Taylor Moore swoops to take the Valspar Championship as Spieth, Schenk falter late

By Sports Desk March 19, 2023

Taylor Moore is now a winner on the PGA Tour after shooting a terrific four-under 67 on Sunday to finish atop the Valspar Championship leaderboard.

Moore, 29, is in his second full season on the tour. After four top-10s last time around, and three consecutive top-15 finishes at the recent Farmers Insurance Open, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Phoenix Open, he now has his first victory.

However, he needed some help from the final pairing, as co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk both failed to hold on down the stretch.

Moore's 67 was tied for the second-best score of the day, carding birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th to pull into a tie for the lead on 10 under when he finished his round.

As he stayed warm on the practice range, Spieth found the water and bogeyed the 16th to fall one behind, but he gave himself a birdie putt on the last hole to potentially force a playoff. 

Meanwhile, Schenk was tied for the lead on 18, but a poor drive landed right at the base of a tree, meaning the righty had to scramble it back into the fairway left-handed.

Spieth had the first putt to try and join Moore at 10 under but raced it past, subsequently missing the comebacker to drop down to a tie for third.

Schenk went up next for par to earn a spot in a two-man playoff, but his putt cannoned into the lip of the hole and stayed out.

England's Tommy Fleetwood finished tied with Spieth in third at eight under, and there was a two-stroke gap back to Wyndham Clark alone in fifth at six under.

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