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March 29, 2014
Third-Round Notes – Saturday, March 29, 2014
Weather: Mostly sunny, with highs in the mid-80s with W/NW winds at 6-12 mph with occasional higher gusts.
With more than 78 players making the 36-hole cut (82), a 54-hole cut reduced the field to 71 players at 4-over 220.
Third-Round Leaderboard
| Steven Bowditch | -12 | (69-67-68) |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Kuchar | -9 | (70-72-65) |
| Andrew Loupe | -9 | (67-70-70) |
| Pat Perez | -8 | (68-71-69) |
| Kevin Na | -7 | (70-70-69) |
Steven Bowditch
Despite his birdie-eagle start, Steven Bowditch wasn’t able to keep much heat on his competition, playing his ensuing 16 holes in 1-under. His 68 in round three gives him the distinction of being the only player in the field to have posted all three rounds in the 60s.
With a win this week, Bowditch would earn the second-to-last “win-and-you’re-in” invitation to the Masters Tournament in two weeks.
Should Bowditch win, it would be the fourth consecutive year the Valero Texas Open became the avenue to Augusta for its champion.
Finding greens in regulation proved problematic for Bowditch in round three. In rounds one and two, he hit 14 and 12 of 18, respectively. In round three, Bowditch hit just 8/18 (44.4 per cent).
Bowditch’s best finish in the 2013-‘14 PGA TOUR Season is a T19 a the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, with his best finish on TOUR being a T2 at last year’s The Greenbrier Classic.
Having been the second round leader, as well, this marks just the second time in Bowditch’s PGA TOUR career to hold a lead/co-lead after a round.
On the Web.com Tour, Bowditch won the 2005 Jacob’s Creek Open Championship and 2010 Soboba Golf Classic.
Third-Round Lead Notes
So far this season, eight of 18 third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win the event. The most recent to do so was Chesson Hadley at the Puerto Rico Open.
Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, Brendan Steele (2011) and Ben Curtis (2012) have converted third-round leads into victory.
Andrew Loupe
In just his eighth start as a professional on the PGA TOUR, rookie Andrew Loupe is poised for his first career win.
After hitting seven of 14 fairways in regulation in the first two rounds, Loupe found just six fairways in round three (42.9 per cent).
After missing the cut in his first five starts this season, Loupe has since finished T27 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and T12 at the Puerto Rico Open.
In his first 15 rounds on the PGA TOUR, taking him through six events, Loupe was able to break par just twice. In his last start before this week, the Puerto Rico Open, Loupe posted four consecutive rounds below par. Today’s 69 is his seventh straight.
Loupe made his way to the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his 32nd-place finish on the 2013 Web.com Tour priority list. The 2011 LSU grad garnered a pair of top-10 finishes in 25 starts on that Tour last season.
Matt Kuchar
With five birdies in his first seven holes, Matt Kuchar posted the low round of the week with a 7-under 65. Kuchar also birdied his last two holes of the day to get to 9-under 207 through three rounds.
In rounds one and two, Kuchar was near perfect off the tee, hitting 13/14 each day (92.9 per cent). In round three, he found just 9/14 (64.3 per cent). For the second time this week (R1), Kuchar needed just 24 putts to complete his third round.
Making his eighth start of the 2013-’14 PGA TOUR Season this week, Kuchar is amidst another solid season. In his seven previous starts, he has collected four top-10 finishes.
Kuchar is making his 10th start in the Valero Texas Open this week. Kuchar missed the cut in his last three starts before the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio. In two previous starts at TPC San Antonio, he finished T13 in 2012 and T22 last year.
Ryan Palmer
With a potential invitation to Augusta on the line, Ryan Palmer birdied three of his first four holes in round three en route to a 4-under 68. Palmer needs a top-3 finish this week to earn the coveted Masters invite. If Palmer finishes outside the top three this week, his last chance for Augusta will be to win next week’s Shell Houston Open. Palmer has played in the Masters four times, with a best finish of 10th in 2011.
