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Round 4 - Kevin Chappell claims first PGA Tour title April 24, 2017
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May 8, 2018
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Ben Brett in
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Round 4 - Kevin Chappell claims first PGA Tour title

April 24, 2017

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.

''A big relief,'' the 30-year-old Chappell said. ''There's been quite the monkey on my back for some time now about getting that first win. And to take that off and not have to answer those questions anymore is nice.''

Koepka, a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year, 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.

''It's hard to win out here - everybody knows that,'' Koepka said. ''I'm knocking on the door to get my second win. It's nice for Kevin to get his first win. That's pretty cool.''

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-metal 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.

''I really wanted to go for it - I really wanted to,'' Koepka said. ''But my caddy was kind of pulling the reins back and he wanted me to lay up, and it was probably a good thing that we did.''

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.

''I wouldn't want it any other way,'' said Chappell, a Californian who had been runner-up six times in his career. ''Brooks kept me honest out there today. He made me had to do it the right way. There wasn't any question I was going to make 4 (birdie) and win the golf tournament.''

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.

''It was an awkward little putt,'' Koepka said. ''I probably didn't read enough break. It was probably the worst putt I hit all week and the worst I've hit in a long time.''

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.

Round 3 - Kevin Chappell takes over lead

April 23, 2017

Kevin Chappell found his swing late and moved a step closer to his first PGA Tour win.

Chappell birdied three of his final five holes and finished with a 1-under 71 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Valero Texas Open. He is 8-under through 54 holes. He was runnerup six years ago in the event and is ahead of first-round leader Branden Grace, who rallied with 2-under 70, and John Huh. After an eagle-birdie finish, Huh shot 71.

''It was about finding a rhythm,'' Chappell said. ''I knew when I found it, I could extend it. You can get it going on the finishing stretch.''

Ryan Palmer, a West Texas native who cut through winds as strong as 25 mph, had the round of the day with 4-under 68. He's joined at 6-under by second round co-leaders Bud Cauley (74) and Tony Finau (74), Sweden's Carl Pettersson (71), 2013 Texas Open champ Martin Laird (71), Kevin Tway (72) and Australian Cameron Smith (73).

Chappell tied for seventh with Rory McIlroy at the Masters this month, and he got his late charge going Saturday after leaving an eagle putt short at the par-5 14th. He tapped in to gain a stroke, and he made good two holes later with a 12-foot birdie. He chipped to two feet on the downwind, 318-yard 17th and had another tap-in birdie.

Chappell, 30, flirted with trouble on the 18th when his second shot rolled next to a brook, but he had enough room for a full swing and reached the green to set up a 2-putt par.

''I knew my game was in a good place,'' said Chappell, who took the week off after Augusta to celebrate the second birthday of his oldest son, Wyatt. ''I had played some really good rounds of golf.''

Grace lost his early tournament lead with a 2-over 73 in the second round. But the South African rallied Saturday and had a lead until a bogey at No. 15.

''It was pretty irritating out there,'' Grace said. ''Pars out there are good. Just have to be patient.''

Gusts that blew past 20 mph kept scores high - there were 14 scores below par Saturday. On Friday 49 rounds were under par, and 69 sub-par scores were recorded Thursday.

As notable as Palmer's round was in the windy conditions, it fits with the Texans' profile at this course. Since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio's Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course seven years ago, Palmer's got three top-10 finishes including his best of a fourth-place tie last year.

''As hard as it was blowing today, and as exposed as this course can be, it made for a challenging day,'' he said. ''Fortunately, I've had success out here when it's blowing this way. I knew what to expect. I stayed patient and made a lot of putts.''

With the wind at his back, he drove the 318-yard 17th hole but was faced with a 93-foot eagle putt. He sank a 56-foot putt to birdie earlier at No. 6, so he 2-putted for the birdie at 17 and ran in another birdie at 18.

