Valspar set for a thrilling finish

Report by Anand Datla

March 15, 2015: The stage is set for a thrilling finish to the keenly contested Valspar Championship. Ryan Moore played well on Saturday for an error free 67 in the third round, but a one shot lead over Jordan Spieth is about as safe as a tent on the sands during a storm. The final round will no less than a storm with as many as seven men within five shots of each other.

The quality of this field could deceive you into believing that it lacks depth, but look at the quality of players among the top five heading into the final round. Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar are at 5-under through 54 holes, Spieth is at 8-under and Moore is a shot better from there.

Birdies were hard to come by in the third round. Moore marched through a dozen holes making par after par, before he finally found one at the par-3 13th hole. He went on to make four in the final six holes to buttress his position at the top of the leader board.

“It was windy, it was tough,” said Moore. “It wasn’t easy to get it around the hole. I stayed patient, just kept hitting pretty good shots. I just kind of kept plodding along. I was not disappointed being even par through 12 holes. That’s for sure with the conditions.”

“Any day around this golf course with no bogies is pretty good especially the spots where I hit it,” Moore added. “I was able to save par really low in the middle of my round, made some good putts but had some good chip shots.  Was able to get it rolling there and make some birdies coming in.” Victory on Sunday could give Moore his fifth PGA Tour title, but with the quality of men in pursuit, that is far from sealed.

Spieth made a birdie to begin his day, but gave it back soon after when he needed five shots to navigate past the third hole. He had to wait till the ninth for his next gained shot, just before he made the turn. Eleven and fifteen also yielded to the charming golf of Spieth, helping him finish the third round with a 68.

“This course, it’s a very difficult golf course,” Spieth suggested. “It’s definitely tougher than average. If you see guys that come out and play well here, they’re likely to play well on the harder courses and the bigger tournaments just because that kind of course suits their game more,”