Golf Roundup: Burns beats Riley in playoff for 2nd straight Valspar win

Published 2:38 pm Monday, March 21, 2022

Sam Burns poses with the trophy after winning the Valspar Championship golf tournament Sunday at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, Fla.

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sam Burns is a winner again in the Valspar Championship, this time with a lot more stress and plenty of more emotion.

Burns holed a birdie putt from just over 30 feet on the 16th hole to beat Davis Riley on the second playoff hole, giving him three PGA Tour victories in his last 22 starts.



Burns, who closed with a 2-under 69 to match Riley at 17-under 267, is the second straight back-to-back winner at Innisbrook following Paul Casey’s consecutive wins in 2018 and 2019. The tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.

The victory moves Burns to No. 10 in the world for the first time, knocking Dustin Johnson out of the top 10 for the first time in seven years. Burns won last year by three shots.

Riley, a rookie contending for the first time on the PGA Tour, overcame a triple bogey on the par-5 fifth hole with a clutch 5-iron for birdie on the par-3 17th. He had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th for the win and left it out to the right, closing with a 72.

Both made pars on the 18th in the playoff, with Riley saving par from a front bunker. Neither looked to be in great birdie position on the 16th until Burns’ putt caught the left edge and went 180 degrees around the cup before falling in the back side. Riley hit a strong pitch needing to hole it to extend the playoff and missed long.

EUROPEAN TOUR/SUNSHINE TOUR

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Shaun Norris of South Africa lost a four-shot lead in the final round and then rallied at the end to close with a 2-under 70 to hold off Dean Burmester in the Steyn City Championship for his first European Tour title.

Burmester stormed into the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth and then an eagle on the par-4 seventh, and stretched his lead to two shots with a birdie on the 10th.

Match Play, Groups

AUSTIN (AP) — The 16 groups for round-robin play in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play beginning Wednesday at Austin Country Club (seedings in parentheses):

GROUP 1 — (1) Jon Rahm, (23) Patrick Reed, (40) Cameron Young, (58) Sebastian Munoz

GROUP 2 (2) Collin Morikawa(22) Jason Kokrak, (43) Sergio Garcia, (61) Robert MacIntyre

GROUP 3 (3) Viktor Hovland, (24) Will Zalatoris, (45) Cameron Tringale, (63) Sepp Straka

GROUP 4 — (4) Patrick Cantlay, (21) Sungjae Im, (42) Seamus Power, (62) Keith Mitchell

GROUP 5 (5) Scottie Scheffler, (20) Matt Fitzpatrick, (41) Tommy Fleetwood, (59) Ian Poulter

GROUP 6 (6) Justin Thomas, (29) Kevin Kisner, (37) Marc Leishman, (53) Luke List

GROUP 7 — (7) Xander Schauffele, (18) Tony Finau, (39) Lucas Herbert, (56) Takumi Kanaya

GROUP 8 (8) Dustin Johnson, (30) Max Homa, (38) Matthew Wolff, (51) Mackenzie Hughes

GROUP 9 (9) Bryson DeChambeau, (27) Talor Gooch, (47) Lee Westwood, (54) Richard Bland

GROUP 10 (10) Louis Oosthuizen, (19) Paul Casey, (36) Corey Conners, (50) Alex Norern

GROUP 11 — (11) Jordan Spieth, (32) Adam Scott, (46) Justin Rose, (60) Keegan Bradley

GROUP 12 (12) Billy Horschel, (26) Thomas Pieters, (33) Tom Hoge, (49) Min Woo Lee

GROUP 13 (13) Tyrrell Hatton, (17) Daniel Berger, (48) Si Woo Kim, (52) Christiaan Bezuidenhuit

GROUP 14 (14) Joaquin Niemann, (25) Kevin Na, (34) Russell Henley, (64) Maverick McNealy

GROUP 15 (15) Abraham Ancer, (31) Webb Simpson, (44) Brian Harman, (57) Bubba Watson

GROUP 16 (16) Brooks Koepka, (28) Shane Lowry, (35) Harold Varner III, (55) Erik van Rooyen