Paul Casey defends title at Valspar Championship

There are no pictures on the scorecard, nor on the trophy that England’s Paul Casey hoisted on Sunday after winning the Valspar Championship for the second straight year.

That might be a good thing, because Casey likely won’t want to see or even think about most of the golf he played over the final round while shooting a 1-over 72. He limited his mistakes and grinded his way to a one-shot victory, letting the tough-as-nails Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla., whittle away his competition down the stretch.

Casey’s performance on Sunday, combined with three solid rounds over the first 54 holes, was good enough to finish at 8-under-par 276 and hold off American Jason Kokrak and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen by a stroke. Kokrak fired a 71 on Sunday while Oosthuizen carded a 69.

“This feels very different from last year — it feels better, I’m enjoying this one so much more,” Casey said afterward. “Today it was a struggle, but all week has been so cool to be defending champion.”

A big part of the 41-year-old Casey’s success this week was the fact that he was 15-under par on the par-5s over the four rounds.

“That’s big — I’m not the longest guy out here but I can still shift it for an old guy,” Casey said. “I need to take advantage of those holes because some of the par-3s around here are so brutal you’re always going to play them over par. So make hay while the sun’s shining, and we did that.”

Bubba Watson fashioned a 68 on Sunday to climb 10 spots and into a tie for fourth with Sungjae Im of South Korea (71) at 6 under.

Casey began the day at 9 under and never surrendered the lead, although there were times when others tied him atop the leaderboard. One of those times happened when Casey bogeyed the par-3 13th, allowing Oosthuizen and Kokrak to join him in first place.

Casey then birdied the par-5 14th after hitting a pitch to within 3 feet to retake the lead. He survived the par-4 16th by again relying on his short game, pitching from a gnarly, deep-grass lie from behind the green to 5 feet and calmly rolling in the ensuing putt.

After Casey bogeyed the 17th to fall back into a tie with Kokrak, he watched from the fairway as Kokrak bogeyed the 18th — not even touching the hole from 5 feet on his par putt.

Casey then hit his approach from a fairway bunker, found the putting surface 23 feet from the cup and two-putted to close out the victory.

It was the third career win for Casey on the PGA Tour (he had 12 European Tour wins and three others internationally) and the first time he has ever defended a title. His victory here last year was his second on the PGA Tour and first since the 2009 Shell Houston Open.

Two of the scenarios that could have played out on Sunday never did.

Casey was paired with Dustin Johnson, the world’s top-ranked player, and those two could have turned the final 18 holes into a match play competition. Bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 by Johnson, who began the day a shot behind Casey in second place, quickly dropped him off the pace and never recovered.

Johnson’s birdie-free 74 was his first over-par final round of the season. He finished tied for sixth at 5 under with Spain’s Jon Rahm (68) and Ryan Armour (69).

It was Johnson’s first round without a birdie in more than two years.

“It’s surprising, but I hit good putts, they just didn’t go in the hole,” Johnson said. “I didn’t feel like I played bad, felt like I was swinging well and I still feel like I’m swinging well, I still got a lot of confidence in the game. But, yeah, tough day, tough conditions, and I wasn’t spot on.”

Casey was also wary that a golfer or two from a few shots off the pace but playing earlier in the day when the course was a little easier might post a good score and sit and watch in the clubhouse as the leaders faltered at the end.

Casey knew of that opportunity because that’s how he won here last year, beginning the final round tied for 11th before carding a 65 and completing his round when the final group was on No. 12.

Thirteen players began the final round within five strokes of the lead to set that table, but the situation never materialized, with the Copperhead Course and the warm and windy conditions allowing a low round of 68 on Sunday, achieved by four golfers.

“The course can play extremely difficult and some of the pin positions were borderline today, as far as slope and then the amount of grass that is around them,” Kokrak said. “They’re baked out, they get extra fast around the holes.”

Instead, Casey trudged along, recording four birdies and four bogeys through the first 14 holes as the last four groups moved into the course’s treacherous “Snake Pit,” which ranks among the toughest closing stretches on Tour.

The PGA Tour heads to a split schedule next week with the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play being competed in Austin beginning Wednesday and the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic teeing off on Thursday.

–Field Level Media