Take away the 2011 Masters and Charl Schwartzel had not won a regular event on the PGA Tour.
That changed Sunday at the Valspar Championship.
Schwartzel staged the biggest comeback in the history of the event and won for the first time at a regular PGA Tour event.
The decorated South African star has 11 European Tour titles but found himself five shots back of overnight leader Bill Haas going into Sunday’s difficult, blustery finale on the tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort. But Schwartzel rallied on the back nine with four birdies coming home. One was a 64-foot bomb of a putt at the par three 13th. He found himself tied for the lead when he made a nice 16-footer at the par three 17th, almost the same time Haas bogeyed the par four 16th to fall out of the lead.
Schwartzel nearly won it outright at the 18th when his 30-foot birdie attempt narrowly missed. He tapped in for 67, the day’s best round and the four-under par effort overtook Haas, who parred 18 to shoot 72.
On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Haas got in trouble right away with an errant drive that sailed well right. He dropped away from a television structure then saw his second shot from 191 yards settle into the right greenside bunker. Schwartzel hit the center of the fairway then put his approach 25 feet from the hole, putting all the pressure on Haas.
Haas’ bunker shot sailed long, 20 from the cup. Schwartzel snuggled his putt to two-feet, Haas gave his a good run but it would miss, handing the title to the former Masters champion.
“That was a really good round,” Schwartzel said after he made six birdies on a very, very difficult course. “You’re just surviving. It was really difficult.”
Haas hung tough on the back nine, scrambling and keeping the lead until the 16th.
Ryan Moore finished solo third at five-under.
Perhaps the most amazing performance of the week came from 22-year-old amateur Lee McCoy, a senior at the University of Georgia. He shot 66 on Saturday then followed that up with a 69 on Sunday. What was most impressive is that he shot it playing with Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 player and defending champion. Spieth saw McCoy clip him by four shots on Sunday. Spieth’s closing 73 left him at even par and tied for 18th.
