Viktor Hovland finds a swing that
works and rallies to beat Justin Thomas at Innisbrook
[March 24, 2025]
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) Viktor Hovland won the Valspar
Championship on Sunday and has no idea how it happened.
His swing is so out of sorts that Hovland has gone through five
coaches since he won the FedEx Cup in 2023. He had gone eight months
without making a 36-hole cut against a full field and felt so lost
he wasn't even sure he was going to play this week.
And then he delivered one world-class shot after another, none more
impressive than a 7-iron from 186 yards over a bunker to 5 feet on
No. 16, the toughest hole on the Copperhead course.
Three shots behind with five to play, he rallied with three birdies
to pass Justin Thomas and close with a 4-under 67 for a one-shot
victory.
Its been quite the struggle the past year-and-a-half, so for me to
come back and win this tournament is quite incredible, Hovland
said. I was not very hopeful with my game leading into this week.
Just goes to show this game is pretty crazy.
Wasn't sure I was going to show up, but I'm glad I did.
He didn't leave satisfied that his game was back in order. There's
still too many errant shots, too many times he feels the club is out
of position and he has to find a fix on the way down.
But he found a swing that worked on the toughest stretch of
Innisbrook.
I honestly did not believe I could do it this week, Hovland said.
It looked bleak even after Hovland and Thomas finally separated from
the pack during a final round so tight that nine players had at
least a share of the lead at some point.
Hovland was three shots behind Thomas when he holed a 12-foot birdie
putt on the par-5 14th to start his amazing run. He hit 7-iron at a
tucked pin on the 16th hole the toughest hole on the Copperhead
course to 5 feet for birdie that tied him for the lead.
And then he took dead aim to a back pin on the par-3 17th to 12 feet
for birdie, which turned into a two-shot cushion when Thomas
faltered late.
Thomas made it a little easier on Hovland. He made four birdies in a
five-hole stretch on the back nine and was ahead by three when he
walked off the 15th green. But he chose driver on the 16th and hit
that into the trees, leaving him no choice but to chip out to the
fairway. Thomas had to get up-and-down from a bunker to escape with
bogey.
Hovland caught him with his birdie on the 16th, and Thomas was in
trouble on the 18th with a drive into deep rough on the left that
led to bogey. He was 7 under through 15 holes but had to settle for
a 66.
Hovland played it safe on the 18th with a two-shot lead, and his
bogey only determined the final margin. He finished at 11-under 273
for his seventh career victory that moves him back into the top 10
in the world.
This one he might not have seen coming.
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Viktor Hovland, of Norway, kisses the trophy after winning the
Valspar Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 23, 2025, at
Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Hovland spoke openly about the frustrations of his
supreme ball-striking becoming a liability. He missed three straight
cuts coming into the Valspar Championship, including an 80 in the
first round of The Players Championship a week ago. Hovland's last
made cut against a full field was the Scottish Open last summer.
So, what happened?
I've got no idea, he said with a laugh when his victory was
secure.
Jacob Bridgeman, who started with a three-way share of the lead,
needed to hole out from the fairway on the 18th to force a playoff.
He wound up with a par and finished third.
I hit a lot of disgusting shots, but they happened to go where I
looked, Hovland said. Somehow I was able to hit the good shots I
can a lot more often.
There were only great shots down the stretch. Hovland chose to lay
up on the 14th he went for the green in two on Saturday and made
bogey and had to rely on a 12-foot, slippery birdie putt to have
any chance. That was a big one to make it.
The pin on the 16th was back right, protected in front and to the
right by a bunker, and his shot never left the flag. And then came
the shot and birdie putt on the 17th.
Thomas was left to wonder what went wrong. His always hits driver on
the 16th and figured the worse he could make was 5. He quickly
realized Hovland did plenty of good.
I've had plenty of chances this season, but nothing quite like
that, said Thomas, whose last victory was the 2022 PGA Championship
at Southern Hills.
I felt so good out there, so excited for every shot, he said.
Hell, there's not much I can do. He birdied 16 and 17. I obviously
made it a lot easier. It's really hard but really fun trying to
win golf tournaments.
Bud Cauley (66), Billy Horschel (67) and Ryo Hisatsune (68) tied for
fourth. Horschel delivered the most incredible shot at Innisbrook
when his ball settled up against a tree on the par-5 fifth hole. He
inverted a 9-iron and swung left-handed, hitting it 117 yards onto
the green and converting the birdie putt from just outside 30 feet.
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