Valero Texas Open:
With a triumphant birdie on the 72nd hole, Charley Hoffman capped a final-round 3-under-par 36-33=69 and overcame a two-shot deficit to win the Valero Texas Open on 12-under 276, good for a one-stroke victory over playing competitor Patrick Reed.
This is Hoffman’s fourth PGA TOUR title and it came in his 293rd career start (288 as a pro), and is his first since the 2014-15 OHL Classic at Mayakoba where he came from three shots back. All four of his victories have been in come-from-behind fashion.
The 39-year-old won in his 11th appearance at the Valero, having also posted T2 in 2011 and T3 in 2013. He is a perfect 11-for-11 in the tournament with a remarkable 10 top-25 finishes, and since the event moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010, is a cumulative 43-under-par.
With this win, Hoffman moves from No. 57 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to No. 34 and is exempt on TOUR thru the 2017-18 season. He also vaults from 92nd in the FedExCup standings to 18th.
The Winner’s KEY Stats (rank):
Round 4 Scoring Average: T10
Note: Hoffman was ranked 200th on TOUR in final-round scoring average entering the week (74.75) so tied 10th was a herculean performance.
All-Around: 1st
Par-5 scoring: 4.44 (T1)
Birdie or Better: 26.39 percent (T3)
Strokes gained: putting (SGP): 5.879 (4th)
3-putts: None (T1)
Putts per GIR: 1.714 (2nd)
Other Stats:
Driving Distance: 300.5 yards (T4)
Driving Accuracy: 36/56 (T34) at 64.29 percent
Greens in Regulation: 49/72 (T17) at 68.06 percent
Scrambling: 15/23 (42nd) at 65.22 percent
Strokes gained: tee-to-green (SGTTG): 6.445 (10th)
Total Putts: 107 (T10)
Putts per Round: 26.75
Overall Putting Average: 1.486
Eagles: 1 (T2)
Birdies: 18 (T9)
Bogeys: 8 (T15)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,440,940):
Group 1: Patrick Reed (2nd): $669,600
Group 2: Charley Hoffman (Won): $1,116,000
Group 3: Ricky Barnes, Martin Piller (T4): $233,740
Group 4: Chad Collins (3rd): $421,600
Draw:
Overall, early/late proved to be the slightly better part of the draw with the champion emerging from the AM/PM ranks as well as Piller. That said, Reed, Collins and Barnes were late/early.
In total, 43 (of 75) early/late made the 36-hole cut (three WDs), while 37 (of 75) late/early made the cut (three WDs).
Charley Hoffman (Won): Early/late
Patrick Reed (2nd): Late/early
Chad Collins (3rd): Late/early
Ricky Barnes (T4): Late/early
Martin Piller (T4): Early/late
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Brendan Steele (64); tourney low
R2: Sung Kang, Carlos Ortiz (67)
R3: Nick Taylor, Aaron Baddeley (66)
R4: Tom Hoge (65)
Field Scoring Average by Round:
TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks Course
7,435 yards
Par: 72 (36-36)
R1: 72.53
R2: 72.33
R3: 71.61
R4: 71.80
Cumulative: 72.15
Bogey-free rounds (16):
R1- (Six): Brendan Steele (64); Patrick Reed (65); Peter Malnati (67); Spencer Levin (69); Martin Piller (70); Hiroshi Iwata (71)
R2- (TWO): Rob Oppenheim (68); Kyle Stanley (68)
R3- (Four): Nick Taylor (66); Billy Horschel (67); Kevin Streelman (69); Brice Garnett (69)
R4- (TWO): Peter Malnati (67); Zac Blair (69)
Note: Peter Malnati was the only player with more than one with 67s in R1 and R4. In-between he shot 71-76 to finish T13 (7-under 281) in his second appearance (MC/2014). Noteworthy since he had missed seven straight cuts and nine of his last 10 entering the week.
The Champion’s Recap:
12-under 276 (66-71-70-69)
Charley Hoffman: Playing out of the penultimate threesome, Hoffman began the finale on 9-under (T3), two back of 54-hole leader Ricky Barnes.
This was the FOURTH straight weekend round that he played out of the penultimate group.
The 39-year-old split 10 (of 14) fairways and peppered 14 greens in regulation. He bogeyed the third but bounced back with birdie at the fourth to turn even and one back.
At that point, the leaderboard read:
-10 Martin Piller (thru 10 holes)
-9 Hoffman (thru 9)
-9 Patrick Reed (9)
-9 Barnes (9)
Hoffman came home in bogey-free 3-under, circling birdies on 11 and 14, and culminating with an up-and-down birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th, dropping the winner from 9'2". This was his first top 10 of the season in his 13th start.
The Runner-Up:
11-under 277 (65-73-70-69):
Patrick Reed: The San Antonio native began the final frame on 8-under in solo fifth, three back of 54-hole leader Barnes, one shy of Hoffman. Playing out of the penultimate threesome, Reed and Hoffman were the main players down the stretch.
Making his third visit to the Valero with a previous-best T35 in 2012 -- and first since a missed cut in 2013, he birdied the third and fifth before squaring his lone bogey at the par-3 seventh to turn 1-under. At that point, he was T2 with Hoffman (and Barnes), one back of Piller, who was -10 thru 10.
