Round 4 - Paul Casey wins Valspar, Woods T2

March 11, 2018

Tiger Woods came up just short of his 80th US PGA Tour title on Sunday at the Valspar Championship, where it was England's Paul Casey ending a victory drought with a one-stroke triumph.

Woods, the 14-time major champion playing just his fourth Tour event since spinal fusion surgery last April, showed he's a contender again as he fired a one-under-par 70 to share second on nine-under 275 -- one stroke behind Casey who surged to his second US PGA Tour title with a 65 for 274.

"I think I've gotten a little better than what I was a couple of weeks ago," Woods said.

"I keep getting just a little better and a little sharper. Today I wasn't quite as sharp as I would like to have had it, but I had a good shot at winning this golf tournament."

Woods' fusion surgery ended a brief comeback bid last year. He remains in search of his first title since 2013 -- but on Sunday it finally looked as if it wasn't a question of whether that drought will end but when.

He opened with a birdie on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort near Tampa, Florida, but gave that stroke back with a bogey at the fourth.

Woods didn't find another birdie until the 17th, where he drained a putt of almost 45 feet to close within one stroke of Casey's clubhouse lead and send his massive gallery into a frenzy.

He couldn't repeat the feat at the 18th to force a playoff, however, another long birdie try coming up a couple of feet short.

Woods finished the day tied for second with fellow American Patrick Reed.

Reed opened his round with a 60-foot eagle putt from the collar of the green at the first. He was 10-under through 17, but dropped out of playoff contention with a shocking bogey at the last, where his first putt failed to make it to the upper tier of the green where the pin was located.

Casey had four birdies and a bogey on his front nine, then seized control with three birdies on the trot at 11, 12 and 13 that moved him to 10-under.

Casey said keeping bogeys off his card over the demanding closing holes was key.

"The clean-ups on 16, 17 and 18 -- fantastic," Casey said. "I've not done that in a long time and that's the difference. That's what I need to do."

The 40-year-old has 17 victories on the European Tour, the most recent coming at the KLM Open in September of 2014.

A three-time Ryder Cup player for Europe, his only previous US tour title came at the 2009 Houston Open.

"To get this one, to get my second one on the PGA tour is emotional. I'm so happy for it," Casey said, noting that winning any tournament on one of the world's elite tours is just difficult.

"(Woods) made it look easy for such a long time, and it's not," he said.

Spain's Sergio Garcia put in an encouraging performance as he warms up for the defense of his Masters title, firing a final round 65 to finish alone in fourth on eight-under 276.

More scores.

Round 3 - Conners' lead shrinking, Woods one behind

March 10, 2018

Tiger Woods had the crowd roaring, but rookie Corey Conners held his nerve to stay one stroke ahead of the former world number one after three rounds of the Valspar Championship.

Woods, playing his fourth US PGA Tour event since returning in January from spinal fusion surgery last April, fired a four-under par 67 that left him tied for second on eight-under 205 alongside former US Open champion Justin Rose of England and American Brandt Snedeker.

They're chasing Conners, who carded a 68 for 204 to maintain the lead he has held since the first round.

But once again Woods was the center of attention, and after years of battling injury he gave his fans what they wanted to see.

"The environment was incredible," Woods said of the boisterous gallery that followed him. "People were into it... it's been incredible."

"I've played myself right there into contention, so it should be a fun Sunday," said the 14-time major champion, who is chasing an 80th US PGA Tour title.

The 42-year-old, who has spoken of playing with a "new body" after the fusion surgery, swung with a clubhead speed measured as the fastest in the field.

His sharp short game was on full display when he chipped in for birdie from 30 feet away in the greenside rough at the par-four ninth, his ball rolling neatly into the middle of the cup.

"Nine was good," Woods said. "It rolled in just like a putt, which was nice.

Woods hasn't been in this good a position to add to his total since he finished tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship in August of 2015, and he hasn't lifted a trophy since the 2013 World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational.

After his birdies at the ninth and 10th, Woods was tied with Conners for the lead.

He couldn't convert birdie opportunities from within eight feet on his next two holes, and his lone bogey of the day at 13 saw him briefly drop three behind Conners -- who had just made his sixth birdie of the day at 12.

Woods responded in style, blazing a drive 327 yards at the par-five 14th to set up a birdie that put him back at eight-under.

Conners bogeyed 16 to see his lead shrink.

But he got up and down for par from a bunker at 17, and when his ball moved slightly on the 18th green he stayed calm, consulted a rules official and finished out with a par.

"I tried to get relaxed as early as possible and fortunately got off to a good start and kind of settled me down nicely," Conners said. "Kept things pretty solid throughout the round."

Woods will play in the penultimate group on Sunday alongside Snedeker who also carded a 67 while Rose fired a five-under 66 -- highlighted by an eagle at the 11th -- to reach eight-under.

