Jimmy Walker Wins the 2015 Valero Texas Open

In such a contrast to the tournaments we've seen over the past several weeks, Jimmy Walker dominated much of the weekend to secure a win at this years Valero Texas Open. He finished at 11-under par and with a four shot lead over Jordan Spieth. This is Jimmy's second win this year and and it keeps him comfortably atop the FedEx Cup Points list. It's also his 5th win in just two years on the PGA Tour.

The Texas native held a large lead going into the final round and it grew as the round progressed. At one point, he was ahead by more than five shots over Spieth, who was always trailing him in second. By the end, Speith, who was playing a good final round as well, managed to take Walker's lead down to four. For most of the weekend, the attention was on Walker and Spieth, given the large separation between them and the rest of the field. For example, Billy Horshell finished solo third at 4-under and the players at T4 finished at 3-under. Walker's putter also did him well this week, especially today, having earned him a few crucial pars and birdies (looks like that putter change paid off). And being a Texas native, he was able to play in front of much of his family and friends this week, which makes the win just a bit more special.

Despite his second place finish, Spieth (a Texas native as well) again showed the golfing world that he is still on fire with respect to his golf game. He's no doubt a favourite going into next week's Shell Houston Open and the Masters, where he nearly won it last year after a battle against Bubba Watson.

TPC San Antonio again played tough on the weekend, Saturday more than Sunday. A round in the low 70's was considered good for both days at the course that's considered one of the toughest courses to break par at on tour (excluding major venues). Sunday's round saw a few more scores in the high 60's as well.

As we mentioned on our Weekend Update post, lefty golfer Phil Mickelson was also in the mix. He unfortunately finished at T30 after weekend rounds that were full of ups and downs, ranging from a near albatross on Saturday, to shooting 42 on the front nine on Sunday. Better luck next week for him.

Finally, here's how our picks finished:

1) Jim Furyk: T58 at 10-over (+10)
2) Jordan Spieth: 2nd at 7-under (-7)

Not the best finish for Furyk, but excellent results from Spieth as we mentioned. Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Houston for the Shell Houston Open. Be sure to check out our picks for that tournaments later on this week,




-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jimmy Walker wins for the second time this year at the Valero Texas Open  

(Darren Abate / The Associated Press)

2015 Valero Texas Open - Weekend Update

We're halfway through this year's edition of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. The leader going into the weekend is Texas native Jimmy Walker, at 6-under, with a one shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Charlie Hoffman. The cut has also been set at 6-over par, which is very high, compared to other events.

Jimmy's putter was hot throughout his second round today and in front of a home crowd. In total, he shot a 67 on the day, which consisted of 6 birdies and a single bogey. He's recently been through a putter change earlier this year, in which he returned to an older model of putter that he had success with in the past. It's doing him well this week, as he's also leading the event in strokes gained via putting (-6.536). And let's not forget that Jimmy is also the current FedEx Cup Points leader and a winner this year already (Sony Open), probably due to that putter change too. 

Monday's rounds saw TPC San Antonio playing very tough, due to 30+ mph winds. This resulted in a scoring average of 76.69, which is probably why the cut this week was so high this week. The high round of the day was an 89, shot by amateur Sam Burns. There were better conditions today and many players took advantage of this.

Also in the mix (and in the headlines) is tour veteran Phil Mickelson, who's at 2-under (T6). During his opening round, one of Phil's clubs broke as he hit a bunker shot. As he swung, the clubhead snapped right where it connects to the shaft, sending the head flying out of the bunker, as well as the ball. Earlier today, Lefty chipped in for a birdie, which aided in a score of 72 today. As you probably know, Phil always seems to play better in the weeks prior to a major, especially the Masters. He's won the Shell Houston Open (before the Masters) and the Scottish Open (before the British Open). We haven't seen too much of Phil this year, but maybe that might change this week?

In other news, TGR favourite Graeme McDowell has withdraw from the tournament, due to an injury he sustained during a practice round earlier this week. This is the first year that GMac is playing the Valero Texas Open and he stated afterwards that, due to the upcoming Masters, he didn't want to risk playing with the injury. He also planned on playing the Shell Houston Open next week, but that's now injury pending. Let's hope GMac can get better as soon as possible.

Lastly,  here's how our picks are doing :

1) Jim Furyk: T66 at 6-over (+6)
2) Jordan Spieth: T4 at 4-under (-4)
3) Sean O'Hair: CUT

It's almost a weekly this to see Speith near the top of the leaderboard; he really is on fire at the moment. Furyk and O'Hair struggled this week and weren't able to capitalize on the favourable conditions today.

With Moving Day tomorrow and the final round on Sunday, there's still lots of golf to be played. But be sure to check out our results post Sunday evening to see who's won.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Jimmy Walker's already won this year but can he win again this week? 

(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

2015 Valero Texas Open Picks

This week, the PGA Tour heads west to Texas, for the Valero Texas Open, played at the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. The Oaks Course is a Greg-Norman design, with input from none other than Sergio Garcia (who is not in the field this week). This is one of the older events on tour, with the first edition being played in 1922. Since then, many notable players have won the tournament, such as Ben Hogan (1946) and Arnold Palmer (1960-1963). And for fans who remember, this was the tournament where (back in 2011) Kevin Na carded a 16 on the par 4 9th hole.

This tournament has historically been played the week after the Masters. Due to it's new date, it's a tournament that players now play to get their game ready for Augusta, hence there are a few more notable players in the field this week, as well as some European Tour players.

There are many names being tossed around, as for who's going to win, some local favourites, some sleepers, and some players who are white hot at the moment. Given that, here's who we picked to win this week:

1) Jim Furyk
2) Jordan Spieth
3) Sean O'Hair

Furyk may not have won since 2010, but it always seems like he's in the mix week after week. This, and the fact that he is one of the most consistent players on tour, is why he's always a great pick week after week. Spieth, a Texas (who is also fresh off buying a new house) is a local favourite and on fire at the moment. So is O'Hair.

The first tee times are early tomorrow morning. Be sure to check out our Weekend Update post to see who's winning going into the weekend and how our picks are doing.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The 16th Hole at TPC San Antonio