Paul Casey Wins Valspar! Woods & Reed 2nd

Valspar 2018 - Paul Casey takes the Championship

English golfer Paul Casey has won the championship at Valspar 2018, with a day round of 65 and a final total of 10-under-par. Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods are tied second on 9-under, with Sergio Garcia fourth on 8-under and Justin Rose and Rory Sabbatini tied fifth on 7-under.

Casey is over the moon about winning, about playing against Tiger, and also just to see for himself that Woods is right back in the game again.

"I feel great," he said when asked about his entry, now, into the Masters. "I'm excited, not only for my game, but also the fact Tiger's playing great. It's cool, couldn't be better. I'm a fan of golf as much as I am a player.

"To pip him is very special. He'll be on top form when we get there [Augusta] and I'm looking forward to it. I think I've got a good chance."

Casey's last PGA Tour win was in 2009, at which time he rose to No. 3 in World Ranking. To win again after nine years and 155 Tour events is sweet validation of his enduring love of the game and of his more serene approach to winning. When asked about a need for outright "wins" as such and the pressure this creates within the game of golf, he had this to say:

"It's got to the point where it's gone the other way, where actually I'm playing very free golf, very relaxed and very at peace with whatever happens on the golf course.

"I think I can say that because of my life away from the golf course – my wife and my kids. To then get both is obviously the icing on the cake."

However, while joy is there, sadness swept through him later as he allowed himself to think again of a very close friend who had lost her life to cancer the week before.

“So, just, you know, heavy heart. One of those — unfortunately everybody, seems everybody has the same story I’ve got. Cancer sucks. It’s just rubbish.

“I actually didn’t think about it too much today. I think if I had thought about it probably could have been probably not right thing to think about playing. Afterwards just think about it now it’s more emotional now.”

Monday afternoon Casey will be returning to London to attend her funeral.