J.J. Spaun had a dream season in 2025. But for the first few months of his follow-up campaign, things looked more like a nightmare.
Through seven starts entering this week, Spaun had made just three cuts, with a T24 finish standing as his high-water mark. His strokes-gained metrics had declined across the board, and his putting was so poor that he ranked among the 10 worst on Tour.
At TPC San Antonio, none of that mattered.
Spaun, playing this week as a final tune-up before the Masters, fired a final-round 67 to win the Valero Texas Open by one shot over Matt Wallace, Michael Kim and Robert MacIntyre. The victory marked Spaun’s second at the Texas Open (he also won in 2022) and the third of his PGA Tour career.
“I haven’t been in the form I wanted based on last season,” Spaun said. “It means a lot to come back and win here at a place that’s been so good to me.”
Returning to a course filled with positive memories proved to be the spark he needed. At the Players, Spaun recorded his best finish of the season to that point with a T24. He missed the cut the following week at the Valspar, but a return to the familiar setting of the Texas Hill Country seemed to bring something out of him.
After opening with back-to-back rounds of 69, Spaun surged over the weekend in soggy conditions. With play suspended midway through his third round on Saturday, he returned early Sunday morning to complete a six-under 66, putting himself firmly in contention. When the final round began, he kept the momentum rolling, carding four birdies and an eagle en route to a five-under 67 to claim the clubhouse lead. When none of the contenders on the course could track him down, the burden of his nightmare start had finally been lifted.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself at the start of the year, and a lot of expectations,” Spaun said. “It’s the complete opposite of the mantra I had all year last year that really helped me, so I tried to get back to that. Went into the last few weeks starting at The Players just trying to be freed up and put less pressure on myself. It’s been trying, but sticking to that mantra has really helped me.”
With the win, Spaun earns a custom pair of cowboy boots and a $1.76 million paycheck. More importantly, he heads to Augusta for the Masters in his best form of the season — and you can’t put a price tag on that.