Blog#225 Results Valspar Championship March 24, 2025

Blog#225 Results Valspar Championship March 24, 2025

ROUND 1 Very windy & rain. SP Snake Pit holes #16,17,18.

1 Keith Mitchell-4 67 Two bogies 7 birdies, bogies last 2holes. FINISH 57+2

1 Jacob Bridgeman-4 67 Bogies 1st 2 holes, 1 eagle 5 birdies, 2 bogies. FINISH 3-9

9 Billy Horschel-3 68 2 birdies 1 bogie SP-1. FINISH 4-8

23 Viktor Hovland-1 70 Three birdies 2 bogies 1 on SP17. FINISH Wins

23 X Schauffele-1 70 Four birdies 3 bogies 1 on SP. FINISH 12-5

39 Shane Lowry E 71 Two birdies 2 bogies 1 on SP#17. FINISH 8-6

39 Corey Conners E 71 Poor putting, not the start he needed. FINISH 8-6

61 Tommy Fleetwood+1 72 Picked 3rd to win, 4 bogies in a row 3 to 6. FINISH 16-4

78 Justin Thomas+2 73 Birdies #1 then 5 bogies front 9, 2 birdies back. FINISH 2-10

78 Peter Malnati+2 73 Six bogies 4 birdies. FINISH Cut+4

98 Jordan Spieth+3 74 Eagles 1st hole then 7 bogies 2 birdies. FINISH 28-2

ROUND 2 Weather Sunny and clear, Cool in AM.

1 Jacob Bridgeman-6 69 One eagle 3 birdies 3 bogies SP+1.

2 Viktor Hovland-5 67 Best RD in a long time 1 bogie 5 birdies SP-1.

2 Ben An-5 67 One bogie 5 birdies SP Par. RD4 bogies 5 of last 7 holes. FINISH 16-4

5 Shane Lowry-4 Six birdies on his front 9 all pars on back 9 SP-2.

5 X Schauffele-4 68 Two bogies 5 birdies SP-1, RD3 75.

53 Jordan Spieth+1 69 Starts with 5 birdies 1st 11 holes, then-3 on last 4.

53 Justin Thomas+1 70 One bogie 2 birdies. SP Par.

ROUND 3 Wind 10 MPH 72*

Hovland, Thomas, or Bridgeton should win, Echavarria has 2 PGA wins.

1 Jacob Bridgeman-7 70 He bogies 1st then 3 bogies 5 birdies stays tied for lead.

1 Viktor Hovland-7 69 One bogie 3 birdies to tie for lead, he may win SP Par.

1 N Echavarria-7 66 Bogie free 5 birdies lowest RD of the day SP-1.

5 Justin Thomas-5 65 Great back 9 eagle on 11 then 4 birdies 1 bogie SP-1.

5 Shane Lowry-5 70 Two birdies 1 bogie, probably another top 10 SP Par.

FINAL RD COMMENTARY

After Rd3 there were 10 players within 2 shots of the lead, so all had a chance.

However as noted above I felt only 4 could win, and the 2 top players proved that.

Hovland birdied his 1st 2 holes and took a 2 stroke lead. However Thomas birdied 7 of the 1st 15 holes to take a 3 stroke lead thru 13.

Bridgeman had a DB on #4, then 4 birdies on next 10 holes but bogies 16.

Echavarria disappeared with 5 bogies SP-2.

Hovland made 4 birdies 11 to 17, caught Thomas on 16 when he bogies.

1 Viktor Hovland-11 67 Struggled last 2 years, last win Tour Champ 2023 $1.7M

2 Justin Thomas-10 66 Difficult loss with 2 bogies on last 3 hoes. $948K

3 Jacob Bridgeman-9 70 Led for first 3 RDs, 1 DB on #4 cost him. $600K

4 Billy Horschel-8 69 Good tournament, all RDs par or under. $366

8 Shane Lowry-6 Starts RD4 with 2 birdies but then all pars and 1 bogie. $246K

16 Nico Echavarria-4 Difficult for him to stay in contention & follow RD3. $128K

FEEL GOOD STORY

Jacob Bridgeman 24 year old rookie, Clemson grad, missed 2 cuts this year in 8 tournaments,

2nd at Cognizant, 15th A. Palmer, 50th Players and so close on this one, made $2M this year.