Valspar Championship: Casey's second win, Tiger's roaring return to the PGA Tour

The Valspar Championship, conducted by The PGA Tour- one of the main organizers of professional golf tours, was held from 8th March to 11th March at the Innisbrook - Copperhead Course in Florida. The 40-year old, English player Paul Casey, won his second PGA Tour title after his win in 2009, leaving his American colleagues Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed tying for second place.

Casey was in tremendous form, he secured his place early on by having holed seven birdies and thus, setting up a challenging clubhouse lead. Reed bogeyed the 18th to miss out on the play-off that Woods got. It was close, Woods even after a spectacular 44 feet birdie needed one last one to beat Casey. However, Woods failed to deliver from 36-feet, making Casey win by carding the joint lowest score of the day with a six-under-par 65 to finish on 10 under.

Tiger Woods has ranked number one for a total of 683 weeks, more than any other player in history. He holds the title for the second-most PGA Tour wins (79) among all golfers. For Paul Casey to win by one shot against him, was surreal. He commented on his win against a 14-time major winner at Valspar, "He made it look easy for such a long time and it's not. I won a few times in Europe but to get my second victory on the PGA Tour, it's emotional. I've worked hard for it."

Paul Casey

Despite not securing the title the championship marks the roaring return of Tiger Woods back into the course. Woods has been playing professionally since the age of 20 and his career has been hit a lot of bumps. The infidelity scandal, the doping allegations, his back surgery and the latest 2017 arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. His ranking hit 1,005, the worst of his career.

Tiger Woods

This year’s PGA Tours marks the return of the 42-year-old legend. He is currently holding a strong position at the ongoing Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the golfing fraternity is rooting for it’s most prized gem.