Peter Malnati wins Valspar
Championship for first title since 2015
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[March 25, 2024]
Peter Malnati rolled in five birdies, charged up the
leaderboard and captured the Valspar Championship title on Sunday in
Palm Harbor, Fla., for his second career PGA Tour event and his
first since November 2015.
The victory qualified Malnati, 36, for his first career Masters in
three weeks, which he called "the realization of another childhood
dream."
"That will be amazing," said Malnati, who entered the week ranked
No. 184 in the world. "But I think more of what has sunk in to me
is, this guarantees me that -- this is my 10th season on the PGA
Tour -- it guarantees me that I'm going to have 12 (years), at
least."
Malnati began the day two off the pace before shooting a 4-under 67
in his final round at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course. He
finished the week 12-under 272, beating Cameron Young by two
strokes.
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On the tee at the 198-yard, par-3 17th hole, Malnati stuck a 5-iron
shot 6 feet from the cup. He walked in the ensuing putt for birdie.
Up ahead, Young hit a bad drive at the par-4 18th, but somehow found
the green from between the trees. But from 42 feet away, Young could
only three-putt bogey to finish with a 68 and drop to 10 under.
That sequence gave Malnati all the separation he needed at the end
of the day.
"I obviously didn't have it in real time knowing what Cameron Young
was making on all the holes, but I knew I was -- when I stood over
the 6-footer on 17, I was tied for the lead," Malnati said. "I knew
before I hit my second shot on 18 that I had a two-shot lead."
For Young, the 26-year-old who won the tour's Rookie of the Year
award in 2021-22, this marked his seventh career runner-up finish
without a title to his name yet.
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"I think I kept myself in it mentally really well,"
Young said. "I hit a couple shots I was really proud of late. Those
two par-3s on the back, both kind of can bite you. ... But I think I
handled my own thoughts really well and, for me, that's a big win
regardless of the outcome."
Chandler Phillips (69) and Canada's Mackenzie
Hughes (70) tied for third at 9 under.
Xander Schauffele tied the low round of the day with a 6-under 65
that featured an eagle and four birdies over his final eight holes;
Schauffele tied for fifth at 8 under with Ryan Moore (68), China's
Carl Yuan (68) and Canada's Adam Hadwin (69).
Yuan had a remarkable day that saw him hole out no fewer than three
shots from off the green -- an eagle from the fairway at the par-5
fifth; a 56-foot chip at the par-3 eighth that bounced off the stick
and curled in; and another chip-in birdie at the par-4 12th that had
him briefly tied for the lead.
"(To) kind of just look back on the weeks I do well, I play
aggressive, enjoy hitting shots," Yuan said. "Like, when I hit a
shot, the ball, as soon as it leave the club face, I can turn around
confidently no matter where the ball goes."
Keith Mitchell began the day with the lead and played in the final
group with Ireland's Seamus Power, but both players surprisingly
dropped out of contention quickly. Mitchell shot a 6-over 77 and
finished tied for 17th at 4 under, and Power carded a 5-over 76 to
tie for 26th at 3 under.
--Field Level Media
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