Palmer, originally from Amarillo, hasn't won since Hawaii in 2010.

''The bomb at No. 6 went in like it was a 2-footer,'' Palmer said. I felt like I could take it and run with it. You make a putt like that and it can get your momentum going.''

With these conditions, it didn't take long for the second-round leaders to back up. Cauley bogeyed the first hole, and his co-leader Finau parred until bogey at No. 7 and a double bogey on the next hole after he was chipping for birdie from right in front of the green.

Cauley later was penalized a stroke when he double-chipped at No. 12 - he hit the ball a second time on the follow through of his greenside chip. He putted from 13 feet to save bogey.

Round 2 - Bud Cauley & Tony Finau share halfway lead

April 22, 2017

Bud Cauley had to reach deep into his bag of tricks Friday to shoot a bogey-free 66 and seize a share of the lead at the halfway mark of the Texas Open.

Cauley, who is seeking his first win on the US PGA Tour, missed eight of 18 greens but managed to scramble each time and make par.

He tallied six birdies and 12 pars in blustery conditions to finish in a tie with fellow American Tony Finau at eight-under 136 at the TPC San Antonio. Finau shot a seven-under 65.

"It was windy out there so it was tough," said Cauley. "I knew I was going to miss some greens. But I was able to leave it in the right spot most of the time and save some shots out there.

"It seems like every hole is almost straight down or straight in so you know what you are getting.

"You just have to try and par the holes that are into the wind."

This is Cauley's 108th start on the Tour without a win and his first career co-lead or outright lead after 36 holes.

He can take comfort in the fact that four of the last six 36 hole leaders have gone on to win the Texas Open.

Finau had a roller-coaster ride Friday with eight birdies, one eagle and three bogeys.

He made an excellent read on a downward sloping putt for birdie on the 10th hole and then got up and down from 83 yards for another birdie on the par-five 14th, the easiest hole of the tournament."

"Yesterday I got behind the eight ball pretty fast," said Finau of his opening 71. "Today I was able to get off to a better start and you need that on this golf course."

Cameron Smith (65), Bob Estes (69), Kevin Chappell (68) and Robby Shelton (69) were one stroke back of the leaders and tied for third at 137.

John Huh (71), Kevin Tway (68) and Jonathan Randolph (70) are another shot back at 138.

Seven players, including Jimmy Walker (69), Martin Laird of Scotland (67) and first-round leader Brendan Grace of South Africa -- are at 139, three shots behind the leaders.

Round 1 - Branden Grace leads by a shot

April 21, 2017

South African Branden Grace had a 6-under 66 and leads by a stroke after the opening round of the Valero Texas Open on Thursday.

Grace had a season-best 11th-place finish last week in defense of his RBC Heritage title. He leads the 5-under 67s of Steven Alker, Stewart Cink, John Huh and Will MacKenzie at TPC San Antonio. Alker, a journeyman New Zealander who played in the final group of the day, birdied the final three holes.

There are 13 players packed two shots back at 4 under. That includes 2010 U.S. Open champion Graham McDowell and 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup member Brooks Koepka.

Two weeks ago, Grace was over par but still survived the cut at the Masters. He played the weekend in 3 under, and his best scorecard last week at Hilton Head was 68. The 66 on Thursday was his best round since Hawaii in January.

''That's the one round I was waiting for,'' Grace said. ''I've been shooting the 69s and 70s, but not getting that one low round. This is nice.''

His day took off with three consecutive birdies mid-round, including a 22-foot putt at the ninth after missing his only fairway of the day.

It almost wasn't as nice for McDowell, who's won twice on the PGA Tour since his U.S. Open title at Pebble Beach seven years ago.

''I made bogey at 11 from the middle of the fairway, (and) I ripped it down the middle of the 12th fairway right in the middle of a divot and duffed it out short of the green and made bogey there,'' he said.

''To recover after that with a great birdie at 13 and a nice up-and-down at 14 for birdie, it was nice to bounce back.''

