926
65. 16,770

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The post Valspar Championship live coverage: How to watch the final round Sunday appeared first on Golf.

After three days of play in Florida, we’ve reached the final round of play at the 2022 Valspar Championship. Below, find everything you need to know to tune into the action in Palm Harbor.

Valspar Championship final round preview

After two rounds, the story at the Valspar Championship was Matthew NeSmith. The PGA Tour pro had set the course on fire with a Friday 61, and led by a handful of strokes heading into Saturday’s third round. But by the time dawn broke on Saturday, the story had already shifted to one Davis Riley, a 25-year-old pro and 2019 graduate of the University of Alabama. Riley leads by two heading into Sunday’s final round, looking for his first-ever PGA Tour victory.

News

Further back, Justin Thomas enters Sunday’s final round just three strokes back of the mark set by Riley, as does Sam Burns. Both men contended at last week’s Players Championship before fading down the stretch, and will look to rewrite the narrative for themselves on Sunday in Palm Harbor.

Below, find everything you need to know to tune into the Valspar Championship’s raucous final round on Sunday, including television and streaming information.

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How to watch the Valspar Championship on TV

Golf Channel and NBC will share TV coverage of the 2022 Valspar Championship. Golf Channel will handle the early portion of Sunday’s coverage, while NBC will take over for the heart of the tournament.

Sunday, March 20: 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel, ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

How to watch the Valspar Championship online, streaming

The No. 1 way to watch the Valspar Championship online is with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+. You can tune into the action from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday.

 Sign up for an ESPN+ account here to start streaming. You can also stream the Golf Channel and NBC TV coverage via Peacock.

SIGN UP FOR PGA TOUR LIVE ON ESPN+ TO STREAM THE ENTIRE 2022 VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP ONLINE

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How to bet on the Valspar Championship

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

Tee No. 1

7:55 a.m. — Pat Perez, Ryan Brehm

8:05 a.m. — Collin Morikawa, Michael Thompson

8:15 a.m. — Curtis Thompson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

8:25 a.m. — Webb Simpson, Blake Kennedy

8:35 a.m. — John Huh, Seung-Yul Noh

8:45 a.m. — Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson

8:55 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, David Lipsky

9:05 a.m. — Doc Redman, Kevin Kisner

9:15 a.m. — Paul Barjon, Henrik Stenson

9:25 a.m. — Max McGreevy, Harold Varner III

9:40 a.m. — Cameron Tringale, Denny McCarthy

9:50 a.m. — Austin Smotherman, Wesley Bryan

10 a.m. — Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Brooks Koepka

10:10 a.m. — Chez Reavie, Bill Haas

10:20 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Richy Werenski

10:30 a.m. — Joel Dahmen, Joseph Bramlett

10:40 a.m. — Kramer Hickok, Brandon Hagy

10:50 a.m. — Mito Pereira, J.J. Spaun

11 a.m. — Viktor Hovland, Nick Taylor

11:15 a.m. — Gary Woodland, Danny Lee

11:25 a.m. — Patton Kizzire, Tyrrell Hatton

11:35 a.m. — C.T. Pan, Brian Stuard

11:45 a.m. — Harry Higgs, Brandon Wu

11:55 a.m. — Russell Knox, Brice Garnett

12:05 p.m. — Luke Donald, Adam Svensson

12:15 p.m. — Greyson Sigg, Nate Lashley

12:25 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Scott Stallings

12:35 p.m. — Bernd Wiesberger, Sahith Theegala

12:50 p.m. — Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar

1 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Kevin Streelman

1:10 p.m. — Tyler Duncan, Alex Noren

1:20 p.m. — Troy Merritt, Xander Schauffele

1:30 p.m. — Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman

1:40 p.m. — Adam Hadwin, Robert Streb

1:50 p.m. — Justin Thomas, Sam Burns

2 p.m. — Davis Riley, Matthew NeSmith

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The post Pro no longer cares if he even tops it 2 feet. Then the craziest thing happened. appeared first on Golf.

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Matthew NeSmith sent his ball flying over the green Saturday on the par-3 13th at Innisbrook. On stroke two, he chipped across the green, and a few minutes later, his one-time four-shot lead at the Valspar Championship was vanished. But NeSmith kept his word. 

A day earlier, NeSmith was a revelation, though not so much for his 10-under 61, which is not to say that his career-low PGA Tour round wasn’t spectacular. No, most notable was how he said he came to his breakthrough. In a way, the 61 happened in spite of him. Here is his description of it. 

“Just been getting in my own way,” NeSmith explained. “I’ve done, I’ve been doing everything right. My game’s been great. I’ve really worked on the driver. I’ve really worked on putting it better. I’ve really worked on chipping it better. And I’ve gotten better in all those areas, but I haven’t played any better.

Instruction

“So at some point in time, that falls on me and that falls on how I act and how I think and how I want to feel. And so I’m done getting in my own way. And if it affects the way I play in a bad way, that’s fine, but I’m done with the anxiety. I’m done with trying to, trying so hard.

“And it’s been working out great the last two days, but it may not work out this weekend. It may work out awesome. I don’t know. But I’m going to keep going that way.”

On NBC’s broadcast of Saturday’s third round, analyst David Feherty summed up NeSmith’s newfound thought well when he said: “When it matters the most, you have to be able to play as if it matters the least.” Of course, that’s easy to say when you sign for a 61 and the hole looks as big as the nearby Gulf of Mexico. Which brings us back to the beginning. What happens when, say, when you hit over the green, then hit across it and soon lose your lead?