The 25-year-old came home in bogey-free 2-under, circling two, including a tap-in from 10 inches on 18, but could only watch as Hoffman slammed home a nine-footer for the win. Reed settles for his TOUR-leading eighth top 10 of the season (13 starts), and third career runner-up, second in 2016 (Hyundai TOC).
Surprise of the Week:
Chad Collins: The 494th-ranked player in the world rankings easily wins the mention here, finishing in solo third on 10-under 278 (73-69-67-69). That’s a career best in his 142nd TOUR start, supplanting T4 over SIX years ago at the 2010 OHL Classic.
Further, it’s his first top 40 of the season in his 14th start. The Indiana native and resident catapults 204 places to No. 290 in OWGR, and jumps from 202nd in the FEC standings to 132.
In both the third and final rounds, the 37-year-old ended with a birdie barrage, capping each by circling four of his final five holes. He led in total birdies with 21 but conversely, was T55 in bogeys with 11.
Digging a little deeper, Collins was T2 here thru 36 holes in 2014 before 73-78 left him tied for 26th.
Honorable Mention:
Martin Piller: The Dallas native and resident carved out a 2-under-par 33-37=70 in the finale to wrap his third appearance on 9-under 279, up two spots into a five-way T4, and good for a career best – and first top 10 – in his 35th start. His previous mark was T19 at the 2015 Barbasol.
The 30-year-old, who’s a five-time winner on the Web.com Tour, actually surged into the outright lead on Sunday, making the turn on 10-under total following a three-birdie 33.
After a routine par on the par-4 10th, he led by one over three players, including the eventual champ who was two groups behind in the penultimate threesome. Piller saved par on the 11th and then canned a 12-footer for birdie-3 at 12 to extend to -11.
He found the front, greenside bunker on the par-3 13th however, and airmailed his second over the green, leading to a two-putt double bogey-5. It was his only blemish on the card but five pars followed and he finished three back.
Piller jumps 49 spots in OWGR to No. 195 and bumps from 184th in FEC points to 149th.
Disappointments:
Brendan Steele: The 33-year-old’s lone TOUR title in 140 career starts remains the 2011 edition. This week, he led outright after 18 and 36 holes, respectively, and began the finale just one back after a third-round 72, but closed in 3-over 75 for T13. Steele’s bogey-free 64 in R1 was the low lap of the week, but followed with three progressively worse rounds.
Six times this season he’s led after any round, co-leading the TOUR in that stat with Kevin Kisner and Jordan Spieth – who have both won once – but he’s been unable to join them in the winner’s circle.
Luke Donald: The 38-year-old led by one thru 54 holes at the RBC Heritage but finished in even-par 71 for T2. This week, he played out of the final group on Sunday again, entering the final round two back of Barnes, but did worse, closing with 2-over 74 for T13.
What We Learned:
Hoffman’s win ended a streak of four straight first-time winners: Branden Grace (Heritage), Danny Willett (Masters), Jim Herman (SHO) and Tony Finau (PRO).
54-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win just NINE times this season in 23 stroke-play events. Jim Herman at the SHO was the last to convert and before him, Jason Day at the Arnold Palmer, who won wire-to-wire.
Ricky Barnes: The 35-year-old is the latest casualty, relinquishing a one-stroke lead with a final-round 2-over 38-36=74. He finished with a season-best T4 on 9-under 279 in his 16th start, but dropped to 0-for-3 when the 54-hole leader/co-leader and remains winless on TOUR in 222 career events.
Barnes led the Heritage in scrambling at 86.49 percent (32/37) en route to his first top of the season. This week he finished 62nd at 56.52 percent (13/23), including 1-for-6 in the final round.
One huge positive for Barnes however, is he’s posted back-to-back top 10s on TOUR for the first time since the 2010 Crowne Plaza (T7) and Memorial Tournament (T3), 158 starts ago.
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just ONCE this season thru 24 events (Spieth- Hyundai TOC). Hoffman was a 28/1 outright.
Defending champ Jimmy Walker was the book-maker favorite (16/1) and missed the 36-hole cut by EIGHT shots on 8-over 75-77=152.
Eleven (11) of the Top 50 OWGR were in the field:
Four (4) missed the 36-hole cut: Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Walker and Thongchai Jaidee.
Three (3) finished in the Top 10: Patrick Reed (2nd); Billy Horschel (T4); Branden Grace (T9).
There were 26 first-timers in the max field of 156, including 12 rookies:
Harold Varner III: The 25-year-old took top honors among both contingents with T9 on 8-under 280. He closed with a 3-under-par 36-33=69 despite hitting only nine greens, up eight places on the day.
The Web.com Tour grad entered the week having missed four straight cuts and a 68th at Harbour Town, but leaves with his second top 10 of the season in 16 events (T5, OHL Classic). He led the field in Back 9 Scoring Avg. at 33.25.
Shout out goes to fellow rookie and McAllen, Texas, native Abraham Ancer, who opened the season with nine missed cuts and cashed his first TOUR paycheck with T42 on 2-under 286 (73-69-70-74).
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Avondale, Louisiana, for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. Justin Rose is the defending champion after prevailing over runner-up Cameron Tringale by one stroke.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 25th tournament of the season.
