Nippon Shaft earned a one-stroke victory at the Valspar Championship on Sunday at the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Resort near Tampa.
The 42-year-old native Australian birdied the 16th and 17th holes to shoot a final round 2-under par 70 to win by a stroke. He finished at 7-under par on rounds of 72-71-64-70 on the difficult course, which put a premium on accurate iron play.
It was the second PGA TOUR victory for the champion, who used Nippon Shaft N.S. PRO MODUS³ Tour 130 X-flex in his irons and N.S. PRO MODUS³ Tour WV 125 in his wedges. He put the Nippon Shaft products in play for the first time last October 17 at the Shriners tournament in Las Vegas.
“Nippon Shaft is pleased that we were able to play a role in today’s victory by one of the game’s best iron players,” said Hiro Fukuda, sales and marketing for the Japanese club maker.
The victory for the native of Brisbane was his first since he won the 2006 John Deere Classic, and it gets him a coveted spot in next month’s Masters.
N.S. PRO MODUS3 Tour 130 WINS PGA TOUR'S VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP