No lead is safe at the Copperhead Course until the final putt is holed at the 18th hole. Justin Thomas found out the hard way Sunday.

Thomas led by two shots when he arrived at the famed “Snake Pit” – the difficult closing stretch of Nos. 16, 17 and 18 at Innisbrook Resort – with one hand already on his first PGA TOUR trophy in nearly three years.

He left snakebitten, still searching for that elusive victory.

Thomas bogeyed the 16th and 18th holes, missing both drives left and unable to save either for a par that would’ve secured a spot in a playoff with Viktor Hovland, who played the same stretch in 1-under to win his seventh PGA TOUR title.

It was once again the "Snake Pit" that decided the victor (or Viktor) at the Valspar Championship.

“There’s not much I can do, he birdied 16 and 17,” Thomas said. "Obviously, I made it a lot easier on him but it’s fun, it’s hard, but it’s really really fun trying to win golf tournaments.”

Thomas didn’t have regrets as he took the media’s questions after the loss. He would’ve hit driver again on No. 16, even though his tee shot ran through the fairway on the dogleg left and behind a grouping of trees, leading to a bogey. “I didn't feel like it was necessarily a stupid play,” he said, adding he was uncomfortable about missing it right and into the water if he hit 3-wood.

And Thomas had the same sentiment on the 18th. It was just poor execution that cost him. He drew a terrible lie in the rough after his errant tee shot and was only able to advance the ball to a front greenside bunker. Thomas’ sand shot got caught up in the front collar of rough and he was unable to hole his next shot for par. “The moral of the story is hit a better drive,” he said.

Thomas has had chances to win on the PGA TOUR this year, but none as close as Sunday in Tampa. Thomas was 7-under and bogey-free for the day before he arrived at the 16th hole. That included four birdies on the back nine, grabbing shots at both par 5s, and holing a pair of 15-20 footers for birdie on Nos. 12 and 15, the type of putts that usually lead to victory. If Thomas played the "Snake Pit" in even-par, they would have.

That wasn’t lost on Thomas after the round, but he didn’t get held up on it. Instead, it was just further confirmation that he was on the right path. In some ways, it was a bonus that Thomas was even playing on Sunday. He fought back from a front-nine 40 in his first round to make the cut by one shot, then shot 65-66 on the weekend to nearly win the event.

While the winless drought extends another week (his last win came at the 2022 PGA Championship), Thomas said he didn’t feel overwhelming nerves down the stretch. The only time they crept in came on his third shot on No. 16, a wedge he blocked into the greenside bunker. Even then, Thomas was able to get up and down for bogey, then striped a 5-iron on the difficult par-3 17th that set up a 15-foot birdie try.

“That was a blast,” Thomas said. “I’ve had plenty of chances this season but nothing quite like that. That’s exactly why we play and we practice.”

The American is back inside the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and already has two runners-up this season and another two top-10s. He has recaptured his typically superb iron play, inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach this season while also gaining strokes on the greens, a part of his game that he has always struggled with.

“I'm very, very proud of myself. It sucks not winning when you're that close and have a great chance,” Thomas said, “but I just hopefully put myself in the same position in two weeks at Augusta and finish it off better.”