It had been a rough season for Viktor Hovland ($8,400; 102.5 FPTS) until this week. The 27-year-old from Norway missed the cut in each of his last three events, including his two events in Florida, but he turned things around this week with a 67 on Friday, a 69 on Saturday and a closing round 67. His six birdies and one bogey on Sunday were just enough to keep him one stroke ahead of Justin Thomas ($10,800; 101.5 FPTS).
Friday: "I don't have control over what I'm doing."
Sunday: 🏆
Viktor is victorious at @ValsparChamp! pic.twitter.com/CbFLpXulkg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 23, 2025
The win was the seventh in Hovland’s PGA TOUR career and his first since 2023, when he won the BMW Championship and the TOUR Championship to claim the FedExCup Trophy.
It was a huge turnaround for Hovland who started the week at +8000 to win the tournament on DraftKings Sportsbook and was only owned by 4.3% in the PGA TOUR $750K SAND TRAP [$200K TO 1ST].
It was another near miss for Thomas, who had a three-stroke lead when he entered the famous “Snake Pit” at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort. The three tough finishing holes determined the winner since Thomas bogeyed two of those three holes while Hovland birdied No. 16 and No. 17 before sealing with win with a bogey on No. 18.
Thomas now has two runner-up finishes this season and 10 top-10 finishes in the last two seasons.
In the PGA TOUR $750K SAND TRAP [$200K TO 1ST], Hovland was owned in 4.3% of lineups and Thomas was in 15.5%. The winning entry in that contest came from dannyoms, which included Tommy Fleetwood ($10,300; 69 FPTS), Corey Conners ($9,600; 72 FPTS), Jacob Bridgeman ($7,400; 102.5 FPTS) and Davis Riley ($6,800; 85 FPTS).
