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March 29, 2015
Final-Round Notes – Sunday, March 29, 2015
Weather: Mostly sunny and breezy with temperatures reaching the low-80s. Winds S at 12-22 mph with gusts to 25 mph.
Final-Round Leaderboard
| Jimmy Walker | 71-67-69-70-—277 | (-11) |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan Spieth | 71-69-71-70-—281 | (-7) |
| Billy Horschel | 72-70-71-71-—284 | (-4) |
Jimmy Walker
FedExCup point’s leader and Boerne (TX) resident Jimmy Walker began the day four strokes ahead of Jordan Spieth and, despite a pair of early bogeys on Nos. 4 and 7, was never threatened and went on to a 2-under-par 70 and a four-stroke victory over Spieth for his second victory of the 2014-15 campaign. He became the first 54-hole leader/co-leader to win since Bill Haas at January’s Humana Challenge a stretch of 10 events.
The current FedExCup leader, Walker earns 500 points to increase his lead in the race with 1,650 points, 486 ahead of Jordan Spieth. In 2014, it took 438 points to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs, 611 to qualify for Deutsche Bank Championship, 968 for BMW Championship and 1,769 for TOUR Championship. Walker took control of the top spot in the FedexCup standings with his win in Hawaii and has led ever since.
With his win, Walker earns his fifth career PGA TOUR victory at the age of 36 years, 2 months, 12 days in his 224th career start on the PGA TOUR. He previously won the 2013 Frys.com Open, 2014 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii.
With his victory, Jimmy Walker is likely to move into the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He was 13th last week.
Walker collects 500 points towards making the 2014 U.S. Presidents Cup’s American Team.
Walker played his first 187 events on the PGA TOUR without a win. With his Valero Texas Open victory, he has now won five times in his last 37 starts and has finished in the top 10 in 15 of those starts.
With his win, Walker is the fifth player since 2000 with ties to Texas to win this event, joining Steven Bowditch (2014), Justin Leonard (2000, ’01, ’07), Bart Bryant (2004), and Tommy Armour III (2003). So far this year, there have been nine players in their 30s to win on the PGA TOUR this season, including two wins by Walker. The other winners were Ryan Moore/CIMB Classic, Bubba Watson/World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Charley Hoffman/OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Bill Haas/Humana Challenge, Brandt Snedeker/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, James Hahn/Northern Trust Open, Dustin Johnson/WGC-Cadillac Championship and Matt Every/Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Walker also became the 18th player with Texas ties (native/resident) to claim this event and the second in succession. He is the eighth of the last 16 winners to have hailed from Texas.
Walker is the fourth area resident to win the Valero Texas Open and the first since David Ogrin (Garden Ridge) in 1996. Other area winners were Wesley Ellis (1959) and Tony Holquin (1953).
With his win, Walker becomes the season’s first multiple winner for the second season in a row. With his first three TOUR wins early in the 2013-14 campaign, Walker became just the fourth player to win three times in eight or fewer starts to begin a season over the last 20 years, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval.
Jimmy Walker’s Tournament Stats:
| Category | Rank |
| Driving Accuracy | 30 of 56 – T45 |
| GIR | 51 of 72 – 1st |
| Putts Per Round | 108 – 27.0/T12 |
| Putts/GIR | 1.647/5th |
| Driving Distance | 303.3/4th |
Through 72 holes, Walker led in Strokes Gained: Putting (10.338).
Walker birdied 12 of the 16 par-5 holes at the TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course.
This was Walker’s 10th start in the Valero Texas Open and his best finish in his nine previous starts was T3 in 2010.
Walker won his first three events on the PGA TOUR by a collective four strokes. He has now claimed victory Nos. 4 and 5 by a collective 13 strokes.
With his win this week, Walker became the season’s first multiple winner for the second season in a row. With his first three TOUR wins early in the 2013-14 campaign, Walker became just the fourth player to win three times in eight or fewer starts to begin a season over the last 20 years, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval.
