Tranlate this title J.J. Spaun returns to winning ways in Texas in spanish

At the start of the tournament, no one was talking about J.J. Spaun. At TPC San Antonio, all attention was on interim leaders Robert MacIntyre and Ludvig Åberg, then on the emergency alert that evacuated the hotel on Friday night, and on the torrential rain on Saturday that suspended play for four hours. On Sunday morning, with wintry cold and a temperature range of more than 15 degrees, the talk was still about the difficult weather.

Spaun, however, let his clubs do the talking. A solid 67 (-5) in the fourth round was enough to steal the show.

J.J. Spaun, results

The American climbed the leaderboard with birdies at the 2nd, 10th, 14th, and 16th. The decisive moment came on the 17th hole, a short, attackable par-4: he drove the green and holed an eagle, putting him within 17 of the 17th hole, a one-shot advantage over Matt Wallace, who was already in the clubhouse with a 68.

A par at the 18th sealed the result. Neither Åberg (held back after two early birdies), nor Andrew Putnam (ruined by a costly three-putt at the 16th), nor Michael Kim (missed the final birdie), nor MacIntyre himself (eagle at the 17th but missed birdie at the 18th) managed to catch him.

At 35, Spaun thus captured his third PGA Tour title in 252 starts, his second at the Valero Texas Open after the one in 2022. It was a smart, determined, and gutsy performance on an already challenging course made even more challenging by the weather. With nine holes remaining, he was seven shots behind: just as he had done last summer at the U.S. Open, he held off MacIntyre (who also finished second at Oakmont) and took home the trophy.

With this victory, the American earned 500 FedExCup points and jumped 91 spots to 24th in the rankings. On Sunday, he played 26 holes (finishing the suspended third round first), always keeping his head down, looking for the safest shots, and accepting what came.

The return to success comes after a difficult journey. After his 2022 triumph here, it took him 147 tournaments to win again. 2023 was decent (many cuts made but no real highlights), 2024 was up and down. 2025 started well with a third-place finish at the Sony Open and a playoff loss at The Players, followed by a triumph at the U.S. Open, which changed expectations and mindset.

The 2026 season had started frustratingly (seven matches, four missed cuts). «I put a lot of pressure on myself at the beginning of the year,» Spaun admitted. Before The Players, he changed his approach: more freedom, less obsession with «having» to play a certain way. «It was tiring, but sticking to this mantra really helped me.»

Now Spaun arrives at the Masters with renewed confidence and the knowledge that he can compete even without being in top form. A clear message for himself and for everyone: sometimes you just have to play, accept it, and move on.