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Charl Schwartzel Wins In Playoff At Valspar

Charl Schwartzel posted the low round of the day on Sunday with a 4-under 67 that put him in a playoff with Bill Haas, which Schwartzel won with a par on 18. The win is Schwartzel's second career PGA Tour victory with the first being his 2011 win at the Masters.

Schwartzel finally returns to the winner's circle on the PGA Tour and did so in impressive fashion. His 67 on Sunday was the lowest in tough conditions and he tamed the very difficult greens at Innisbrook with a few long putts, none bigger than a 64-footer for birdie on No. 13.

Haas made a lot of positive strides this week with his game, particularly his putting, that he should be able to take with him heading towards Augusta. That said, he had a chance to really run away with this win and wasn't able to execute down the stretch.

 

Haas led by as many as three strokes in the final round, but his miss all day with the driver and irons was to the right and that eventually caught up with him.Haas went right with his drive on the playoff hole and then his approach caught the bunker to the right of the hole. He caught that bunker shot too thin and sent it 20 feet over the green and was unable to sink the par putt.

 

Haas knows this is an opportunity he let slip away on Sunday.

 

Amateur Lee McCoy, from just down the road, ended up with a solo fourth-place finish at 4-under and out-dueled world No. 1 Jordan Spieth on Sunday. That's not too bad for the 22-year-old, who has to drive back to Athens to play 36 holes in a college tournament on Monday.

 

Spieth finished at even par for the tournament in T18. That's respectable, but for the defending champion and top player in the world, this should have been an event he contended in. The field was not particularly strong, and despite a 76 on Thursday, he put himself in a position to challenge for the win after Saturday. Instead, Spieth floundered to a 2-over 73 on Sunday and has to figure out how to be more consistent on the greens and with his ball-striking with the Masters looming less than four weeks away. 

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