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The Valero Texas Open has the inauspicious placement on schedule to be directly before the Masters, but that didn't stop several star golfers from playing and putting on a great show. It might not have been the tightest finale the sport has seen recently, but there were plenty of good performances and action for all to enjoy. Here's who won and how everyone placed this weekend.
Final leaderboard for Valero Texas Open
The final leaderboard for the Valero Texas Open after Sunday's fourth round:
- Win: Akshay Bhatia, -20
- P2: Denny McCarthy, -20
- 3: Rory McIlroy, -11
- 4: Russell Henley, -10
- T5: Adam Schenk, -9
- T5: Brendon Todd, -9
- T7: Hideki Matsuyama, -8
- T7: Ben Martin, -8
- T7: Tommy Fleetwood, -8
- T10: Mac Meissner, -6
- T10: Jordan Spieth, -6
- T10: Matt Fitzpatrick, -6
- T10: Peter Kuest, -6
- T14: Adam Scott, -5
- T14: Ludvig Aberg, -5
- T14: Keith Mitchell, -5
- T14: Sam Stevens, -5
- T14: Andrew Putnam, -5
- T14: S.H. Kim, -5
Akshay Bhatia held a substantial lead in the final round, but Denny McCarthy charged back and forced a playoff. They traded birdies on the 18th hole to end at -20 and go to the playoff before Bhatia earned the clutch victory. To add to the drama, he suffered an injury in the action.
Rory McIlroy showed a strong performance this weekend, though he hasn't been in peak form this season. He climbed up the leaderboard in round four, setting a solid, if not spectacular, finish ahead of the Masters. It was ultimately to no avail, but it was a great finale.
Brendon Todd has to be happy with his performance. He wasn't going to be able to pull off a seven-stroke comeback in the final round, but he put up a showing that should improve his OWGR rank of 68 and put him a little more on the map.
Ludvig Aberg looking forward to his Masters appearance next week and continue playing well. He put together a fine performance before the biggest event of his young career.
Tommy Fleetwood, Lucas Glover, Adam Schenk, Alex Noren, Adam Scott and Thorbjorn Oleson all put together fine showings, even if they didn't result in a victory overall.
It wasn't pretty for everyone, as J.J. Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Ben Silverman, Ryan McCormick and more struggled mightily and put up frustrating totals. They at least made the cut, however, Zach Johnson, Erik van Rooyen, Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel, Tom Kim, Alejandro Tosti and others did not.
