Moore Captures First PGA Tour Victory, Spieth and Schenk Fall Short at Valspar Championship

Author:
Gabrielle Herzig
Publish date:
Mar 19, 2023

Sunday afternoon at Innisbrook’s Copperhead course was riddled with drama but one man managed to escape it all: Taylor Moore.

Moore, 29, captured his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Valspar Championship, while Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk made costly mistakes down the stretch.

With the win, Moore punches his ticket to Augusta National for his first Masters appearance.

Moore played his last 10 holes of the tournament in 4 under par, escaping the Copperhead Course’s infamous Snake Pit (holes 16-18) in 1 under. The University of Arkansas product finished with a 4-under 67 and a total score of 10 under for the tournament.

Spieth, Schenk and Tommy Fleetwood all had looks at the title but each faltered at the finish line. Schenk headed into the final hole of the tournament tied with Moore at 10 under, but a wayward drive forced him to punch out into the fairway lefthanded. The 31-year-old couldn’t convert for par from there, and just barely missed the opportunity to compete for his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff.

Spieth, on the other hand, splashed a tee shot into the water on the 16th hole, but managed to save bogey to drop back to 9 under. The Texan then stuck his tee shot to just under 7 feet on the par-3 17th, however he failed to convert for birdie. On the final hole, Spieth’s approach shot came up short of the tricky back pin location. He three-putted to tie Fleetwood for third place.

While chaos was unfolding, Moore awaited his fate on the driving range.

“I might have been under the radar to some people watching, but I felt like I was in the golf tournament from the time I teed off today. Just excited to control what I could control and get it done,” Moore said.

Moore is currently in the midst of his second season on the PGA Tour. Back in 2019, however, Moore wasn’t sure he could even continue to chase a PGA Tour card after a frightening health scare. Moore suffered from a sudden collapse in his right lung due to an infection.

“I was super fortunate to get through that moment in my life and get back on my feet and get proper care and all that kind of stuff. It gave me kind of a new perspective on life and realize at that time that golf wasn't necessarily everything and there was life outside of this game,” Moore said. “I was able to kind of reframe my life and put things in perspective for that time period. But once I knew everything was going to be O.K. and I was going to get back to playing this game, I refocused and got after it.”

Moore’s trip to Augusta National next month will be his first visit to the famed major championship venue. Moore says he’s been invited to visit the property several times throughout his career, but decided to hold out until he had a proper Masters invitation in hand.

“I've turned it down a couple times when I was in high school and college and maybe just as I turned pro, just because I wanted my first experience to be when I qualified and knew I was going to be competing there in April,” Moore said.