Latest News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2015
Jimmy Walker Wins Hometown Valero Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Jimmy Walker made himself right at home on the Valero Texas Open leaderboard.
Walker won his hometown event Sunday to become the first two-time winner this season on the PGA TOUR, beating fellow Texan Jordan Spieth by four strokes.
"(Spieth) really made me fight hard," Walker said. "He kept hitting it close, and I had to keep making putts."
Walker made birdie putts of 15 feet at No. 16 and 17 feet at the 17th in a 2-under 70 that left him at 11-under 277 at TPC San Antonio, a 35-minute drive from his home.
The 36-year-old former Baylor player won the Sony Open in Hawaii by nine shots in January and has a tour-best five victories in the past two seasons.
"Everybody says it's hard to win at home," Walker said, "(but) it's hard to win any week -- home, away, out of the country, it's hard. So I feel good."
Spieth also finished with a 70, making four late birdies in a row. The 21-year-old Dallas player was coming off a playoff victory two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship.
"It actually looked like I had a chance," said Spieth, seven shots back with eight to play. "I didn't think that would be possible. You're never out of it in this game, but Jimmy shut that down pretty quickly with his made putts."
Walker and Spieth will move to career highs in the Official World Golf Ranking, with Spieth going from sixth to fourth and Walker from 13th to 10th.
"That's cool," Spieth said. "But I'm not pinching myself, because there are three guys ahead."
FedExCup champion Billy Horschel was third at 4 under after a 71.
Daniel Summerhays, second last year behind Steven Bowditch, tied for fourth with Chesson Hadley at 3 under. Summerhays closed with a 69, and Hadley had a 71.
World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship winner Dustin Johnson shot his second straight 68 to match Ryan Palmer at 2 under. Palmer also had a 68.
"With the same wind the last three days it helped to figure out the course, and I played well," Johnson said, noting steady wind at past 20 mph much of this week. "I just played a couple of holes bad. Other than that, I played a lot of good golf in between and if I played those other holes better it's a whole different tournament."
Phil Mickelson, looking for some momentum heading to the Masters, closed with a 76 to drop into a tie for 30th at 4 over.
Ten players finished under par, with the Oaks Course playing the toughest on the PGA TOUR this season with a 74.581 stroke average -- more than two shots over par. The previous high was PGA National's Champion course at 1.832 over par for The Honda Classic.
Marc Warren and Harris English failed to crack the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which would have given them spots in the Masters. Warren, 52nd, needed to finish ahead of Brendan Todd to get in, but closed with a 70 to finish 35th. English, 53rd, needed at least a top 10. His final-round 72 only got him to 30th.
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
Lee Patterson
Valero Texas Open
Director, Media Relations
704.913.1088 mobile
