Former UNLV golf champion Hoffman wins Valero Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO — Charley Hoffman is known as a golfer who has all the shots, can putt with the best of his peers and knocks on the door of winning a lot but seldom makes his way through the transom.
He is usually the player to set the pace and fade, and his final-round performance through the years has been a burr in Hoffman’s saddle.
Hoffman, who was a member of UNLV’s 1998 national championship team, took a huge step in erasing that reputation on Sunday when he rolled in a 10-foot putt on the final hole to post a 3-under-par 69 in the final round and outlast Patrick Reed for a one-stroke victory at the Valero Texas Open, which was played under warm and windy conditions on the relentless Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.
Hoffman finished at 12-under-par 276 and fashioned four birdies and just one bogey on his final round. He bogeyed the par-3 third hole but answered back with a birdie on the par-4 fourth and never blinked down the stretch, forging a 3-under 33 on the back nine.
Hoffman has now won four times on tour. He led after the second round of the Shell Houston Open just three weeks ago but faded to a tie for 33rd after going 6-over in the last two rounds.
“It’s nice to close a Sunday out because it’s been a rough month and a half,” the 39-year-old Hoffman said. “I had good feelings coming into this week and knew I needed to close the door. I knew I was close coming into the back nine and I needed to make a few birdies to have a chance coming in along with a couple of par saves.”
With Hoffman up by a single stroke on the 18th fairway, both he and Reed went for the green in two on the 595-yard par-5. Reed’s ball came to rest just right of the putting surface up against the collar of the rough, while Hoffman found the bunker to the back-left of the green.
Reed (who also had a 3-under 69 on Sunday) almost holed his 76-foot chip and settled for birdie that gave him a momentary share of the lead. Hoffman then blasted out of the bunker to within 10 feet and — after looking at the putt from every angle — calmly rolled it in for the winning birdie, punctuating the performance by letting out a yelp and punching the air.
Reed had a chance to tie Hoffman on the par-3 16th, but missed a nine-foot birdie putt. Then he had a seven-footer for birdie on the par-4 17th hole to pull even again but never touched any part of the cup with his putt.
“With the way I was hitting the ball on Friday, the way I hit the ball Saturday and missing a lot of short putts today, I’m shocked I even had a chance,” Reed said. “I’m still a loser. I’m tired of finishing in second and top-5s and top-10s. I need to close out tournaments and get W’s. I put the pressure on Charley as much as I could and he won the golf tournament. He played pretty solid all day.”
Chad Collins (69) finished alone in third place at 10-under, while Kevin Chappell (68), Ryan Palmer (69), Martin Pillar (70) and third-round leader Ricky Barnes (74) finished tied for fourth.
Collins got into contention with consecutive birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes and then lipped out a chip on the 17th. He knew he likely had to eagle the 18th to have a chance at a playoff, but even that wouldn’t have done the trick after Hoffman’s last putt heroics. He settled for a final birdie and collected his best-ever finish on Tour.
“You got to stay patient — it’s not like this is an easy course,” Collins said. “The greens are tough, hole locations are tough. You can make bogeys in a heartbeat but you can make some birdies if you’re getting in the right spots and making a few putts, which I did coming down the stretch.”
Brendan Grace (67), Harold Varner III (69), Tom Hoge (a fourth-round best 65) and Jon Curran tied for ninth. First- and second-round leader Brendan Steele limped home with a 3-over 75, finishing in a tie for 13th.
Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, Hoffman is now 43 under par, despite TPC San Antonio’s scoring average being above par every year the tournament has been played here. Hoffman hasn’t finished outside the top 13 since the tournament moved to this venue in 2010.
The 2015-16 season had been a struggle for Hoffman in the final rounds. Coming into play on Sunday, his final-round stroke average of 74.75 was 5.02 shots worse than his first-round average and more than three shots worse than his second- or third-round scoring average.
Hoffman ranked 200th on the Tour in final-round scoring average, and the score he carded Sunday was the first time he shot better than 73 in his past six final rounds.
“I haven’t been able to take that lead or near the lead and sustain it throughout my career for the most part,” Hoffman explained. “And not doing it hurts. I play this game to get in that contention. I have those feelings. I love the way your body feels when you’re in contention.
“To be able to go through that period in the last month and a half and close the door like I did, it’s a very good, gratifying feeling.”
