Danny Walker wins Osprey Valley Open
Danny Walker did what he had to do. The leader after the second and third rounds capped it off with a playoff win at the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos - CBM Aggregates.
After finishing regulation tied with Cooper Musselman at 16-under, Walker made a five-foot birdie on the first playoff hole to claim the PGA TOUR Canada event and 500 Fortinet Cup points that lifted him to the top of the points standings through four tournaments. He was excited about his first victory since prevailing at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship in 2018.
“It was a stressful day. Cooper was really playing well and pushing me the whole time,” Walker said of the early start. Because inclement weather was forecasted, officials incorporated split tees and earlier-than-normal start times to beat the rain.
“So, it was stressful, but (I’m) happy to get it done,” Walker added.
Walker entered the final round with a three-stroke lead. It quickly evaporated, though, as players, including Musselman, cut into their deficits. Musselman had birdies on five of his first eight holes then added a couple on the back nine. The last one, on No. 18, forced the playoff. However, any hopes Musselman had of winning ended with Walker pouring in his birdie putt after a sublime approach shot on the same hole where Musselman forced the extra session.
“He played great. I shot 65 today in the final group and still didn’t beat him,” Musselman said of Walker. “That goes to show that he’s a great player, a tremendous competitor, and we had a lot of fun out there.”
Thomas Longbella and Harrison Ott finished 14-under and in a tie for third. Longbella made an impressive run of five consecutive birdies (holes 8-12) at one point to move into contention
Parker Gillam, J.T. Griffin and Jacob Solomon shared fifth place, at 13-under. Cooper Dossey, Gavin Hall, Jeffrey Kang and Kieran Vincent finished eighth, at 12-under. Hall made eight birdies en route to his first top-10 finish of the season, shooting a second consecutive 66.
After third-round play, Walker was asked about Sunday’s weather forecast and if it motivated him to be in the lead just in case rain canceled the final round. Walkeracknowledged knowing thunderstorms were expected in the afternoon but added he never considered any scenarios where the leader could be declared the winner.
“No, I didn’t. I wasn’t thinking about it that way, especially with the conditions out here. You just can’t force anything,” Walker said. “If I was thinking like, Gosh, I have to be first going into tomorrow, I would have just made some sloppy bogeys.”
Walker’s mindset was firmly set on the final round being played, and he capped a week with four sub-70 rounds, including his second-round 62, his career-low round as a pro. He shot a 64 at the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae on the Korn Ferry Tour.
PGA TOUR Canada moves to Tottenham, Ontario, next week at Woodington Lake’s (Legend Course) for the Sotheby’s International Realty Canada Open.
Did you know Danny Walker is the fourth different champion in four tournaments this season on PGA TOUR Canada? Previous winners include Scott Stevens (Royal Beach Victoria Open), Wil Bateman (ATB Classic) and Brian Carlson (Prince Edward Island Open).