Masters Momentum: The 2018 Valspar Championship

Recent form is a sought-after variable heading into Augusta. The Masters Momentum series looks back at recent winners on the PGA Tour, starting with the Valspar Championship.

Paul Casey’s victory at the 2018 Valspar Championship this past March signified the official one month countdown to The Masters. As tour favorites such as Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and the returning Tiger Woods teed it up at The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, the Augusta implications ran heavy in Palm Harbor, Florida. The opening two rounds alone were full of unexpected cuts, a surprising leader and the reemergence of one of golf’s all-time greats.

While everyone began the tournament on Tiger watch, Woods turned in an impressive 1-under round of 70 in his inaugural outing at the Valspar Championship. With Woods in a tie for eighth, Canada’s own Corey Conners sat atop the leaderboard with an impressive 67 for the 4-under one stroke lead. Two of golf’s elite, Spieth (76) and McIlroy (74), found themselves sitting at the back of the pack early.

The struggles only continued on Friday for the pair of Masters favorites. At the end of the second round both Spieth and McIlory turned in tournament totals of 5-over, each narrowly missing the weekend cut line by one stroke. Conners continued to cement his lead on day two with a 69, pushing his tournament total to 6-under. Ultimately it was another day that belonged to Woods in the eyes of fans around the world.

During the opening moments of his second round Woods did something many doubted he could ever do again. After starting on the back nine, Woods made the turn at 2-under for the day and one shot back of the current lead. Woods grabbed his share of the lead with a birdie at the second and commanded into the par-5 fifth hole with a perfectly placed five foot birdie and the outright lead.

With Spieth and McIlroy packing their bags, the 25-year-old Canadian teed off for Saturday with a cast of heavy hitters and major winners quickly coming for the lead. Zach Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Jim Furyk, just to name a few, all closed the gap during the third round. Once again Woods stole the show as he continued to improve. This time he shot a 4-under round of 67 to put himself one shot off of Conners’ lead heading into Sunday.

Throughout his third round Woods drained five birdies but faltered on the par three 13th hole to card his only bogey of the day. The short game of the four-time Masters champion has been the backbone of his game since returning, including a chip-in at the ninth, but it was his driving on the par five 14th that caught the eyes of even his biggest doubters. On the tee box at 14 Woods’ clubhead speed measured 129.2 mph, the fastest on the PGA Tour this season.

After garnering the outright 54-hole lead the final 18 of the tournament posed too much of a threat for Conners who shot a 6-over 77 to end up tied for 16th to finish the weekend. Woods made a valiant effort to take home his first victory since 2013. Two shots back with two holes to play didn’t stop Woods from providing a little classic Tiger magic with a breaking 44-foot birdie putt to come within one of the lead heading to the final hole of the tournament.

Woods ultimately fell one shot short to winner Paul Casey who carded a final round 65 for a 10-under tournament total. The often heralded “Captain America” of the Ryder Cup team, Patrick Reed, also came in one-shot off Casey’s lead after bogeying the 18th. Casey controlled his play through the first three days before he found the perfect storm to set up his Sunday comeback under the shadows of everyone’s focus being on Woods.

Next: Top 10 shots in Masters history

Without question Woods and Casey undeniably mounted the most momentum coming out of Innisbrook. Despite the second place finish, the final hole collapse by Reed may weigh heavy in his mindset heading to Georgia. Unfortunately for big names like Spieth and McIlroy, both need to go back to the drawing board as the countdown to the Masters winds down.

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