Rose said his eagle "ignited things" for him. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie at the 12th and added another at 15.

"I putted really, really well on the back nine," Rose said. "Every putt I had I thought it was going to go in."

But even playing in a different group, Rose was aware of the electricity surrounding Woods.

"We've been hearing it all week," Rose said. "I think two or three times on the golf course our paths crossed, there's a lot more fuss going on the periphery."

Round 2 - Corey Conners retains lead, Woods T2

March 09, 2018

PGA TOUR rookie and Canada native Corey Conners retained the solo lead he held after round one, with rounds of 67-69—136 (-6) to hold a two-stroke lead over five players, including former FedExCup champions Tiger Woods and Brandt Snedeker. Paul Casey, Ryan Palmer and Kelly Kraft also share second place.

Conners is the only player in the field with both rounds in the 60s.

He came into the week as third alternate, received his spot in the field when Kyle Stanley withdrew and learned of it after shooting a 71 in the Monday Qualifier, which would have not been enough to play his way in. The last alternate to win on the PGA TOUR was Vaughn Taylor at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

He is making his 11th start of the 2017-18 PGA TOUR Season, with a T29 at the Farmers Insurance Open being his best finish. In 10 starts this season, Conners has failed to advance to the final round once – missing the 54-hole cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win four of 17 times this season, most recently Austin Cook at The RSM Classic.

The only second-round leaders/co-leaders of the Valspar Championship to hang on for the win have been K.J. Choi (2002 and 2006), Retief Goosen (2003) and Adam Hadwin (2017).

Paul Casey shot 3-under 32 on his closing nine holes for a 68 to follow his first-round 70 and sit T2.

Friday’s 68 markedBrandt Snedeker’s first round in the 60s in this event since a third-round 67 in 2012. He’s now posted 11 of 32 rounds in the 60s at the Valspar Championship.

Snedeker’s only blemish on the scorecard in the second round was a bogey at the par-3 8th hole. He also bogeyed No. 8 in the opening round.

In his first appearance at the Valspar Championship, Tiger Woods dropped a shot at his final hole (No. 9) to shoot a second-round 3-under 68 to sit T2 after 36 holes. The lone bogey of his round came when he missed the green from 114 yards out of the left rough and failed to convert a 6-foot putt to save par. Woods was seeking his first bogey-free round on the PGA TOUR since the final round of The Greenbrier Classic in 2015 (3-under 67/finished T32).

He took the solo-lead at 5-under through 14 holes of the second round just before noon (ET). The last time Woods held a solo lead at the end of a round on the PGA TOUR was at the conclusion of the 2013 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, winning by seven strokes, his most recent of 79 victories. The last time he held a share of the lead at the end of a round was after round two of the 2015 Wyndham Championship.

Woods hit 8 of 13 fairways, 11 of 18 greens in regulation and got up-and-down 6 of 7 times. He used 26 putts to hole a total of 57 feet, 7 inches of putts and improved his proximity to the hole on approach shots from 44 feet in round one to 34 feet, 7 inches in round two.

It’s the first time since the 2015 Wyndham Championship (64-65) that Woods has opened an official PGA TOUR event with consecutive under-par rounds. In the first round, Woods played the “Snake Pit” holes, Nos. 16-18 in 1-under (par-birdie-par). He made three pars on the same holes in Friday’s second round.

After a first-round 72, Ryan Palmer mixed six birdies with one bogey in round two for a 5-under 66 to sit T2. Friday’s 66 marks his low 18-hole score in 30 rounds at this event.

With 68-70 in the first two rounds, Kelly Kraft opened a PGA TOUR event with two sub-par rounds for the first time since The RSM Classic earlier this season (70-65) to sit T2 in his second start at the Valspar Championship (T65/2017).

Kraft, who missed the cut in four of his last six starts, comes to this week’s Valspar Championship after finishing T8 at The Honda Classic two weeks ago.

During rounds of 71-68, 2008 Valspar Championship winner Sean O’Hair recorded 10 birdies (most of any player in the field) and an eagle in 36 holes at the Valspar Championship. The eagle came at the par-4 6th in the second round when he holed out from 193 yards, his third career hole-out from outside 190 yards on the PGA TOUR.

52-year-old Bob Estes posted a pair of 70s to sit T12. Estes, a four-time TOUR winner entered the 2017-18 season on a Major Medical Extension with eight available events to earn 300 FedExCup points or $479,415 to remain exempt for the remainder of the season. His injury dates back to 2013-14 season that limited him to just two starts that year. Estes only other start this season resulted in a missed cut at The Honda Classic. Estes finished T5 at last week’s Cologuard Classic, his first start of the season on PGA TOUR Champions. It was his third top-10 in 10 starts since turning 50 in February 2016.