Ian Poulter needs to at least make the cut to keep his PGA Tour card for the remainder of the season. That's in doubt now - no birdies until his 17th hole and a 75 has him well outside the top 100. He's playing on a major medical exemption granted after a foot injury caused him to miss most of last season, and he needs to earn $30,624 before the exemption ends this week.

Patrick Reed, who was born in San Antonio and was runner-up here a year ago, is three shots out of the lead after a 69. Ryan Moore, Reed's Ryder Cup teammate and who tied for ninth at Augusta this month, is another shot back with a 70.

Defending champ Charley Hoffman, co-leader at the halfway point at the Masters, shot 71 and sits just outside the top 50.

U.S. Amateur champion Curtis Luck of Australia opened his first round as a pro with three bogeys, but he holed a bunker shot from 75 yards for eagle later in his round to help him to a 1-over 73.

Scores

1 USA Kevin Chappell -12 - 69 68 71 68 276
2 USA Brooks Koepka -11 - 68 74 70 65 277
T3 USA Kevin Tway -9 - 70 68 72 69 279
T3 USA Tony Finau -9 - 71 65 74 69 279
5 AUS Aaron Baddeley -8 - 69 70 73 68 280
T6 USA Brian Gay -7 - 68 72 71 70 281
T6 AUS Cameron Smith -7 - 72 65 73 71 281
T6 USA Ryan Palmer -7 - 74 68 68 71 281
T6 KOR Sung-Hoon Kang -7 - 69 70 74 68 281
T10 RSA Branden Grace -6 - 66 73 70 73 282
T10 USA Bud Cauley -6 - 70 66 74 72 282
T10 COL Camilo Villegas -6 - 73 70 69 70 282
T13 ESP Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano -5 - 73 68 75 67 283
T13 USA Jimmy Walker -5 - 70 69 74 70 283
T13 AUS Matt Jones -5 - 69 73 71 70 283
T16 SWE Carl Pettersson -4 - 73 66 71 74 284
T16 USA Robby Shelton -4 - 68 69 75 72 284
T18 USA Jim Herman -3 - 69 72 71 73 285
T18 SCO Martin Laird -3 - 72 67 71 75 285
T18 USA Ollie Schniederjans -3 - 72 67 75 71 285
T18 USA Ryan Moore -3 - 70 70 73 72 285
T22 USA J. J. Henry -2 - 72 71 72 71 286
T22 USA John Huh -2 - 67 71 71 77 286
T22 CAN Nick Taylor -2 - 69 72 71 74 286
T22 KOR Si-Woo Kim -2 - 70 72 71 73 286
T22 USA Stewart Cink -2 - 67 75 74 70 286
T27 USA Bob Estes -1 - 68 69 75 75 287
T27 AUS Geoff Ogilvy -1 - 69 74 73 71 287
T27 NIR Graeme McDowell -1 - 68 74 76 69 287
T27 USA J. T. Poston -1 - 70 73 71 73 287
T27 USA Jonathan Randolph -1 - 68 70 75 74 287
T27 USA Nicholas Lindheim -1 - 71 70 74 72 287
T27 COL Sebastian Munoz -1 - 70 71 72 74 287
T34 USA Brandon Hagy Par - 70 73 73 72 288
T34 VEN Jhonattan Vegas Par - 69 71 73 75 288
