Peter Malnati ended his title drought on Sunday after finishing the final round at four-under-par 67 to win the Valspar Championship, his first in nine years. The victory has earned Malnati his first appearance at the Masters, which comes up next month. The 36-year-old finished at 12 under par, two shots ahead of Cameron Young, who was finishing as runner-up for the seventh time. 

Malnati’s last PGA victory came at the Sandersons Farms Championship in 2015, and since then, he has gone without a win. Little wonder he was very emotional after the win as he fought back tears. He revealed that he entered the round aiming to give it his all while stating that things had gotten a lot harder since his last win. 

His words: “I told myself I was going to do my best on every shot, and that’s what I did.

“I was so nervous coming down the stretch, and the approach into 16 was terrible… I just can’t describe it. It’s so cool. It’s just amazing.

“You wonder if you’re ever going to do it again because it’s hard and in the nine years since my last win it’s gotten a lot harder too.

“You look at the level of talent out here, guys coming out when they’re 20 years old and they’re ready to play on this stage and they’re so good. So to have this moment it just feels so amazing.”

Now, his title is further complemented by a ticket to next month’s Masters. But while acknowledging that it was a childhood dream come true to get a chance to play at the Masters, he also revealed what meant more to him: “I think more of what has sunk into me is, this guarantees me that, this is my 10th season on the PGA Tour, it guarantees me that I’m going to have 12, at least.”

What a beautiful comeback indeed for Malnati and a touching story of the importance of never giving up. We are expecting to see more of him in the coming weeks with, hopefully, another wonderful victory.

Leon Osamor