Tyler Weaver wins the US Collegiate Valspar title
Newmarket golfer Tyler Weaver follows fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick with Collegiate Valspar win
Tyler Weaver delivered a standout performance to win the Collegiate Valspar, rising above a field that included more than 30 amateurs ranked inside the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings, including seven of the top 15. Weaver secured victory in dramatic fashion, winning a one-hole sudden-death playoff to claim his second collegiate title and earn exemption into the 2027 Valspar Championship.
Weaver, who grew up playing at Newmarket Links Golf Club, showed resilience throughout the final round. After a slow start, he found momentum with birdies on the eighth, 11th, and 13th holes. Sitting two strokes off the lead, he produced a defining moment with his only eagle of the tournament on the par-five 15th, tying for the lead. After a par on the 16th dropped him back to second, Weaver responded under pressure with a birdie on the 17th to once again share the lead at 4-under for the round.
He carried that momentum into the playoff, where he clinched the title on the first extra hole, finishing at 15-under par with a total of 198 strokes. The performance places him among the best in Florida State University history, one of the leading programmes in college golf and an alma mater of players including Brooks Koepka and Luke Clanton, making Weaver just the sixth Seminole to break the 200-stroke mark in a 54-hole tournament. His 198 also ties for the fourth-lowest score in tournament history and stands as the lowest ever recorded by a Seminole at the event.
Matt Hartley, General Manager at Newmarket Links Golf Club, said:
“We are thrilled for Tyler. To secure another exemption into a professional event so soon in his career is a fantastic achievement. As a junior, Tyler always played with a smile on his face, and that is such an important message for young golfers — enjoying the game is where it all begins. His success is a constant reminder to our junior section that if you put your mind to something and love what you do, it might take you to the world’s biggest stages.”
Weaver’s victory at the Collegiate Valspar also came just a week after another Englishman, Matt Fitzpatrick, won the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, adding an extra layer of symmetry to a remarkable run of English success connected to the tournament.
Links Golf Club in Newmarket offers many opportunities for young golfers, including a Junior Easter half-term golf session on Friday 10 April. For details, contact sarah@smithperformancegolf.co.uk
Weaver, who grew up playing at Newmarket Links Golf Club, showed resilience throughout the final round. After a slow start, he found momentum with birdies on the eighth, 11th, and 13th holes. Sitting two strokes off the lead, he produced a defining moment with his only eagle of the tournament on the par-five 15th, tying for the lead. After a par on the 16th dropped him back to second, Weaver responded under pressure with a birdie on the 17th to once again share the lead at 4-under for the round.
He carried that momentum into the playoff, where he clinched the title on the first extra hole, finishing at 15-under par with a total of 198 strokes. The performance places him among the best in Florida State University history, one of the leading programmes in college golf and an alma mater of players including Brooks Koepka and Luke Clanton, making Weaver just the sixth Seminole to break the 200-stroke mark in a 54-hole tournament. His 198 also ties for the fourth-lowest score in tournament history and stands as the lowest ever recorded by a Seminole at the event.
Matt Hartley, General Manager at Newmarket Links Golf Club, said:
“We are thrilled for Tyler. To secure another exemption into a professional event so soon in his career is a fantastic achievement. As a junior, Tyler always played with a smile on his face, and that is such an important message for young golfers — enjoying the game is where it all begins. His success is a constant reminder to our junior section that if you put your mind to something and love what you do, it might take you to the world’s biggest stages.”
Weaver’s victory at the Collegiate Valspar also came just a week after another Englishman, Matt Fitzpatrick, won the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, adding an extra layer of symmetry to a remarkable run of English success connected to the tournament.
Links Golf Club in Newmarket offers many opportunities for young golfers, including a Junior Easter half-term golf session on Friday 10 April. For details, contact sarah@smithperformancegolf.co.uk