Jimmy Walker becomes the fourth 54-hole leader in the last five years to win the event. The lone exception was in 2013 when Martin Laird came from behind the final day to overtake Billy Horschel, who led by two strokes after three rounds. Since 2000, 12 of 16 54-hole leaders have gone on to win the tournament.
Jordan Spieth
The winner of the Valspar Championship earlier this month, former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth closed with a 2-under-par 70 to claim sole possession of second place.
With his second-place finish, Spieth earns 300 points in the FedExCup race and moves into second place with 1,164 points behind Jimmy Walker (1,650).
This was Spieth’s fourth-consecutive start at the Valero Texas Open. His best previous was 10th last year. He also missed the cut in 2013 and in 2012, as an amateur, finished T41.
In 14 rounds now at TPC San Antonio, Spieth has finished below par in nine of those, including all four this year. His low round here is a 4-under-par 68 in the third round in 2014.Jordan Spieth’s Tournament Stats:
| Category | Rank |
| Driving Accuracy | 34 of 56/T24 |
| GIR | 42 of 72/T20 |
| Putts Per Round | 105 – 26.3/1st |
| Driving Distance | 288.8/T3 |
Miscellaneous Notes
Billy Horschel, the reigning FedExCup champion, finished third overall, his first top-10 of the season. He was T3 in 2013 after leading by two strokes after 54 holes.
Daniel Summerhays T4 finish was his best showing on the PGA TOUR since he was T2 here at the Valero Texas Open a year ago.
Dustin Johnson posted consecutive rounds of 68 on the weekend to finish T5. Johnson was one of 24 of 72 players from the Thursday morning draw to make the cut. He was T79 after his opening-round 79.
Freddie Jacobson increased his streak of consecutive holes without a three-putt to 416, the longest current streak on TOUR. Jacobson’s last three-putt came on No. 16 in the second round at the Humana Challenge. His streak of 416 holes is the longest on the PGA TOUR since Luke Donald had 483 straight during the 2011 season. Jacobson has only had four three-putts this year.
Chesson Hadley’s T4 finish was his best finish since winning the 2014 Puerto Rico Open.
Phil Mickelson finished T30 after a final-round 4-over-par 76. However, he’d probably like to forget about his play on holes 4-7 where he was a combined 10-over-par on that four-hole stretch during the tournament.
Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth were the only players to have posted four consecutive, sub-par rounds.
Jimmy Walker led all players with 22 birdies, two more than Chesson Hadley.
Here is how some of the former Valero Texas Open winners who made the 36-hole cut fared -- Martin Laird (2013/T50), Brendan Steele (2011/T9), and Zach Johnson (2008, ‘09/T20).
San Antonio resident Cameron Beckman finished T44.
The Valero Texas Open and the Benefit for Children announced today that a record $10.4 million has been raised for charities at this year’s tournament, helping Valero surpass its goal of raising a total of $100 million since becoming a tournament sponsor in 2002. The $10.4 total this year was the highest in tournament history and brings the all-time total to $100.9 million. The tournament itself has raised $104.9 million since its inception in 1922. Only three other PGA TOUR events have surpassed $100 the million milestone. Funds are distributed to children’s charities in all areas around the country where Valero has major operations.
Bogey-free rounds:
| R1: | Charley Hoffman (67) |
|---|---|
| R2: | Zach Johnson (71) |
| R3: | Gary Woodland (68) |
| R4: | None |
Scoring Averages at TPC San Antonio
| Round | Front 9 | Back 9 | Total | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 38.967 | 37.821 | 76.695 | -- |
| R2 | 37.002 | 36.337 | 73.339 | 75.109 |
| R3 | 37.293 | 36.480 | 73.773 | 74.853 |
| R4 | 37.160 | 36.133 | 73.293 | 74.581 |
The par-4 fourth hole played the most difficult for the tournament with an average score of 4.391, while the par-4 17th was the easiest with an average score of 3.781. Hole No. 4 ranks as the sixth most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR so far this year.
A year ago the field averaged 73.286 for the tournament and No. 4 was the most difficult with an average score of 4.283 (+.283).
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
