Matt Fitzpatrick celebrates his birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Palm Harbor, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Matt Fitzpatrick took longer than usual to get over his loss last week at The Players Championship, mainly because he played so well and did so little wrong until Cameron Young won on the difference of one tee shot at final hole.

“To lose it right at the death is always difficult to take,” Fitzpatrick said.

Seven days later, he found the best antidote. Fitzpatrick was locked in a duel with David Lipsky in the final hour at the Valspar Championship and this time delivered the goods, a birdie putt from just inside 15 feet on the final hole for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot victory.

“I knew that I was playing well,” Fitzpatrick said. “And it was like, ‘Let’s just keep pushing and give ourselves the best chance we can.'”

That’s all he could asked on a tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook that doomed 54-hole leader Sungjae Im and crushed the hopes of 45-year-old Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker. They were among five players who had a share of the lead at some point, all jostling for position.

Fitzpatrick missed four birdie chances from inside 10 feet in a seven-hole stretch around the turn, his body language indicating he was letting it slip away. His big surprise was seeing a leaderboard at the turn that showed him tied — he figured he would be a few shots behind.

And then he holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th to take the lead, only for Lipsky — playing in the group behind him — to make a 7-foot birdie on the 14th to catch him.

Fitzpatrick, who won the DP World Tour Championship to close out the European tour season last November, had the final say. His birdie putt was pure and the 2022 U.S. Open champion was emphatic thrusting his fist down to celebrate.

Lipsky’s birdie chance from just outside 30 feet on the 18th just missed to the left. He closed with a 70 to match his best finish on tour.

The victory for Fitzpatrick, his third on the PGA Tour to go along with nine European tour titles, came one week after he had a one-shot lead going to the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass only for Young to make birdie and win with a par on the closing hole.

LIV Golf League

MIDRAND, South Africa — Bryson DeChambeau won for the second straight week by saving par on the final hole for a 6-under 65 and hitting 3-wood from a wet lie in the rough to set up birdie in a playoff to beat Jon Rahm in LIV Golf South Africa. DeChambeau’s final start before the Masters brought out some of his best work in winning his fifth overall LIV title. He won last week in Singapore.

PGA Tour Champions

TUCSON, Ariz. — Steve Alker won the Cologuard Classic with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff for the second straight year, beating Padraig Harrington with a 4-footer in mid-90 degree heat. Last year at La Paloma, Alker beat Long Island club pro Jason Caron with a 12-foot putt on the first extra hole.

European tour

HAINAN ISLAND, China — Jordan Gumberg got up-and-down for par on the final hole for a 2-under 70 to hold off Jorge Campillo of Spain and win the Hainan Classic.