PALM HARBOR, Fla. Gavin Escobar Cowboys Jersey . -- John Senden never imagined it would take more than seven years to win again. Even more surprising is how he won the Valspar Championship. Sunday at Innisbrook had all the trappings of a tournament that is survived more than it is won. Robert Garrigus, who started the final round with the lead, hit a tee shot that bounced off a lawn chair and wound up next to a tree, leading to a double bogey. Kevin Na, playing in the final group, missed a 3-foot putt and made a double bogey during a meltdown at the end of his front nine. Each mistake brought more players into the mix on the Copperhead course until at one point there were nine players separated by three shots with more than an hour to go and the treacherous "Snake Pit" stretch of three fearsome closing holes ahead. But thats where Senden seized control -- on the 16th hole, with a shot into the trees. In a three-way tie for the lead with Na and Scott Langley, Sendens tee shot was headed for a tiny forest when it smacked off a tree and left him an opening. "I got a pretty good break there with hitting the tree and dropping straight down," he said. "Then I hit a really good second shot to get in some sort of position near the green. Walking up to the shot, I just felt like, OK, I need to hit a really good shot here to get this up-and-down and try to have a chance to do something down the stretch. "I thought it came out well," he said. "It disappeared. Amazing." He chipped in from 70 feet for birdie to break the tie. He made a 20-foot birdie putt on the next hole to stretch his lead to two shots. And when he could hear Na made a birdie putt on the 17th hole behind him to cut the lead to one, the 42-year-old Australian hit one might have been his best putt of the day that didnt go in. It was a 40-foot putt that went up a ridge and moved slightly to the right, and then went down the slope and sharply to the left. Senden hit it so well that he only had a few inches left to tap in for his par and a 1-under 70. All that was left was to wait to see if Na could make birdie and force a playoff. Na caught a flier out of the first cut of rough with a pitching wedge to 40 feet, and the birdie putt didnt have a chance. He closed with a 72 to finish second, his best result on the PGA Tour since he won at Las Vegas at the end of 2011. "I knew coming into today that I felt like if I shot par I had a chance to win," Na said. "If I break par, I felt like it was going to be a lock." Senden finished at 7-under 277, the third straight event on the Florida swing where the winning score was single-digit under par. He wasnt thinking about all the perks that go along with winning, though he was clear on one thing -- he wont have the week off the second week in April. Senden earned a spot in the Masters, always the biggest major for Australians, even with Adam Scott winning last year. He also locked up a berth in the PGA Championship, two World Golf Championships the rest of the year (at Firestone and Shanghai) and Kapalua to start next year. Its a good feeling for Senden, one that he had forgotten. His only other PGA Tour win was in 2006 at the John Deere Classic. Senden capped off that year by winning the Australian Open at Royal Sydney. "Its something that makes you believe more than you can get it done again, rather than just once and thinking back then in 06, Was it a flash in the pan? I dont believe so," Senden said. "But now it makes me feel (validated) from the John Deere." Scott Langley, hitting superb shots to account for the wind, didnt hit a green over the final four holes and still managed to save par on three of them. The one bogey on the 16th hole, when he went long of the green from the middle of the fairway, proved costly. Langley and David Hearn were the only players who shot par or better all four days. Langley closed with a 70 to finish alone in third. Garrigus made two double bogeys on his way to a 41 on the back nine. He also went 26 holes without a birdie dating to the third round Saturday, when he led by as many as four shots. By the time he made birdie at No. 14, it was too late. Garrigus, now 0-4 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, closed with a 75. He tied for fourth with Will MacKenzie (69) and Luke Donald (70). "I know what Im not going to be doing next year -- fishing," said Garrigus, who figures he caught three dozen large-mouth bass this week. "Im going to bring a damn chain saw out to the place and cut a few trees down. I kept hitting it behind them all day. I just didnt get any breaks." Jeremy Mincey Cowboys Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are making a case for saving coach Greg Schianos job with a strong second-half turnaround. Chris Jones Jersey . Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey also scored in regulation and Frederik Andersen stopped 27 shots for the Ducks, who will face Dallas in the opening round of the post-season. Anze Kopitar had two goals, including the tying one with 3:12 left in the third period, and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles.TORONTO -- Sebastien Bourdais captured his first pole of the season on Saturday. But he knows it doesnt mean much, especially with light rain falling on the Honda Indy track. Bourdais, whose only victory in the Toronto race came 10 years ago, had the top qualifying time of 58.94 seconds. "I remember it being the hardest street course Ive ever been on (when) wet," said Bourdais. "Theres so many lines and pavement changes, concrete, man holes and everything. This place is extremely treacherous." Bourdais, who sits 12th in the IndyCar Series standings, finished second and third in the two Toronto races last season, and won the Toronto event in 2004. Saturday was Bourdais 32nd pole of his career, but his first since September 2007. By taking the pole in Toronto, Bourdais became the 10th different pole winner in 13 races during the 2014 season. "Its been (seven) years. Its been a long time coming. Its a great feeling," said the 35-year-old. "I think Ive been the pole here four times and only won the thing once so it says how random these things can be. " Will Power, who is second in the IndyCar Series standings, finished qualifying with the second best time of 59.10, marking Powers fourth front-row start of the season. Series leader Helio Castroneves was third in qualifying with a best lap time off 59. Randy White Cowboys Jersey. 4. Its Castroneves seventh top-five start of 2014. "We qualified third and were kind of upset about it," said Castroneves. "Thats a good thing. Its a great position to start the race. Unfortunately our tires at the end were worse than some of the others and that was the difference. "I feel like we will be very good for the race." Oakville, Ont., native James Hinchcliffe, the lone Canadian in the race, will start in the ninth spot after posting a qualifying lap time of 59.352. Hinchcliffe, who comes to Toronto in 11th place in the IndyCar Series with 294 points, has struggled in his home race finishing eighth and 21st, respectively in last years races. The 27-year-old finished 22nd at the 2012 event in Toronto and posted a 14th place finish during his rookie season in 2011. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the winner of last Saturdays race at Iowa Speedway, finished fourth in qualifying. Hunter-Reay will start in the top five for the fifth time this season and for the first time since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May. Simon Pagenaud, who briefly held the best qualifying time, was forced to pit early after a brush with the wall and finished fifth. Scott Dixon, who won both races in Toronto last year, will start 12th after a brush with the wall during qualifying forced him to pit early. ' ' '
