Palm Harbor, FL – Viktor Hovland pulled off a stunning comeback at the Valspar Championship, erasing a three-shot deficit on the back nine to claim his seventh PGA Tour title and his first victory since the 2023 Tour Championship.
The 27-year-old Norwegian outdueled Justin Thomas in a thrilling final-round showdown at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, capitalizing on Thomas’ late collapse to secure a one-shot win at 11-under-par 273.
Hovland entered Sunday tied for the lead with Jacob Bridgeman and Nico Echavarria at 7-under, but it was Thomas who seized control early in the final round. The two-time major champion was a birdie machine, racking up seven through 15 holes, including a clutch putt on the par-3 15th that stretched his lead to three shots at 12-under. With just three holes remaining — known as the infamous “Snake Pit” — Thomas appeared poised to end his nearly three-year winless drought, dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship.
But golf, as it so often does, had other plans.
Hovland, who had struggled mightily in 2025 — missing the cut in his previous three starts, including a dismal 80 at The Players Championship — found his groove when it mattered most. After a steady front nine, he ignited his charge with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 14th, cutting Thomas’ lead to two. Then came the aforementioned Snake Pit, a brutal closing stretch that has dashed many a contender’s hopes. On the par-4 16th—the toughest hole on the course—Hovland stuck a 7-iron to five feet and rolled in the birdie to tie Thomas, who faltered ahead of him with a bogey after a wayward drive into the trees forced a chip-out.
The momentum swing was palpable. On the par-3 17th, Hovland delivered again, landing his tee shot 12 feet from the pin and draining the putt for back-to-back birdies, taking a one-shot lead at 12-under. Thomas, meanwhile, narrowly missed a birdie chance to tie and headed to the 18th needing a miracle. His tee shot found the rough, his approach landed in a bunker, and a bogey sealed his fate at 10-under after a 5-under 66. Hovland, with a two-shot cushion, played it safe on 18, settling for a bogey and a 4-under 67 to clinch the title.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hovland said on NBC after the round. “I honestly did not believe I could do it this week. It’s been quite the struggle the past year and a half, so to come back and win this tournament is quite incredible.”
Hovland’s candor about his game was striking — he called his swing “disgusting” and admitted he wasn’t sure where the ball was going—but his iron play (second in strokes gained approach) and putting (second in strokes gained putting) carried him to victory.
For Thomas, the loss was a gut punch. After a rollercoaster week that saw him nearly miss the cut with a front-nine 40 on Thursday, he roared back with a 65 on Saturday and looked untouchable for much of Sunday.
“I felt so good out there, so excited for every shot,” Thomas said. “Hell, there’s not much I can do—he birdied 16 and 17. I obviously made it a lot easier on him.”
Despite the disappointment, Thomas took solace in his form, noting, “I’m very proud of myself. It sucks not winning when you’re that close, but I’ll hopefully finish it off better at Augusta.”
The collapse was swift and brutal: from a three-shot lead to a two-shot deficit in just 22 minutes. Thomas’ driver, typically a strength, betrayed him on 16 and 18, and the putter that had been red-hot all day couldn’t bail him out.
Hovland’s resurgence came at a critical time. After a dominant 2023 that saw him win the FedEx Cup, his game had unraveled amid swing changes and a carousel of coaches—six in the last year, most recently returning to Grant Waite.
“I hit a lot of disgusting shots, but they happened to go where I looked,” he quipped, a testament to his resilience if not his confidence.
The win vaults him back into the top 10 in the world rankings and offers hope as he heads to The Masters in three weeks.
Bridgeman (69) finished third at 9-under, one clear of Bud Cauley (66), Billy Horschel (67), and Ryo Hisatsune (68), who tied for fourth at 8-under. But the day belonged to Hovland, who turned chaos into triumph, and Thomas, whose epic collapse will linger as a what-could-have-been moment amid a three-season stretch still searching for victory.
