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PGA Tour start No. 147 proved to be the lucky number for J.J. Spaun, who broke through for his first career win at the most opportune time: With a trip to Augusta on the line, the Los Angeles native earned his first invite to the Masters thanks to his victory Sunday at the Valero Texas Open.
“It’s something you dream of as a kid, playing at the Masters – and I was thinking about it last night – but there was still so much to be done,” said the 31-year-old Spaun, who finished at 13-under 275, two strokes ahead of Matt Kuchar and Australia’s Matt Jones. “You gotta do your best to stay in the present. I think that’s what guys that win do the best that week – stay in the moment, focus on each shot at time and fortunately I was able to do that.”
That focus was critical on Sunday for Spaun, who held a share of the 54-hole lead and quickly found himself playing catchup after making a double bogey on his first hole. He recovered with five birdies (and 12 pars) for a final-round 69, becoming the first player to overcome a double bogey on the opening hole of a final round and go on to win since Tiger Woods at the 2008 U.S. Open.
“It didn’t bother me as much as you would think,” said Spaun, who became the sixth player to record their first win at the event since 2010 and ninth first-time winner this season. “If anything, it kind of calmed me down. …I knew there was still a lot of golf and I’d rather double the first hole than the last hole. I just knew if I stayed patient and kept plugging away that, who knows, maybe I’d put myself in contention with nine holes to play and that’s all I could ask for.”
Spaun, who opened the week listed at +15000 via PointsBet Sportsbook – well behind betting favorite Rory McIlroy at +750, put himself in contention at the TCP San Antonio from the start, carding a 5-under 67 to stand just two shots off the pace of first-round leader Russell Knox. He followed up with rounds of 70-69 to hold share of the 54-hole lead with Brandt Snedeker, Beau Hossler and Dylan Frittelli at 10 under. Spaun was listed at +600 heading into Sunday, with South Africa’s Frittelli leading the final-round market at +450.
“A year ago, to even be on Tour, I would have been telling you I have to do a lot of work to get there,” said Spaun, who played college golf at San Diego State and was a Tour rookie in 2017. “To be here and to overcome a lot of things and finally get a win, man, it’s everything you dream of.”
Among the most challenging obstacles for Spaun came in 2018, when he was misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He changed his diet and exercise habits, but three years later, he was still losing weight and found that he actually has Type 1 diabetes. By the start of this season, Spaun regained the wait and has been approved by the Tour to wear a Libre blood-sugar monitor. His health battle took its toll on his golf game, and Spaun technically lost his card during the COVID-19 season. He played his way back on Tour last fall through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Series, finishing sixth in the Finals 25 with a T-2 at the Albertsons Boise Open.
“It was dark,” Spaun said about last season. “I think losing my card was probably the best thing to happen to me last year. … I think that’s kind of what I needed, maybe. It wasn’t a lack of effort or being lazy with my game or anything. It kind of was like a switch that needed to be flipped and maybe something with confidence that I needed to find once again.”
In four previous starts at the Valero Texas Open, Spaun’s best finish was T-26 in 2018, and his best overall Tour finish prior to this week was a solo second at the 2017 RSM Classic. The win moved Spaun to No. 10 in the FedExCup standings, and he’ll jump from No. 242 in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 103.
World No. 148 Kuchar – making his 500th PGA Tour start and listed at +6600 to open the week – came into his 17th appearance at the Texas Open looking for not only his first Valero win, but also a last-minute invite to Augusta. Kuchar hasn’t missed a Masters start since 2010, and he’s played in the last 27 consecutive major championships. The nine-time Tour winner briefly held a share of the lead Sunday after opening with back-to-back birdies, but finished with a 3-under 69 to record his 14th career runner-up finish.
Two-time Tour winner Jones (+12500) recorded his second career runner-up result (2013 Greenbrier Classic) after tying with Keegan Bradley for low round of the day Sunday with a 6-under 66.
Canada’s Adam Hadwin, listed at +3300 to start the week, carded a 67 on Sunday to finish T-4 at 10-under, marking his third consecutive top-10 finish for the first time in his Tour career (T-9/Players Championship, T-7/Valspar, T-4/Valero). Also finishing at 10 under were Troy Merritt (+10000), Charles Howell III (+9000), who recorded his 98th top-10 in 603 starts, and Hossler (+12500), who was aiming to become the first sponsor exemption to win on Tour since Martin Laird at the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open.
Rounding out the top 10 at T-8 (9-under 279) were Bradley, Matthias Schwab, Gary Woodland, Brendon Todd and Frittelli.
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Notes and notable: Defending champ Spieth labors to T-35; Matsuyama’s WD raises questions
Defending Valero champion Jordan Spieth, listed at +1200 to start the week, was aiming to become the event’s first repeat winner since Zach Johnson in 2009. But he failed to get any momentum going after shooting 72-70 to make the cut by a shot, and on Saturday he recorded a 2-over 74 for just his fifth over-par score in 25 rounds at the event. He turned in his best round of the week on Sunday, carding a 5-under 67 to finish T-35.
Missing the cut in Texas was Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 9 Rory McIlroy, the pre-tournament favorite at +750, who shot 72-73 to miss the cut by two. DeChambeau (+2200), who returned to action just last week at the WGC-Match Play where he failed to advance out of group play, shot 73-76 and missed the cut for the third time in as many attempts at TPC San Antonio.
One week before defending his 2021 Masters title, Hideki Matsuyama (+1600) withdrew during the second round with a neck injury, the same injury that kept him out of the Players Championship. Matsuyama opened with a 2-over 74 and lasted just nine holes on Friday, posting a 1-under 35 before his withdrawal. Also withdrawing during the second round were Ben Kern (ankle injury) and Kevin Tway (wrist injury).
Englishman Richard Bland, who fell just outside the top-50 cutoff last week to earn his first Masters invitation, finished T-29 in Texas and jumped to No. 48 in the rankings to mark his first appearance inside the top 50.
Up next: The Masters Tournament
All eyes are on Tiger Woods ahead of this week’s Masters, where Woods could make his return to competitive golf and bid for a sixth green jacket.
Woods confirmed his intention to play Sunday in a tweet, writing: “I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete.”
Other notable storylines this week include Rory McIlroy’s chase for the career Grand Slam and Collin Morikawa’s bid to become the first man since Jordan Spieth in 2015 to win back-to-back majors (Brooks Koepka won two majors in 2018, but Francesco Molinari‘s win at the Open Championship triumph came in between). World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will look to pick up where he left off following his victory at the WGC-Match Play – his third win in five starts – while world No. 2 Jon Rahm will aim to extend his major-championship success. Rahm has finished inside the top 10 in each of his last five major starts, which include a win at the 2021 U.S. Open.
Last year at Augusta, Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese male to win a major when he captured the Masters title by one stroke over Will Zalatoris. Matsuyama, who finished at 10-under 278, made five bogeys during his final round but still managed to hold off a Sunday charge from Rahm, who carded the low round of the day (6-under 66) and finished T-5. Zalatoris’ solo second marked the best finish by a first-time Masters participant since Jordan Spieth in 2014. Spieth, who also finished runner-up in 2014, shot a 70 on Sunday finish T-3 with Xander Schauffele at 7 under.
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