Sam Burns claims maiden PGA Tour title at Valspar Championship

Sam Burns smashed a 3-under-par 68 in the final round of the Valspar Championship to grab his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday.

Burns finished the Valspar Championship at -17 to claim a three-shot win over his third-round co-leader Keegan Bradley in the Valspar Championship at the Palm Harbor, Florida.

The 24-year-old Burns, who shot a 17-under 267 for the tournament, finished Sunday’s round with bogeys on two of his final four holes, but his 1-under on the back nine of Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course was enough. He also recorded three birdies on the back nine.

"I always felt that you had to play perfect golf to win,'' Burns said after a 3-under 68 for a three-shot victory. "I always felt that you had to play your absolute best on a Sunday to win. And after those experiences, I realized that it's not the case. I was trying to do too much.''

Bradley and Burns were tied through 36 holes and 54 holes, and they stayed that way through 12 holes on Sunday at the Copperhead course at Innisbrook.

Bradley came up well short on the par-3 13th and went into the water, leading to double bogey. Burns saved par with an 8-foot putt for a two-shot lead.

Bradley then shot a blunder and made double bogey to lost his confidence and then lost the battle after firing pars on 14th, 16th, 17th, 18th and a bogey on the 15th to finish three-shot off the champion Sam Burns.

Bradley, a four-time Tour champion on the PGA Tour, said, “I just didn’t hit the shots I needed to coming down the end, but I’m proud of the way I finished off to come in solo second. A lot of points at stake, World Ranking points, so that, I can take that away from it.”

The victory at Palm Harbor moved Burns to No. 44 in the world and gave him a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring.