Paul Casey secured his first victory on the PGA Tour for almost a decade when shooting a final round 65 at Innisbrook Resort to win the Valspar Championship by a single shot from Patrick Reed and a resurgent Tiger Woods.
Casey, whose last win in America came in 2009, set the clubhouse lead of 10 under par when shooting six birdies and dropping just one shot on the final day at the Copperhead Course.
The 40-year-old Englishman watched on as Reed, who needed a par at the last to win, failed to get his birdie putt from just off the 18th green to make it up the slope, and ended up making a bogey and slipped back into a share of second alongside Woods, who closed with a 70 to secure his best PGA Tour finish since 2013.
Casey made his move up the leaderboard when posting three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the fourth, before back-to-back gains from the 11th moved him alongside Rose.
Reed holed a 20-footer at the eighth to join the tie at the top, only for Casey to move ahead by holing a monster putt from off the 13th green and making a string of pars along the closing stretch.
Rose’s challenge faded with back-to-back bogeys from the 12th, as Reed produced a stunning approach at the par-five 14th to set up a two-putt birdie and join Casey two clear of the chasing pack.
Needing a final-hole birdie for victory or a par to force a play-off, Reed elected to putt from a tricky position on the green and saw his ball roll back down the slope to his feet on his way to a closing bogey.
Woods, who was playing in the penultimate group, struggled to make inroads during the final round, but set up a grandstand finish by draining a stunning 44-foot birdie on the penultimate hole, but was unable to replicate it at the last.
Masters champion Sergio Garcia matched Casey’s 65 to end the week in fourth, with Rose slipping down the leaderboard on the back nine to finish tied fifth. Third round leader Corey Conners fell away tamely with a six-over-par 77.
Casey, whose victory took him to in the world rankings, said: “I’ve won a few times in Europe, but to get my second victory on the PGA Tour is emotional. I’ve worked hard for it. My ball striking has been good for a long while now, but the difference this week was my putting. If I could have putted like this last year, I would have won a whole lot more tournaments. My short game has really been holding me back for a while, so to putt as well as I did this week is very satisfying, and hopefully I can keep it going.”
Woods, who was playing in only his fifth tournament since coming back from injury, said: “My game wasn’t quite as sharp today as it was on Saturday, but for couple of putts here and there, and it could have been a different story. I keep getting just a little bit better. I had a good chance at winning this tournament.”