Bogey on 18th trims Casey’s lead to one

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The final hour changed the dynamics of the Valspar Championship, just not the lead.

That still belongs to defending champion Paul Casey, and he saw only the upside of having his threeshot margin shrink to one, and going from a final round pairing with a player who is

0 for 195 on the PGA Tour to playing alongside the No. 1 player in the world.

On a Saturday at Innisbrook that began with all 70 players who made the cut still very much in the mix, Casey surged to a threeshot lead until a bogey on the 18th hole for a 3-under

68 that left him one shot ahead of Dustin Johnson.

At stake for Casey is a chance to become the first back-to-back winner of the Valspar Championship since this PGA Tour event began in 2000.

Behind him is Johnson, who is going for his second victory in three starts.

“Of the guys on the leaderboard, he’s the one I would want to be paired with, so it doesn’t bother me,” Casey said. “Obviously, two shots would have been nicer than one, but one is better than level, or one behind.”

Johnson had some say in that final margin with one of his best shots of the day, a

9-iron from a bunker a few paces in front of a steep lip to the front shelf of the 18th green, 10 feet behind the hole. He made that for a 67 to get into the final group.

And that was good news for Casey?

“He’s the best player in the world. That’s why I work and I do what I do, because I want to play against the best in the world,” Casey said.

He also pointed to Johnson being the favorite, at least in the eyes of thousands of fans on a warm, sun-filled day at Innisbrook, the kind of buzz it had last year when Tiger Woods played for the first time.

“I feel very little pressure,” Casey said. “You look at my results versus Dustin’s. He’s the better player, so it’s pretty simple. If I go out tomorrow and beat him, I might win, plain and simple. Great scenario.”

Only it’s not that simple, and no one knows better than Casey.

A year ago, he rallied from five shots behind with a 65 and wound up winning by one shot over Woods and Patrick Reed.

Casey was at 8-under

205. Eight players had a share of the lead in the third round, and 10 players finished within four shots of the lead.