PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Paul Casey got the battle he expected Sunday in the Valspar Championship.
Just not from Dustin Johnson.
Casey and everyone else had full attention on a Copperhead course at Innisbrook that made the final round feel more like survival than a shootout. Casey did just that, closing with a 1-over 72 for a one-shot victory that made him the first back-to-back winner in the 19 years of the tournament.
He also became the first winner at Innisbrook with a final round over par.
“It feels very different, but not any less cool,” Casey said after making par from a fairway bunker on the 18th to avoid a playoff with Jason Kokrak (71) and Louis Oosthuizen (69). “That golf course is so difficult that it’s damn near impossible to have a clean round of golf and not make any mistake. But I was composed. I was very keen to play well. I made mistakes, but then, so did everybody else. I got it done, and I couldn’t be happier.”
The course was so dry and fast that no one shot better than 68, and the average score of 72.143 was the second-highest average for a final round this year on the PGA Tour.
Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, started the day one shot behind Casey but failed to make a single birdie and finished with a 74.
LPGA: Jin Young Ko rallied to win the Founders Cup for her third career victory, closing with a 7-under 65 in Phoenix for a one-stroke win over four players.
The 23-year-old South Korean player birdied Nos. 14-16 and parred the final two to finish at 22-under 266. She won when third-round leader Yu Liu missed a 15-foot par putt on the par-4 18th.
Liu shot a 70 to tie for second with Carlota Ciganda and sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda. Ciganda closed with a 69, Jessica Korda eagled the two back-nine par 5s in a 64, and Nelly Korda shot 66.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Scott Hend overcame a rain stoppage and captured the Maybank Championship title with a birdie on the first playoff hole in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Australian made six birdies and was ahead by one shot heading into the final hole, but rain descended and play was halted for close to two hours.
Nacho Elvira made a 30-foot birdie putt after play resumed to reach 15-under 273 and force a playoff.
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