SAN ANTONIO — JJ Spaun won his first PGA Tour event — and his first trip to the Masters — by scoring 69 in the final round at Sunday’s Valero Texas Open.
In his 147th start on the PGA Tour, Spaun survived a double-bogey start to his round by recording five birdies with no bogeys and finishing 13-under at TPC San Antonio. It gave him a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar (69) and Matt Jones (66).
Adam Hadwin (67), Beau Hossler (72), Charles Howell III (69) and Troy Merritt (69) placed fourth with 10 under.
Spaun, 31, finished on four straight pars and no one could catch him. His best result on the tour so far was runner-up at the 2018 RSM Classic.
Jones missed a 3-foot par putt on the 16th, birdie on the 17th, and a 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
Kuchar needed a birdie on the final hole and Spaun to bogey to force a jump-off. Spaun found problems off the tee in the left rough, but Kuchar’s second shot went into the water. Spaun hit the green of the par 5 finishing hole in three and his last putt was under 2 feet.
Spaun shares his feelings after winning the Valero Texas Open
Full field results from the Valero Texas Open
It was a missed opportunity to return to the Masters for Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker, who shared the lead after the first two holes on Sunday. Together they have 26 Masters appearances, seven top 10 finishes, and one top 3 finish each.
Snedeker shared 18th place after a 75.
Spaun’s double-bogey start in the finals before victory is so rare that the last time it happened on the tour was in 2008, when Tiger Woods won the US Open (and Woods needed a playoff the following day).
Spaun took the lead with a birdie after nailing his approach 11th from 3 feet away. Jones’ birdie on the 17th cut it to one, but Spaun responded with a birdie on the par-5 14th after almost getting pin-high in the green bunker. He hit 9 feet and made the putt to go two ahead.
Spaun maintained the lead, made a 6-foot for par at 15, chipped at 5 feet away and made the par putt on the 16th and on 17, hitting par from 4 feet.
Spaun’s double bogey at the start came when his approach went so wrong that he settled to the left of the bunker, which is to the left of the green. His chip rolled towards the back of the green and he made a three putt. He also did a double bogey on the 9th on Saturday. Still, he nailed a tough ninth place on Sunday, one of five that day.
Keegan Bradley, who hit a 66 in the final round, was eighth in 9-under with Matthias Schwab (68), Gary Woodland (70) and third-round co-leader Dylan Fittelli (73).
Frittelli’s chances began to fade after he birdied on an 8 and went to the 9th tee. His tee shot ran directly into the cactus via a cart path. Frittelli pulled the ball away from the spikes and took an unplayable bogey and managed to drop two shots back.