Weekly Recap: The Moore The Merrier

This PGA Tour season has been one of haves and have-nots. All the haves are playing in the designated tournaments, while the have-nots are largely filling the non-designated events.

It's pretty clear that the have-nots are darn good golfers in their own right and, truth be told, the non-designated events have been just as riveting, if not more.

For almost all of Sunday afternoon at the Valspar Championship, Jordan Spieth and Adam Schenk tangled in a compelling duel atop the leaderboard -- that is, until Taylor Moore used two late birdies to stun both Spieth and Schenk and steal the tournament.

Moore, himself a have-not who was playing in just his 46th career PGA Tour event, was on the first page of the leaderboard all day. But it wasn't until he birdied No. 12 that he really entered the conversation. After he birdied 15 and 16 to move to 10-under, he was tied for the lead. He parred 17 and 18. At that point, in a three-way tie, all he could do was watch.

And, oh my, the things that Moore saw. First, Spieth stunningly found the water on 16, the first hole of the diabolical Snake Pit at Copperhead. Then a gallant Schenk got two of the cruelest breaks possible on 18. First, his wayward tee ball came to rest alongside a tree stump, forcing a left-handed escape, then his last-gasp 41-footer for par went in and out to give Moore his first PGA Tour title. Schenk wound up second, Spieth in a share of third. 

A 29-year-old Texan and University of Arkansas grad, Moore is no slouch. He was top-15 earlier this season at the Farmers, Pebble Beach and the designated Waste Management. He was 67th in the FedExCup standings last season to make the BMW Championship as a rookie and entered the week ranked 103rd in the world. He's now cracked the top-50 at No. 49, and we'll see him in three weeks in his first career major at the Masters.

Despite the way things played out at the end, Moore was a deserving champion. He ranked third in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, fifth in Approach, second and Tee-to-Green and 10th in Putting. The last stat doesn't tell the true story, as Moore went an insane 64-for-64 from inside seven feet on the week, including a knee-knocking 5 ½-footer for par on 18 on Sunday. With those numbers, it's a little surprising he didn't win by more than a stroke. But that speaks to difficulty of Copperhead.

Moore didn't jump in the rankings soon enough to get into this week's WGC-Match Play. The question is, will he join his old friends, the have-nots, the following week at the Valero Texas Open. Or, will we next see him in three weeks alongside all the big boys in his debut as a have at Augusta National?

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Adam Schenk
First Purdue lost and now this. We kid the former Boilermaker! There were so many storylines surrounding Schenk: He was incredibly playing for the 10th straight week. He was vying for his first PGA Tour win in his 165th career start. His pregnant wife flew in for the final round. He sank a 71-footer for birdie on No. 12. He sank a 16-footer for par on 17 after landing in the bunker. He was going toe-to-toe with the great Jordan Spieth – and winning. It was all there, until the cruelness on 18. Schenk still wound up with his best PGA Tour finish as runner-up. If this result doesn't sting yet – and it surely does – just wait till he turns on his TV in three weeks and sees Moore at Augusta. The two were largely on par in the world rankings coming in – Schenk was six spots back at No. 109. He's now a career-best 91st.

Jordan Spieth
Two weeks ago, after Spieth tied for fourth at Bay Hill, he lamented that wasn't able to close the deal when he was in the mix late on Sunday. He then acknowledged that he hadn't been in that position often of late. He was in even better position on Sunday at the Valspar and, of the trio of Spieth, Schenk and Moore, only one of them cracked under pressure. And it was Spieth, finding the water on 16 when he had a share of the lead. He did well to escape with bogey, then hit the closest tee ball of the day on 17 all day to 6 feet 8 inches. He missed the putt. It's so hard to bet Spieth because of the invariable disappointment – not to mention the whiplash from all the ups and downs. But … but … Spieth will be at center stage in three weeks at the Masters and, the week after, as the defending champion at the RBC Heritage. Many people will bet Spieth both weeks. 

Tommy Fleetwood
Like Moore and Schenk, Fleetwood was looking for his first PGA Tour win. Everyone knows the story verbatim by now: great player, six wins in Europe, can't close the deal in the States. Fleetwood added a tie for third with Spieth to his four PGA Tour runners-up. He wasn't terrible on Sunday – one-under 70 – but he did bogey the par-5 14th when a birdie could've gotten him to 10-under.

