In a tournament riddled with gusty downpours, a victory was finally within reach for J.J. Spaun at the 2026 Valero Texas Open. And yet, he started the day in a place where he operates best: under the radar.
Specifically, seven shots back from the lead with 26 holes left on the day.
Heading into Sunday, let alone this weekend, J.J. Spaun was far removed from expectations of the winner’s circle. Spaun tends to thrive as a dark horse, like he did in his U.S. Open victory last summer.
This win was no different, as Spaun shot up the leaderboard, posting up a 5-under-67 for the final round of the Valero Texas Open. He solidified the win just one stroke ahead of contender Rob MacIntyre and DP World Tour star Matt Wallace.
“My strategy was to not spiral, believe it or not,” Spaun said. “I’ve been kind of going crazy as far as like my golf swing and how I’ve been playing. You can look at my results. But going into this week I kind of accepted where my game was.”
Spaun is the first two-time winner of the event since Corey Conners in 2023, and the eleventh in event history. Sunday’s win is just Spaun’s third in his career, and while he was able to rally some momentum following his major victory at Oakmont, Spaun has only recently returned to his major-worthy game, something the California native has tackled in just a few months.
“I think because I was riding on so much confidence and so much self-belief right after the U.S. Open. That’s an uncomfortable position for me because I’ve never been there. Last year, I kind of accepted playing with nothing to lose. I felt like that helped me free up myself mentally.
“That is what I did this week. I didn’t have my A-game, but I just accepted what I was able to use this week. Went out there and just tried to get the ball in the hole and whatever outcome I had, whether it was a shot or a hole, I just accepted it and moved on.”
MacIntyre, who has not won on tour since 2024, remained a strong favorite heading into the late afternoon. He was two shots ahead of Spaun before the final round, and kept up with the champion steadily throughout, with two birdies and an eagle, before coming up short on his birdie putt on 18.
“Today, it was about executing a shot, a nice shot,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve been putting the ball beautifully all year. I felt like I’ve had lots of nice putts. Today they just weren’t even close.
“I trusted everything that I’ve got, especially coming down that stretch. I was proud of the way I played. I’m right there, I don’t need to worry about things. I just need to rinse and repeat again going into next week.”
Michael Kim and Matt Wallace also finished one stroke behind Spaun at 16-under. Swedish phenom Ludvig Aberg, who performs historically well in April and is a likely Masters contender next week, shot a 2-under-70 in the final round, placing him in T-5.
Spaun will play next week at The Masters thanks to his major victory exemption from last year’s U.S. Open. The PGA Tour’s best have already arrived in Augusta ahead of practice rounds beginning tomorrow.
