Golf Network News
Sunday 22 March 2026PGA TourYear in Review
Fitzpatrick wins Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Copperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Florida · Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 March 2026 · Matt Fitzpatrick’s win no. 3 on the PGA Tour · purse $9,100,000 USD · Valspar
The headline is set by GNN from the record. Reports from the papers of the day are below as they are found.
The weather
12 h 00 m
of daylight on the final day, the sun 62° up at noon, and that night a waxing crescent moon (computed from the date and the place).
- R120°/13°C · wind 29 km/h NNE, gusts 42 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R220°/14°C · wind 26 km/h NNE, gusts 36 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R319°/16°C · wind 18 km/h NW, gusts 24 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
- R420°/18°C · wind 16 km/h W, gusts 23 · 0 mm rainERA5 reanalysis at the course Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis
The name over time
Not yet traced: its earlier names, sponsors and courses come with research.
The ones it got away from
- David Lipsky USA · 274Birdied 14 to tie, missed from 15 feet at 17, then from a quirky lie in the rough his 30-foot birdie try on 18 just missed left; closed 70. AP via theScore
135 started · cut +1, 74 made it
Same week
PGA Tour event
Valspar Championship
Innisbrook Resort, Copperhead Course, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Copperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Florida
5 of 5 researched
Winner
Matt Fitzpatrick
Runner-up not yet researched.
From the papers
Associated Press (via theScore)
22 March 2026
To lose it right at the death is always difficult to take.
Associated Press (via theScore)
22 March 2026
The big thing was I felt I was playing well. I wanted to continue that and felt like I had the confidence in myself to do so. To do that for four rounds was special this week.
Associated Press (via theScore)
22 March 2026
I was right in between clubs. I took a more aggressive play. Almost pulled it off. It was close. Hats off to Matt.
Top 10
| Pos | Player | Rounds | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 68 · 69 · 68 · 68 | 273 | −11 |
| 2 | David Lipsky | 69 · 65 · 70 · 70 | 274 | −10 |
| 3 | Jordan Smith | 69 · 68 · 72 · 66 | 275 | −9 |
| T4 | Xander Schauffele | 68 · 72 · 71 · 65 | 276 | −8 |
| T4 | Marco Penge | 69 · 68 · 68 · 71 | 276 | −8 |
| T4 | Sungjae Im | 64 · 69 · 69 · 74 | 276 | −8 |
| T7 | Emiliano Grillo | 71 · 70 · 71 · 65 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | Stephan Jaeger | 71 · 72 · 68 · 66 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | Patrick Cantlay | 70 · 69 · 71 · 67 | 277 | −7 |
| T7 | S.H. Kim | 72 · 68 · 67 · 70 | 277 | −7 |
The golfer
born 1994-09-01, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England; ENG; turned pro 2014; age 31 that week; tour wins to date: 3; majors to date: 1; world No. 15 that week (OWGR rank entering the week (rankBefore 15 -> rankAfter 6), OWGR player profile).
What’s in the bag
- Driver Titleist GT3 9°, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 TX
- Fairway Wood TaylorMade Qi35 15°, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 75 TX
- Fairway Wood TaylorMade Qi35 18°, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Orange 75 TX
- Irons Ping i210 3-4, Project X LZ 6.5
- Irons Ping S55 5-PW, Project X LZ 6.5
- Wedge Titleist Vokey SM10 52°, True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 X100
- Wedge Titleist Vokey SM10 56°, 60°, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S300
- Putter Bettinardi DASS BB1
- Ball Titleist Pro V1x
standard bag, not confirmed for this week