T34 USA Ryan Brehm Par - 71 69 74 74 288
T37 USA Billy Hurley III 1 - 72 71 74 72 289
T37 USA Kyle Reifers 1 - 72 71 74 72 289
T37 USA Smylie Kaufman 1 - 70 74 73 72 289
T40 USA Andres Gonzales 2 - 70 74 74 72 290
T40 ENG Andrew Johnston 2 - 75 69 74 72 290
T40 USA Ben Crane 2 - 74 69 75 72 290
T40 KOR Byeong-Hun An 2 - 73 69 76 72 290
T40 USA Charley Hoffman 2 - 71 72 73 74 290
T40 USA Harold Varner III 2 - 71 71 74 74 290
T40 USA Jamie Lovemark 2 - 69 73 73 75 290
T40 USA Matt Kuchar 2 - 73 71 75 71 290
T40 USA Tag Ridings 2 - 72 72 73 73 290
T49 USA J. J. Spaun 3 - 73 67 81 70 291
T49 USA Michael Thompson 3 - 70 70 79 72 291
T49 USA Shawn Stefani 3 - 68 73 73 77 291
T49 USA Troy Merritt 3 - 72 69 76 74 291
T53 SWE Fredrik Jacobson 4 - 69 71 77 75 292
T53 USA Kevin Streelman 4 - 71 72 73 76 292
T53 USA Tom Hoge 4 - 68 72 76 76 292
T53 USA Zack Sucher 4 - 71 73 77 71 292
57 USA Bryce Molder 5 - 68 74 76 75 293
T58 USA Daniel Summerhays 6 - 72 72 76 74 294
T58 USA Justin Leonard 6 - 72 72 75 75 294
T58 USA Ken Duke 6 - 68 72 79 75 294
T58 IRL Seamus Power 6 - 72 72 74 76 294
T62 USA Blayne Barber 7 - 70 73 76 76 295
T62 USA Brendan Steele 7 - 70 71 78 76 295
T62 AUS Cameron Percy 7 - 70 73 72 80 295
T62 DEN Soren Kjeldsen 7 - 69 74 78 74 295
T62 USA Wesley McClain 7 - 73 71 74 77 295
T67 USA Jason Kokrak 8 - 72 72 79 73 296
T67 USA Ricky Barnes 8 - 73 68 77 78 296
T69 USA Andrew Loupe 9 - 72 69 81 75 297
T69 CAN Brad Fritsch 9 - 74 69 76 78 297
T69 USA Dominic Bozzelli 9 - 72 71 76 78 297
T72 CAN Adam Hadwin 10 - 70 72 82 74 298
T72 IND Anirban Lahiri 10 - 69 75 78 76 298
T72 JPN Ryo Ishikawa 10 - 71 72 73 82 298
75 ARG Julian Etulain 12 - 71 73 75 81 300
76 NZL Steve Alker 13 - 67 76 85 73 301
CUT USA Chad Campbell 1 - 72 73 - - 145
CUT USA Chris Stroud 1 - 73 72 - - 145
CUT AUS Curtis Luck 1 - 73 72 - - 145
CUT AUS Greg Chalmers 1 - 75 70 - - 145
CUT ENG Greg Owen 1 - 71 74 - - 145
CUT AUS John Senden 1 - 73 72 - - 145
CUT USA Jordan Niebrugge 1 - 73 72 - - 145
CUT USA Max Homa 1 - 72 73 - - 145
CUT KOR Meen-Whee Kim 1 - 71 74 - - 145
CUT USA Nick Watney 1 - 74 71 - - 145
CUT USA Steve Marino 1 - 68 77 - - 145
CUT USA Steve Wheatcroft 1 - 70 75 - - 145
CUT NZL Tim Wilkinson 1 - 69 76 - - 145
CUT USA Will MacKenzie 1 - 67 78 - - 145
CUT USA Zac Blair 1 - 72 73 - - 145
CUT ARG Angel Cabrera 2 - 70 76 - - 146
CUT USA Casey Russell 2 - 77 69 - - 146
CUT USA Chad Collins 2 - 74 72 - - 146
CUT USA Chris Kirk 2 - 75 71 - - 146