In nine prior starts this season, Palmer has collected three top-10 finishes. In his last start before this week, Palmer lost in a playoff to Russell Henley at The Honda Classic.
Palmer is making his 12th start in the Valero Texas Open this week, and 11th consecutive. Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, he has finished T9 (2010), MC (2011), T32 (2012) and T15 (2013).
Palmer is in search of his fourth career PGA TOUR title this week, and first since the 2010 Sony Open in Hawaii. This week’s Valero Texas Open is his 281st PGA TOUR start.
Jordan Spieth
2013 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Jordan Spieth rebounded from an opening-round 3-over-par 75 with scores of 70-68 in rounds two and three. At 4-under, the former Texas Longhorn will begin the final round eight strokes off the lead.
Spieth bogeyed six of his first seven holes in round one, but finished birdies on three of his last five holes in round three.
Spieth is making his third consecutive start at the Valero Texas Open. The former Texas Longhorn missed last year’s cut and, as an amateur in 2012, finished T41.
Miscellaneous Notes
Statement from Phil Mickelson upon withdrawing from the event on his 11th hole in round three (No. 2):
“My back’s feeling great, my body’s been feeling great. I felt as good as I have all year. My speed is back, I was hitting the ball hard, driving it great. I pulled a muscle on my downswing trying to hit the ball hard on the first hole. It just killed and it wouldn’t subside for 10 or 12 seconds.
“I’m going to go back to San Diego for a couple of days and have a doctor take a look at it but there’s really not much you can do for a pulled muscle. I hope I’ll be OK to play the Shell in Houston but I just don’t know.”
Bogey-free Rounds
| R1: | Justin Hicks (69), Ben Curtis (70), Scott Brown (70) |
|---|---|
| R2: | None |
| R3: | None |
Scoring Averages at TPC San Antonio
| Round | Front 9 | Back 9 | Total | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 36.736 | 36.264 | 73.000 | -- |
| R2 | 37.604 | 36.094 | 73.698 | 73.343 |
| R3 | 36.85 | 35.775 | 72.625 | 73.185 |
The par-5 eighth hole played the toughest in round three, with an average of 5.425. The easiest hole was the par-5 14th, playing to an average of 4.463.
ABOUT VALERO
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland and Latin America. Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day. Valero is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, which owns two renewable diesel plants located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, and Valero owns 12 ethanol plants located in the U.S. Mid-Continent region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. Valero manages its operations through its Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. Please visit investorvalero.com for more information.
ABOUT VALERO IN THE COMMUNITY
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where Valero has major operations. In 2023, Valero, its employees and the foundation collectively generated more than $77 million in charitable support through direct/in-kind donations, fundraising and volunteerism. Valero employees logged more than 127,000 volunteer hours in 2023 for hundreds of projects in their communities. Valero provides funding to a variety of nonprofit agencies for programs and services supporting education, basic needs, health care and civic initiatives. Through the overwhelming support of sponsors, the foundation’s signature programs, the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children, generated more than $23 million raised in 2023 for charities across the United States.
ABOUT THE VALERO TEXAS OPEN
The Valero Texas Open is the sixth-oldest professional tournament in golf worldwide, the third-oldest on the PGA TOUR and the longest held in the same city. In 2022, the tournament celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Its list of champions includes some of the greatest names in golf history: Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and 2019, 2023 champion Corey Conners to name a few.
Since Valero became title sponsor in 2002, the tournament has become a leader in charitable fundraising among PGA TOUR events. The Valero Texas Open, together with its Benefit for Children and Champions fore Charity initiatives, has contributed more than $232 million to hundreds of worthy charities since inception. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for more information.
Media Contacts
Stephanie Sage
Valero Texas Open
Director, Marketing & Community Relations
210.345.3839 office
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Valero Texas Open
Director, Media Relations
704.913.1088 mobile
