Paul Casey edges out Tiger Woods to win Valspar Championship

Professional golf is in retro mode at the moment with another veteran winning a PGA Tour event and Tiger Woods sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Paul Casey produced a superb final round 6-under 65 win his second PGA Tour event, one stroke better than Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed.

Tiger Woods came very close to his first PGA Tour victory since August 2013.

While struggling on the greens for much of the day and looking anything like some that could win the golf tournament Woods produced some magic of old at the par-3 17th when he rolled in a 44-foot birdie putt to send the crowd, and golf fans at home into raptures.

Woods then needed to make birdie at the last to get into a playoff with Casey. Perhaps hoping to avoid ‘The Big Miss’, Woods took an iron off the tee and couldn’t get his golf ball to the back flagstick with his approach shot.

Faced with a difficult uphill birdie putt, Woods left his golf ball short of the hole, settling for par and a share of second place.

Reed too had a chance to make a playoff with Casey requiring a par at the last hole. With his ball just off the green, Reed’s first putt didn’t make it up the slope to the back tier and then watched the ball roll back towards his feet. The resulting bogey meant Reed finished in a tie for second with Woods.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia tied Casey’s low round of the day to finish in outright fourth place.

Adam Scott was the best of the Australians. A closing round 1-over par 72 saw Scott finish seven shots behind Casey at 3-under for the tournament.

The PGA Tour rolls on to Bay Hill this week where Woods has won eight times. With Garcia beginning to find form and Phil Mickelson winning last week, golf is in an exciting place right now. And The Masters Tournament is under a month away.

And how’s this stat (which isn’t really even a stat yet) from Golf Channel’s Justin Ray?

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