CUT ENG Ian Poulter 2 - 75 71 - - 146
CUT USA Joel Dahmen 2 - 70 76 - - 146
CUT USA Luke List 2 - 68 78 - - 146
CUT USA Mark Anderson 2 - 75 71 - - 146
CUT USA Martin Flores 2 - 70 76 - - 146
CUT USA Patrick Reed 2 - 69 77 - - 146
CUT PRI Rafael Campos 2 - 71 75 - - 146
CUT RSA Retief Goosen 2 - 70 76 - - 146
CUT USA Robert Garrigus 2 - 74 72 - - 146
CUT USA Robert Streb 2 - 71 75 - - 146
CUT USA Ryan Armour 2 - 72 74 - - 146
CUT KOR Seung-Yul Noh 2 - 68 78 - - 146
CUT USA Xander Schauffele 2 - 75 71 - - 146
CUT USA Zach Cabra 2 - 72 74 - - 146
CUT USA Billy Horschel 3 - 73 74 - - 147
CUT USA Hunter Mahan 3 - 75 72 - - 147
CUT USA Richy Werenski 3 - 73 74 - - 147
CUT USA Ryan Blaum 3 - 72 75 - - 147
CUT USA Scott Stallings 3 - 71 76 - - 147
CUT USA Spencer Levin 3 - 73 74 - - 147
CUT RSA Tyrone van Aswegen 3 - 72 75 - - 147
CUT GER Alex Cejka 4 - 73 75 - - 148
CUT AUS Brett Drewitt 4 - 72 76 - - 148
CUT TPE Cheng Tsung Pan 4 - 73 75 - - 148
CUT USA D. A. Points 4 - 72 76 - - 148
CUT USA Jason Bohn 4 - 75 73 - - 148
CUT KOR K. J. Choi 4 - 71 77 - - 148
CUT USA Kelly Kraft 4 - 74 74 - - 148
CUT ENG Luke Donald 4 - 76 72 - - 148
CUT CAN Mackenzie Hughes 4 - 74 74 - - 148
CUT USA Sam Saunders 4 - 73 75 - - 148
CUT AUS Steven Bowditch 4 - 73 75 - - 148
CUT USA Will Wilcox 4 - 75 73 - - 148
CUT USA Zach Johnson 4 - 74 74 - - 148
CUT USA Brian Stuard 5 - 74 75 - - 149
CUT USA Cody Gribble 5 - 75 74 - - 149
CUT NZL Danny Lee 5 - 73 76 - - 149
CUT USA Scott Piercy 5 - 73 76 - - 149
CUT USA Trey Mullinax 5 - 75 74 - - 149
CUT USA Bryson DeChambeau 6 - 73 77 - - 150
CUT USA Matthew Every 6 - 78 72 - - 150
CUT KOR Michael Kim 6 - 79 71 - - 150
CUT RSA Rory Sabbatini 6 - 73 77 - - 150
CUT USA Brian Campbell 7 - 70 81 - - 151
CUT USA Johnson Wagner 7 - 76 75 - - 151
CUT USA Keegan Bradley 7 - 77 74 - - 151
CUT USA Morgan Hoffmann 7 - 70 81 - - 151
CUT USA Rick Lamb 7 - 75 76 - - 151
CUT USA Beau Hossler 8 - 75 77 - - 152
CUT USA Cameron Tringale 8 - 72 80 - - 152
CUT USA Peter Malnati 8 - 75 77 - - 152
CUT USA Brett Stegmaier 9 - 75 78 - - 153
CUT CAN David Hearn 9 - 76 77 - - 153
CUT USA John Peterson 9 - 75 78 - - 153
CUT USA Ted Purdy 10 - 79 75 - - 154
CUT USA Tyler Aldridge 10 - 73 81 - - 154
CUT USA Bobby Wyatt 11 - 77 78 - - 155
CUT USA Joshua Brock 11 - 76 79 - - 155
CUT USA Roberto Castro 11 - 76 79 - - 155
CUT ARG Miguel Carballo 18 - 82 80 - - 162
RET USA Ben Curtis -22 - 50 - - - 50

 

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