Wyndham Clark
The solo fifth was Clark's best result since a runner-up at the 2020 Bermuda Championship. It continued a good season and it's easy to understand why. Clark annually had been horrendous in the all-important Strokes Gained: Approach category, ranking somewhere around 180th for years. He entered the week at No. 49 on the season and was third in the field on the week. He was always a very good driver and putter. Safe to say if you add quality iron play, things could get very good for Clark, who has made 11 straight cuts.

Sam Burns
We'll be honest. We didn't expect to see Burns on the first page of the leaderboard in solo sixth after the course was stiffened significantly from his back-to-back Valspar wins at 17-under the past two years. But Burns shot 67 on Sunday, and he defended his titles honorably. Burns remains too inconsistent for us to fully commit, but safe to say, his good weeks tend to be very good.

Webb Simpson
This was Simpson's best result in a very long time. After all, he's now ranked 133rd in the world – and that's after his three-way tie for seventh. Simpson obviously played well this week but this was his first top-20 since the 2021 RSM Classic 16 months ago. We'll need to see more before thinking Simpson has reversed his year-long decline.

Cody Gribble
Gribble, the 2016 Sanderson Farms winner, doesn't get in many PGA Tour events. But he now has back-to-back top-10s. His tie for seventh at Puerto Rico got him into the Valspar field and his tie for seventh at the Valspar will get him into next week's event in the Dominican Republic (which he probably would've gotten into anyway). But he's not really a good fantasy option at his point. Aside from his win and the past two weeks, Gribble has only one other career PGA Tour top-10. That was also in 2016.

Matt Wallace
Wallace made the social media rounds on Saturday after getting into a profanity-laced exchange with his caddie over a club selection. Wallace was the one doing the lacing.  Sam Bernard was still on the bag on Sunday and, while there was no word whether they made up, but Wallace did tie for seventh. That's his first PGA Tour top-10 since 2021 at the ZOZO. Wallace used to be a top-25 OWGR golfer but is now ranked 175th.

Zac Blair
Blair had a mere six top-10s in 167 starts in a career marked by injuries and, well, not being very good. But he tied for 10th at the Valspar, which means more to him than most guys. Besides the cash, the top-10 get you into the next week's PGA Tour event. Unfortunately for Blair, he would've gotten into the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic regardless. But it's all moot. Blair withdrew from the tournament on Sunday evening. In fairness to Blair, it's simply hard for him to compete when he's one of the very shortest hitters in the game. He's outside the top-200 in driving distance, averaging 278 yards.

Davis Riley
Riley had another good week, tying for 19th. But like at the Honda, it could have been a whole lot better if not for a Sunday fade. He shot 74 to fall out of the top-10, which is where he was entering Sunday.

Ryan Gerard
Gerard, who gained attention as a Monday qualifier who had a great week at the Honda, needed a tie for 54th at the Valspar to gain Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour – and that would make it an incredible four-week stretch for him. When Gerard made the cut on Friday, he appeared in good shape. But he collapsed on the weekend and wound up in a tie for 71st, last among those who made the cut. Gerard will give it another go this week in the Dominican Republic, needing at least a two-way T57 for that STM.

MISSED CUTS

It's becoming routine -- or at least not surprising -- to see Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman and Kevin Kisner trunk slam. Fitzpatrick is playing through a neck injury and the other two have been way off their games. All three, however, will be in this week's WGC-Match Play. … Adam Hadwin, a Mr. Valspar if ever there was one, didn't make it to the weekend. That was a very big surprise and came at a terrible time for the Canadian, who was ranked 61st in the world and needs to get into the top-50 by next Monday to qualify for the Masters. He still has this week's Match Play to do it. … Akshay Bhatia, playing his first tournament as a PGA Tour member after gaining Special Temporary Membership, had a good Thursday but a late bogey run on Friday cost him the weekend by a stroke. We'll probably see him next in two weeks at the Valero. … Cole Hammer needed a T19 or better for Special Temporary Membership. … U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson had made his first five cuts of 2023.