Sam Burns won the Valspar Championship for the second year in a row, but it was not the same as a year ago.
Not even close.
He shook his fists and lowered his arms as he felt the pain on the 16th green. Burns made a 30-foot putt on the second playoff hole to beat Davis Riley and win his second consecutive victory.
It felt like it looked, Burns said with a wide smile, the trophy at his side from his third PGA Tour victory in the last year, a run that began with his first win a year ago at the Valspar Championship.
He said that he was trying to stay even-keeled and make sure that he never got too high or too low.
There was a four-man chase along the back nine of the Copperhead course.
Burns had control until he had to make a 9-foot putt for a bogey to keep the lead. Riley hit a 5-iron to 6 feet for an eagle on the 17th to catch him after a triple bogey on the fifth hole.
Riley, who started the final round with a two-shot lead and closed with a 72, had a 15-foot putt on the 18th for the win. Burns was hoping for a chance to play golf. Burns was a winner again after the putt missed.
He is the second straight winner at the same location. The tournament was canceled because of the flu.
The victory moves Burns to 10 in the world and knocks Johnson out of the top 10 for the first time in seven years.
Burns said it was crazy and that Davis played well. I tried not to fall. I did not make a lot of mistakes. A lot of time is spent on Sunday if you plan your way around, make a bunch of pars, and throw in a few birdies. So happy.
They finished at 17 under.
Both made pars on the 18th in the playoff, with Riley saving par from a front bunker. Burns putt caught the left edge and went 180 degrees around the cup before falling in the back side, as neither looked to be in a good position on the 16th.
Riley missed a pitch that he needed to hole to extend the playoff.
Riley said that he played a lot of good golf and that he didn't have his best stuff today. At the end of the day, it is a great week to build on.
Matthew NeSmith and Justin Thomas both had a share of the lead at some point during the final round on the Copperhead course, but each finished one shot out of a playoff.
Thomas was one shot out of the lead when he missed the par-5 11th. He was kept from clean contact by a tiny hole that settled in his wedge. He took a bogey at the easiest hole in the course after his chip ran 12 feet by the hole.
Burns made a 15-foot putt and Thomas was four shots behind. He had two straight birdies to stay in the game and had a chance when Burns bogeyed the 17th. Thomas hit his tee shot into the slope of a Bunker on the 18th and was unable to reach the green.
Thomas said that he could have won the tournament if he had a wedge in his hand. A lot to build on, a lot of positives, and we have a big stretch coming up, so I am excited for it.
NeSmith was one shot behind at the 10th tee. He made a layup on the 17th. He narrowly missed a 35-foot putt to join the playoff.
Riley had never been in contention on the back nine of the tour and looked like he might not get there on Sunday after his triple bogey.
He chunked his third shot from 106 yards into the base of a tree from the left side of the fairway. He took a penalty drop, hit long into the rough, and made a triple bogey.
He made a 50-foot putt from the fringe on the 8th and a 7-foot par putt on the ninth.
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