Jordan Spieth is officially back in the winner’s circle as he held off Charley Hoffman to win the Valero Texas Open on Sunday at TPC San Antonio. Here is everything you need to know:
Classification table: Jordan Spieth (-18), Charley Hoffman (-16), Matt Wallace (-15), Lucas Glover (-12), Anirban Lahiri (-10)
Meaning: Nearly four years and 83 starts since his last PGA Tour victory, or whatever victory for that matter, Spieth is a champion again. He looked in classic form, closing with a cool and confident 66 under par, and turned his third 54-hole lead of the season, the best on the Tour, into his first win since the 2017 Open Championship. Now a win in his last seven starts, Spieth enters this week’s Masters Tournament on good momentum and will look to win his second green jacket as he becomes the fifth player, and the first since Phil Mickelson in 2006, to win. at Augusta National after also winning last week’s Tour event.
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As a step: Spieth entered Sunday tied for the top of the standings with Wallace at 12 under and two shots ahead of Hoffman. At first, Spieth seemed a bit nervous, hitting a pair of rogue tee shots on the first few holes and birdying the second par 5 despite not hitting a shot from the fairway. However, those nerves were short-lived. Spieth never lost the lead and got things started by nearly hitting an ace on the 174-yard third par-3. He made the 2ft, one of his four nine forward birdies, to take his first solo lead of the day and never looked back.
“I actually felt very light,” he said afterward. “I felt like I just wanted to go out and smile and try and have fun. That has been kind of a challenge for me these Sundays when I’ve been in contention.”
Spieth details ‘long road’ to first win since 2017
After years of battling his swing, Spieth hit clutch hits down the stretch, looking especially sharp with his wedges, as he tossed challenge after challenge from Hoffman, the tournament’s all-time money winner fighting for a ticket. for Augusta National. When Hoffman dug a 20-foot shot at par 3 16 to hit a shot from Spieth for the third time in the final round, Spieth moved to the next tee and threw a drive 75 yards at the 366-yard, par 4 17 to prepare another birdie and return to two of Hoffman. And because Spieth always finds a way to make it interesting, he hit an 8-iron in the rough, and just barely over a video marker, as he positioned himself on the par-5 finish hole, but managed to get away with par and win by two. .
Round of the day: Patton Kizzire escaped the bogeys with seven birdies to shoot 65 for his final quarter of T-11 or better this season.
Take of the day: Spieth hit some nice wedge shots in the last nine to create big birdies, but the tee at No. 3 was the spark for his final round.
Biggest disappointment: Wallace. Spieth and Hoffman turned the finale into a two-man show when the Englishman, who closed at 69 thanks to three birdies in a row to close out, was essentially just a spectator in the final trio.
Quote of the day: “Man, it’s been a long road. There were many times that I wasn’t sure if I’d be here talking to you [Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis] about this right now. I never really doubted myself to get back to where I wanted to go, but when you lose confidence many times it is difficult to see the positive in the future. … This is a monumental victory for me. It’s one I’ve certainly thought about for a long time. ” – Spieth