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April 23, 2017

Final Round Wrap-Up: Chappell Claims First TOUR Title

SAN ANTONIO -- Kevin Chappell made an 8-foot putt on the final hole to win the Valero Texas Open by one stroke on Sunday.

Chappell had a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish at 12 under for the tournament, edging Brooks Koepka at TPC San Antonio to earn his first PGA TOUR victory in his 180th career start.

Koepka was looking for his second PGA TOUR win. He had the best round of the day at 7-under 65. Before Chappell came down the 18th hole, Koepka had birdied the hole with a 3-foot putt to tie him.

Second-round co-leader Tony Finau got in a position to tie Koepka when he birdied four of five holes on the back nine. But his par-bogey finish left him to settle for a final-round 69 and a third-place tie with Kevin Tway (69) at 9-under.

Australian Aaron Baddeley fired 68 to finish fourth at 8 under.

Brian Gay (70), Sung Kang (68), Ryan Palmer (71) and Cameron Smith (71) were tied for sixth at 7-under, five shots behind Chappell.

Koepka, trailing Chappell by a shot coming up the 18th, took a 3-iron out of his bag and considered taking a crack at reaching the 606-yard par-5 in two. But he had 293 yards left with a slight uphill shot into the wind with a creek fronting the green.

He put the club back in his bag and laid up to create a 90-wedge approach. He stuck that to about three feet and made the birdie to go into the clubhouse tied with Chappell.

Chappell had almost the same distance for his approach on 18, and he landed it past the hole to set up the winning putt.

Finau closed with birdies on four of five holes coming to the 17th. He was just a shot behind Chappell's lead, but he parred there and drove next to a cactus bush on the 18th. He punched out to the fairway, removed cactus needles from his leg, then put his approach into the creek. He took a penalty drop, and his bogey ended his chances.

Chappell clung to a one-shot lead after Koepka birdied No. 11 with a 23-foot putt and another one at the next hole putting inside seven feet.

Koepka let a scoring opportunity get away at the 14th, a reachable par-5 at 567 yards. He tagged a 328-yard drive, but he found the rough and failed to get to the green with his second shot, and then missed a 4-foot birdie putt.

About 45 minutes later, Chappell came to the hole and sent his second shot 221 yards, about pin high on the green. Even though he lipped out the 11-foot eagle, his tap-in birdie gave him two strokes over Koepka.

Chappell gave Koepka new life when he bogeyed from a greenside bunker at the 15th, and it took until the 18th for Koepka to finally equalize.

Gay, who made it into the field thanks to a 27-event medical exemption due to thumb surgery, earned enough money to make good on the exemption and regain full status on the TOUR.

Chappell had a one-shot advantage over first-round leader Branden Grace and John Huh entering the day, the first time he has led after 54 holes on the PGA TOUR. Koepka, who won two years back at Phoenix, was four back and had 10 players between him and the lead.

But Koepka made the charge with birdies on his opening two holes, then a streak of three more starting with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 6. He followed with birdie of almost 40 feet on the seventh green and knocked in one from 10 feet at the eighth to tie Chappell.

But while Chappell stuck his tee shot on the 189-yard seventh inside five feet and made birdie to get to 10-under, Koepka would make bogey even after hitting the green at the tough par-4 ninth. He left his putt from 42 feet well short and missed the 9-foot par putt he had remaining.

It gave Chappell a two-shot lead with nine holes to play.

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.

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Kevin Chappell

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