Florida State, Alex Fitzpatrick win at Valspar Collegiate
3/16/2021 | by Brayden Conover of AmateurGolf.com
see also: View results for Valspar Collegiate Invitational, Floridian National
ACC foes finish 1-2, while a Wake Forest junior claims his first collegiate victory
Florida State is making up for lost time.
The Seminoles pick up their second team title of the spring season after having to forego the fall due to ACC rules.
The (No. 4 ranked) John Pak led squad was looking to grab their second win of the season after taking the team title at their own event in Tallahassee earlier this month. The win proved to show the arrival of Florida State as they made a huge jump in the polls, even squeezing past Oklahoma for the No. 1 spot in the Golfstat rankings.
FSU’s rounds of 279 (-5), 275 (-9), and 277(-7) secured a four shot victory over ACC rivals Wake Forest and a seven shot triumph over third placed Ohio State.
Pak led the ‘Noles for the majority of the week until the 54th hole of the tournament. Taking a triple bogey seven on the 18th at the Floridan, Pak gave back three of his five back nine birdies to drop from solo third place to T-7 finish at five under.
Grabbing the best seat on the van ride back to Tallahassee was freshman Frederik Kjettrup. The Sweden native took home podium honors with a T-2 finish that was capped off by a final round 64. A round that saw eight birdies and an eagle was the low round of the day and joined Arizona State’s Ryggs Johnson who carded his 64 a day before.
As good as Kjettrup’s round was, it was not enough to catch up to Wake Forest’s Alex Fitzpatrick. The Demon Deacon star fired rounds of 67, 66, 68 to take home medalist honors at 12 under par.
The win gives Fitzpatrick a PGA Tour exemption into the Valspar Championship held at Innisbrook in Tampa, Florida April 28-May 2. Not only is the win special for Fitzpatrick because of the exemption, but it marks the first collegiate win of his career.
Despite the second place team finish, Wake Forest head coach Jerry Haas is not quite satisfied.
“I wish we could have gotten a couple holes back but a coach can never complain at 17-under,” Haas said in a Wake Forest release. “We know what we need to work on and will continue to improve. Each week there's a new person in front for us and that's what makes this team special.”
Both Florida State and Wake Forest will play in The Hayt March 28-29 at Sawgrass Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida.
Results: Valspar Collegiate Invitational
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | , England | 800 | 67-66-68=201 | |
| T2 | , Denmark | 500 | 72-68-64=204 | |
| T2 | Uniontown, OH | 500 | 66-69-69=204 | |
| T4 | Auburn, AL | 400 | 67-72-68=207 | |
| T4 | Libby, MT | 400 | 73-64-70=207 |
About the Valspar Collegiate Invitational
54-hole collegiate invitational hosted at The Floridian. Team (best four scores out of five players each round) and individual competitions. Began in 2014 and is already one of the elite college events on the schedule.
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