The Valspar Championship fittingly came down to the Snake Pit, the signature stretch of holes 16, 17 and 18 on Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, and Australian John Senden was the ultimate survivor. Senden, 42, chipped in for birdie on the 16th to grab the lead, birdied the 17th and parred the 18th for a final-round 70 to finish at 7 under, one shot ahead of Kevin Na.
Na, who started the day one shot off the lead, appeared out of contention when he shot 3-over 39 on the front nine, but he rallied on the back, including a birdie on the 17th that left him needing another birdie on 18 to tie Senden. His 40-foot birdie bid never had a chance, however.
Final leaderboard: John Senden (-7), Kevin Na (-6), Scott Langley (-5), Will MacKenzie (-4), Luke Donald (-4), Robert Garrigus (-4)
What it means: It was the second win in 13 years on the PGA Tour for Senden, coming eight years after his first, the 2006 John Deere Classic. He is the first player older than 40 to win on Tour since Woody Austin, then 49, won the Sanderson Farms Championship last July. Senden had twice been a runner-up in this event.
Round of the day: Sang-Moon Bae moved up 44 spots with a final-round 67. He made the turn in 1-under 35, then had three birdies and no bogeys on the back for 32-67.
Biggest disappointment: Looking for his second PGA Tour win, Robert Garrigus went into the final round with a one-shot lead. But he double-bogeyed the third and sixth holes, turned in 41 and shot 75.
