SAN ANTONIO — JJ Spaun came up with two big shots at the end of a long, wet Sunday, one for birdie and one for eagle to carry him to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory at the Valero Texas Open for his first title since last summer’s US Open.
Spaun won for the second time at TPC San Antonio, by one big margin. His victory four years ago put him in the Masters. He is now the US Open champion who already has his place at Augusta National. But this was an important victory.
He has yet to finish in the top 20 in seven of his starts this year — his best was a tie for 24th at The Players Championship — and now the 35-year-old Californian has won under tough conditions as he heads into the first major of the year.
“It’s just — this game is crazy,” Spaun said. “I didn’t feel as supported as I wanted last season, and I’m just trying to take each day as it comes, and accept what I have.”
“There’s just a lot that comes with winning major events like that, the US Open or any other major,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to start the year, I had a lot of expectations. I came in a few weeks ago starting at the Players trying to relax, and I put a little pressure on myself, and I did. But sticking to that mantra helped me a lot.”
Robert MacIntyre, who had been leading for much of the tournament, finished 12 holes Sunday morning in a storm-delayed tournament to shoot a 72 to take a one-shot lead going into the final round. The teams did not change in the final round in an attempt to finish in heavy rain — but no lightning caused the delay.
Spaun was in the mix with a dozen other players when he hit his shot to 3 feet on the par-3 16th for birdie and then drove the green on the 306-yard 17th hole to 10 feet for eagle.
He finished with a goal-setting 17-under 271, finishing nearly an hour ahead of MacIntyre and the final group. He was within range when MacIntyre, three shots behind and two to play, drove the 17th and holed an eagle putt just outside 15 feet to get within one shot.
But the Scotsman second-shotted into a wet hole on the 609-yard closing hole – a par 5 that produced just 10 birdies in the final round – and even after getting relief from a temporary impenetrable handicap, MacIntyre could only hit 30 feet.
His birdie putt to force a short playoff all the way. MacIntyre closed with a 70 to share second place with Matt Wallace (68) and Michael Kim (69).
He won three times on the PGA Tour, two of them at the Texas Open.
Ludvig Åberg had his third straight top 10 — including at The Players Championship where he gave up the lead on the back nine — entering the Masters. He closed with a 70 and tied for fifth with Andrew Putnam, who needed a birdie on the 18th to force a playoff and hit a wedge on the back hole, making a bogey for 70.