Three times on 13 on Saturday, NeSmith laughed with his caddie, Mick Brennan. 

And wouldn’t you know it, the even crazier then happened. The winless third-year pro will enter Sunday just two strokes behind leader Davis Riley, who he’ll also play with in the final pairing.  

“For me, it’s all of it right now,” NeSmith said. “I’ve done some really great things on the golf course and off the golf course the last few months, and I haven’t been able to let that shine through because I’ve been in my own way.

“So to have this, I mean, nothing was going to be harder than yesterday for me. I mean, it was always going to be hard. Trying to follow up a really great round with another great one, it’s tough. So to go out there and try and just relax and play golf was all I needed to do, and the golf would come. Everything else would kind of fall into place if I would just be who I am, enjoy the walk, enjoy having Mick around, enjoy everything that comes along with being in this kind of group being in this position.”

To say this all is a surprise is not wrong. But to say NeSmith couldn’t ever tee off last on national TV, with the Justin Thomases, Sam Burnses and Xander Schauffeles of the world chasing him, isn’t accurate, either.   

On the NBC broadcast, analyst Paul Azinger said Lee Trevino used to deflect pressure by “talking about the players behind him — how great they were, how great they were playing.” NeSmith just needed to discover his own method. And it looks like it will stick. 

“I think I just got fed up,” he said. “I just got fed up with where I’ve been. And it’s cool to see, because I haven’t been playing some great golf this year, but I haven’t played bad. I’ve kind of done some this stuff in spite of myself, which is incredible, and it just shows you that my game’s going in the right direction and I’m excited for where that direction is, and whether it be great this week or whether it doesn’t work out this week, we don’t know if it will be this week, two years, five years. I don’t know. 

“But I like how it felt today a hell of a lot more than any other day.”

A reporter then asked him what goes through his head now.  

“To be honest with you, the anxiety is much worse than the outcome, in my mind,” NeSmith said. “So it’s OK. It’s fine. It’s what, I’m just, I’m getting over the shots and I’m doing exactly what I’ve always done and picking out shots and just going to be all right with where they go. I’m going to accept standing over the tee ball. 

“If I top it two feet off the fairway or if I hit a 320-yard stripe down the middle of the fairway, I’m going to let both of them be what they may.”

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The 2022 Valspar Championship continues on Sunday with the final round at Innisbrook Resort. You can find full Round 4 tee times for the tournament at the bottom of this post.

Featured grouping for Valspar Round 4

The players in the final pairing are looking for win No. 1. The players behind them are in the conversation for being No. 1.

Davis Riley, winless in his first season on the PGA Tour, and Matthew NeSmith, also winless, tee off last Sunday, at 2 p.m, whilebehind them, in the 1:50 p.m. pairing, are two of the brightest young stars in golf — Justin Thomas, world No. 8, and Sam Burns, world No. 18. On the leaderboard, Riley is at 18-under, NeSmith is at 16-under, and Thomas and Burns are at 15-under.

Five back of Riley is Adam Hadwin, and six back are Robert Streb, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman, Troy Merritt and Xander Schauffele.

You can stream the entire final round via PGA Tour Live on ESPN+.

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Browse the complete final-round tee times for the 2022 Valspar Championship below.

2022 Valspar Championship Round 4 tee times (All times ET)

Tee No. 1

7:55 a.m. — Pat Perez, Ryan Brehm

8:05 a.m. — Collin Morikawa, Michael Thompson

8:15 a.m. — Curtis Thompson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

8:25 a.m. — Webb Simpson, Blake Kennedy

8:35 a.m. — John Huh, Seung-Yul Noh

8:45 a.m. — Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson

8:55 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, David Lipsky

9:05 a.m. — Doc Redman, Kevin Kisner

9:15 a.m. — Paul Barjon, Henrik Stenson

9:25 a.m. — Max McGreevy, Harold Varner III

9:40 a.m. — Cameron Tringale, Denny McCarthy

9:50 a.m. — Austin Smotherman, Wesley Bryan

10 a.m. — Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Brooks Koepka

10:10 a.m. — Chez Reavie, Bill Haas

10:20 a.m. — Jhonattan Vegas, Richy Werenski

10:30 a.m. — Joel Dahmen, Joseph Bramlett

10:40 a.m. — Kramer Hickok, Brandon Hagy

10:50 a.m. — Mito Pereira, J.J. Spaun

11 a.m. — Viktor Hovland, Nick Taylor

11:15 a.m. — Gary Woodland, Danny Lee

11:25 a.m. — Patton Kizzire, Tyrrell Hatton

11:35 a.m. — C.T. Pan, Brian Stuard

11:45 a.m. — Harry Higgs, Brandon Wu

11:55 a.m. — Russell Knox, Brice Garnett

12:05 p.m. — Luke Donald, Adam Svensson

12:15 p.m. — Greyson Sigg, Nate Lashley

12:25 p.m. — Shane Lowry, Scott Stallings

12:35 p.m. — Bernd Wiesberger, Sahith Theegala

12:50 p.m. — Stewart Cink, Matt Kuchar

1 p.m. — Tommy Fleetwood, Kevin Streelman

1:10 p.m. — Tyler Duncan, Alex Noren

1:20 p.m. — Troy Merritt, Xander Schauffele

1:30 p.m. — Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman

1:40 p.m. — Adam Hadwin, Robert Streb

1:50 p.m. — Justin Thomas, Sam Burns

2 p.m. — Davis Riley, Matthew NeSmith

How to bet on the Valspar Championship

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

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