Of the four Monday qualifiers, three advanced to the weekend (T.J. Vogel/T38, Trey Mullinax/T12, Jack Maguire/MC and Sam Ryder/T59).

South Africa’s Tyrone Van Aswegen fired a bogey-free, second-round 65, the low round of the tournament, to sit T12. Van Aswegen played the first nine holes of his opening round in 4-over 40. This marked the second year in a row that Van Aswegen scored 65 in the second round at the Valspar Championship. It also marks the ninth time he’s shot 65, his career low 18-hole score on TOUR.

With 122 non-member FedExCup points to his credit this season, Sam Burns, who was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round of The Honda Classic two weeks ago to finish T8, can seek Special Temporary Membership of the PGA TOUR if he matches the points earned by the player at No. 150 in last season’s FedExCup standings (269 by Rick Lamb). Burns, currently T12, would need a two-way tie for third or better to surpass 269 FedExCup non-member points.

Defending Valspar Championship winner Adam Hadwin sits T20 after rounds of 71-70. En route to his win last year, Hadwin held a one-stroke lead over Jim Herman, at 10-under after 36 holes.

Following rounds of 76-71, 2015 Valspar Championship winner Jordan Spieth missed the cut for the first time in five starts at this event.

In his first start at the Valspar Championship, Rory McIlroy posted a total of four birdies during rounds of 74-73 to miss the cut, his 18th missed cut in 135 career starts on TOUR.

One of the two amateurs competing in this week’s Valspar Championship advanced to the weekend. University of Illinois senior Dylan Meyer recorded 70-74 to extend his stay at Innisbrook, while Georgia Tech sophomore Ty Strafaci missed the cut (75-76).

This week’s Valspar Championship marks the last chance for players to get inside the top 64 in the Official World Golf Rankings and qualify for the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. The event will be contested the week of March 19-25 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.

Charles Howell III extended his number of 36-hole cuts made at the Valspar Championship to 12 (15 starts), the most of any player at this event.

After missing the cut in his last four starts at the Valspar Championship, World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els (71-74) advanced to the weekend on the number. It’s the 359th made cut in 451 career starts on TOUR for Els (80%).

Although Brian Gay missed the cut, he made his 17th appearance in the tournament, the most of any player, breaking a tie with two-time Valspar Championship winner K.J. Choi.

Bryson DeChambeau withdrew with a sore back before the second round.

The Valspar Championship is the fourth event this season with an over-par cut (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open/+1, Genesis Open/+2, The Honda Classic/+5, Valspar Championship/+3).

Round 1 - Conners leading Valspar, Tiger fights for 1-under

March 08, 2018

Tiger Woods dug deep to card his first sub-par tournament start since 2015 on Thursday, fighting through blustery conditions to shoot a one-under-par 70 in the opening round of the Valspar Championship.

The latest leg of the 14-time major winner's comeback was a roller coaster affair on the challenging par-71 Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort northwest of Tampa, Florida.

The 42-year-old former world number one shot five birdies, four bogeys and nine pars to finish the day with a cluster of 20 players who were three back from first-round leader Corey Conners, who posted a four-under-par 67.

Woods said afterward he was satisfied with how his game had held up in conditions he described as "brutal."

"Today was a very good test of all the things that I'm trying to implement," Woods said. "The winds out there were howling and swirling but I felt like I really controlled the ball well for most of the day.

"I'm still working on it. I'm getting a little better, piece by piece."

Woods got off to a dream start on the 560-yard par-five first hole, reaching the green in three to set up a tap-in for an easy birdie.

After missing two long birdie putts on the third and fourth holes for back-to-back pars, Woods dropped a shot on the par-three fourth after over-hitting off the tee.

He then made his third par of the day on the 605-yard par-five fifth, before having another birdie chance on the sixth where his 23-foot putt came up just short.

An easier chance was missed on the seventh, when he fluffed a six-foot putt.

Woods made no mistake, though, on the par-three eighth, when a six-iron off the tee left him a 13-foot birdie putt which he duly rolled in to move to one under.

But just when it looked as if Woods was building some momentum, he was pegged back with his second bogey of the day on the short par-four ninth.

Woods' solid short game began to reap dividends, though, after the turn when he moved to two under with a pair of birdies.

Yet Woods' inconsistent putting haunted him once more on the 12th, when a five-foot par putt lipped out to see him record his third bogey of the day.

Woods was in trouble again on the par-three 13th when he landed in the rough off the tee and then failed to get up and down to slip back to even.

After pars on the 14th and 15th, Woods needed an incredible recovery on the 16th -- blasting out from a cluster of trees to near the front of the green -- to set up another save.

A magnificent five iron tee shot on the 17th to within a few feet gave him his fifth birdie of the day before he closed the round with a par.

Scores