Somehow, somehow, Victor Hofland concluded his Florida swing with a victory at the Valsper Championship a week after firing his first round 80 with the TPC Sawgrass.
He began the day with a lead share with Nico Echabaria and Jacob Bridgeman, but quickly seized control on birdies on two of his first three holes. Hofland then cooled a bit and dropped the shot in par 4 7th place, making it a tie with Justin Thomas, above the 8-under-par leaderboard. However, Thomas set the fire on the back nine and jumped to 12 under, winning four birdies on a five-hole stretch. After Thomas birded on the par 3 15th, Thomas appeared to snap a long, unwinning drought, not Hofland. Still, Hovland never folded. Instead, Thomas made a bogey by finishing 10 under on the 16th and 18th of the challenging par-4. Hofland birded the 16th thanks to a luxurious approach from 186 yards that settled six feet away. That proved the difference as Hovland added another par breaker on the PAR-3 17th. He then played on the 18th and had a two-shot cushion when he ultimately won by stroke.
This victory will bring him his first victory since the 2023 Tour Championship at East Lake, and also gives him momentum to go to Augusta National next month. Hovland's swing has been everywhere these days, but perhaps he can enter this groove into most of his major championship season.
Valspar Championship Final Leaderboard & Payout:
1. ViktorHovland -11 – $1,566,000
2. Justin Thomas-10 – $948,300
3. Jacob Bridgeman-9 – $600,300
T4. Billy Hotshell-8 – $366,126
T4. Bud Cauley -8 – $366,126
T4. Ryo hissune -8 – $366,126
7. Davis Riley-7 – $293,626
T8. Lucas Glover-6 – $237,076
T8. Seamus Power -6 – $237,076
T8. Shane Laurie-6 – $237,076
T8. Corey Conners -6 – $237,076
T12. Kevin Yu -5 – $178,350
T12. Eric Call-5 – $178,350
T12. Xander Schauffele -5 – $178,350
T12. Ricky Castillo-5 – $178,350
T16. Nico Echavarria -4 – $128,326
T16. Henrik Norlander -4 – $128,326
T16. Tommy Fleetwood-4 – $128,326
T16. Byeong Hun an -4 – $128,326
T16. Sam Rider-4 – $128,326
T16. Matt McCarty -4 – $128,326
T22. Rasmus Neergaard -Petersen -3 – $81,200
T22. Emiliano Grillo-3 – $81,200
T22. Thomas Detrey-3 – $81,200
T22. Victor Perez-3 – $81,200
T22. Jeremy Paul-3 – $81,200
T22. Joe Highsmith -3 – $81,200
T28. Jordan Spieth-2 – $55,844
T28. Michael Kim-2 – $55,844
T28. Matti Schmid -2 – $55,844
T28. JT Poston -2 – $55,844
T28. Sepp Straka -2 – $55,844
T28. Patrick Fishburne-2 – $55,844
T28. Steven Fisk -2 – $55,844
T28. Mac Meissner -2 – $55,844
T36. Thorbjørn Olesen-1 – $40,528
T36. Mackenzie Hughes -1 – $40,528
T36. Stephan Jaeger -1 – $40,528
T36. Sahith theegala -1 – $40,528
T36. Sami Valimaki -1 – $40,528
T36. Tom Kim-1 – $40,528
T42. Andrew Novak E – $31,756
T42. Noah Goodwin E – $31,756
T42. Kaito Onishi E – $31,756
T42. Chandler Phillips E – $31,756
T42. Luke Clanton (a)E – $0
T47. Ryan Fox+1 – $23,702
T47. Gary Woodland +1 – $23,702
T47. Neal Shipley +1 – $23,702
T47. Danny Willett+1 – $23,702
T47. Mark Hubbard +1 – $23,702
T47. Matthieu Pavon +1 – $23,702
T54. Keith Mitchell +2 – $20,678
T54. Harry Hall +2 – $20,678
T54. Max McGreevy +2 – $20,678
T57. Adam Scott +3 – $19,750
T57. Brandt Snedeker +3 – $19,750
T57. CT PAN +3 – $19,750
T57. David Lipsky +3 – $19,750
T57. Doug Ghim +3 – $19,750
T57. Kevin Velo +3 – $19,750
T57. Ryan Gerald +3 – $19,750
T64. Luchrist +4 – $18,706
T64. Nate Lashley +4 – $18,706
T64. Sam Stevens +4 – $18,706
T64. Jesper Svensson +4 – $18,706
T64. John Pack +4 – $18,706
69. Wil Chandler +5 – $18,184
T70. Camilo Villegas +6 – $17,574
T70. Kevin Kisner +6 – $17,574
T70. Raphael Campos +6 – $17,574
T70. Beau Hossler +6 – $17,574
T70. Braden Thornberry +6 – $17,574
T70. Mason Anderson +6 – $17,574
76. AntoineRozner+7 – $16,966
77. KrisVentura +8 – $16,792
78. AaronBaddeley+10 – $16,618
Jack Mirco is a golf staff writer who plays SB Nation. Follow him with x @jack_milko.
