PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Taylor Moore was by no means actually the star attraction Sunday on the Valspar Championship till he had completed hitting all the correct pictures and posed with the trophy for his first PGA Tour title, which sends him to the Masters.
Adam Schenk and Jordan Spieth offered sufficient compelling theater for a lot of the day, locked in a battle on the again 9 of the Copperhead course at Innisbrook.
When it was over, all they shared was misfortune.
Moore surged into the combo with a 9-iron to five toes for birdie on the fifteenth gap and a 25-foot birdie putt on the sixteenth gap, adopted by two robust pars for a 4-under 67.
That turned out to be a winner when Spieth hit his tee shot into the water on the sixteenth and Schenk, additionally going for his first PGA Tour victory, hit a drive on the ultimate gap that settled subsequent to a big pine tree. He made bogey and completed one shot behind.
Moore, who grew up outdoors Oklahoma Metropolis, was on the apply vary anticipating a playoff when he realized he had received at 10-under 274.
“I might need been beneath the radar to some individuals watching, however I felt like I used to be within the golf event from the time I teed off at this time and was simply excited to manage what I may management and get it performed,” Moore mentioned.
The victory sends him to the Masters in three weeks, a welcome addition to his schedule.
Spieth was tied for the lead when he despatched his tee shot into the water on the sixteenth and managed to remain within the sport by getting up-and-down from 163 yards to salvage bogey. On the par-3 seventeenth, which yielded solely two birdies all day, Spieth hit 4-iron to six toes — solely to overlook the birdie putt.
Tommy Fleetwood was a part of a three-way tie early on the again 9 till he took bogey on the par-5 14th. Spieth did not understand anybody else was within the combine.
“I assumed it was me and Adam. I assumed it was all the way down to us two,” Spieth mentioned. “I used to be considering it was Tommy one again of us with a number of holes to go and so I assumed we may nonetheless form of management it from the final group. Then I noticed 10 (beneath) was posted strolling off 16 inexperienced.”
The true heartbreak belonged to Schenk, whose spouse flew all the way down to Florida for the ultimate spherical a month earlier than she is due with their first baby. Schenk holed a 70-foot birdie putt on the twelfth gap. He made robust par saves on the sixteenth and seventeenth holes to remain tied.
On the 18th, nevertheless, he pulled his tee shot to the left. It was roughly the identical line as Moore had hit his tee shot earlier, solely Schenk’s ball rolled by means of the gallery and stopped subsequent to a pine tree.
“Want I may have flippantly hit anyone and stayed the place I had an opportunity to get to the inexperienced, however it didn’t, and I did not deserve it,” Schenk mentioned.
His solely shot was hitting an inverted hole wedge left-handed, and it was a dandy, capturing throughout the golf green into the tough. His third shot got here up simply wanting a ridge and rolled onto the perimeter 40 toes away. The par putt to drive a playoff hit the outlet, however had an excessive amount of tempo and hopped out.
Schenk, enjoying for the tenth consecutive week so he can take day without work when his son is born, closed with a 70.
“It stinks to get so shut,” he mentioned.
Spieth missed a par putt on the 18th that was value FedEx Cup factors and cash, signed for a 70 and tied for third with Fleetwood.
Nobody was paying all that a lot consideration to Moore till the 29-year-old who performed at Arkansas began hitting one high quality shot after one other. He stuffed his strategy to 2 toes on No. 12 for a birdie. He successfully received the event with an ideal swing with a 9-iron on the fifteenth and his massive putt on the following gap.
Moore bought up-and-down for par with an extended bunker shot on the seventeenth, and he two-putted from about 70 toes simply off the inexperienced on the 18th.
The victory for Moore was value $1,458,000 and moved him to No. 9 within the FedEx Cup standings. Together with the Masters, he will get within the PGA Championship. He moved from No. 103 to simply inside the highest 50 on this planet.
