The Daily Wrap-up, Round 4: Valero Texas Open
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- James Driscoll didn't see where Zach Johnson's approach landed on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday.
He didn't have to. Thanks to the gallery, he heard it.
"I figured it was about 10 feet," Driscoll said.
The crowd got even louder when Johnson sank the birdie putt to successfully defend his Valero Texas Open title and end Driscoll's unlikely final-round surge from eight strokes back at La Cantera Golf Club.
Johnson's win capped a wild shootout in which seven players stood within a stroke with four holes left. The 2007 Masters champion followed his third-round 60 with a 70 to match Driscoll at 15-under 265, then hit the 6-iron approach in the playoff to set up his sixth career PGA TOUR victory.
"I feel very lucky," said Johnson, who earned $1,098,000.
Johnson vaulted to the top of the FedExCup standings, passing Geoff Ogilvy and Phil Mickelson -- the only other two-time winners on the PGA TOUR this season. Johnson also won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.
Paul Goydos had a one-stroke lead with two holes to play, but closed with two bogeys for a 69, leaving him a stroke back along with Bill Haas (65), who birdied five of six holes on Nos. 11 through 16 but missed a 6-foot putt on the par-3 17th.
Australia's Marc Leishman (68), Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson (67) and three-time champion Justin Leonard (69) finished at 13 under.
Driscoll was an afterthought at 7 under when the final round began, eight strokes behind Johnson and his group that included Goydos and Leonard. After wrapping up his 62, Driscoll had to wait more than an hour for Johnson to finish his round.
It was worth the wait, but it didn't last long.
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"You want to put the pressure on your opponent. There's no doubt about it," Johnson said. "It's not like he hit a bad shot. He hit 20-plus feet. He hit a good putt. So it just kind of went my way."
Driscoll was in position for the biggest comeback in the history of the Valero Texas Open, which dates to 1922 and is the third-oldest event on the PGA TOUR. Instead, Driscoll settled for only his third top-10 finish and best showing since a runner-up effort in the 2005 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
"When you get that close to a win and that close to going to Augusta and going to Hawaii for the first tournament of the year, it's a little disappointing," said Driscoll, who has conditional status on the TOUR after finishing 141st on the money list last year.
Goydos briefly topped a crowded leaderboard with a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th before falling back on the last two holes, putting the 44-year-old sympathetic favorite out of the running.
Goydos was playing four months to the day his former wife died. His final flaw, muffing his chip shot to a measly 7 feet on 18, denied him a spot in the playoff.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Top 5 other notables at the Valero Texas Open | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sunday's Best |
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The 527-yard par-5 14th hole was easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.280.
The 446-yard par-4 15th hole was toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.427.
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By making a clutch birdie putt on the first playoff hole, Zach Johnson grabbed his second win of the year and second straight Valero Texas Open title. 
James Driscoll's 8-under 62, which featured six birdies and an eagle, was almost enough for him to capture his first PGA TOUR title. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||||||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Brett Wright offers these observations from Sunday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Zach Johnson was 10 shots higher in his final round than in his third round, which would usually spell trouble for any player on the PGA TOUR. However, since he shot a 10-under 60 on Saturday, his final round of even-par 70 was still good enough to send him into a playoff with James Driscoll. Johnson wound up beating Driscoll on the first playoff hole, which makes him 2-0 in playoffs on TOUR. His only other playoff was in 2007, when the six-time TOUR winner defeated Ryuji Imada to win the AT&T Classic.
Paul Goydos birdied the par-4 16th hole and had a one-shot lead with two holes to play. Goydos, one of the faster players on the TOUR, immediately strolled to the par-3 17th tee and pulled his club for his tee shot. He did not get to hit that shot until 15 minutes later, though. Scott Sterling, who was playing in the penultimate group, had hit his tee ball in the lateral hazard to the right of the 17th green. Rules official John Brendle was called in and, after walking off several options, Sterling was allowed to drop in a spot behind and to the right of the green. Sterling made bogey after the drop. I am convinced that this long wait played havoc with Goydos' comfort level. When Goydos finally hit his tee shot, it landed to the left of the green and he was unable to get up-and-down to save his par. I am not blaming Sterling for Goydos' final two holes -- it was merely an observation on the way pace can often affect play.
James Driscoll will learn from this playoff loss. He has been out of the spotlight for a long time in golf. Although he lost the 2000 U.S. Amateur to Jeff Quinney, the lack of oxygen under the gun on the TOUR can gag a fruit fly. He will also leave with some much-needed official money, which can help him secure status -- which would mean no more Monday qualifying.
FINAL-ROUND NOTEBOOK: VALERO TEXAS OPEN
By Mark Stevens, PGA TOUR Staff
SAN ANTONIO -- Zach Johnson drained a 10-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole (No. 18) to defeat James Driscoll. Johnson is now 2-0 in playoffs (2007 AT&T Classic).
• Zach Johnson (Sony Open in Hawaii) joins Geoff Ogilvy (Mercedes-Benz Championship, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship) and Phil Mickelson (Northern Trust Open and WGC-CA Championship) as two-time winners on TOUR this season. Johnson, Ogilvy and Mickelson are 1-2-3 in the FedExCup standings respectively.
• Zach Johnson's 60 in the third-round made him the only player in TOUR history to record two career rounds at 60 or better. Johnson also posted a 60 in the third-round at the 2007 TOUR Championship.
• Zach Johnson joins Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods as the only players to defend their titles in 2009. Phil Mickelson defended his Northern Trust Open title, while Tiger Woods was able to defend his Arnold Palmer Invitational title. Otherwise, K.J. Choi's T12 was the best finish by a player trying to defend their TOUR win this year. During the 2008 TOUR season, only three players were able to defend their 2007 titles (Tiger Woods-Buick Invitational, Boo Weekley-Verizon Heritage and Padraig Harrington-British Open).
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| This week's Kodak Challenge hole | |
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| This week at the Kodak Challenge hole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round-by-round statistics on the par-4 16th at LaCantera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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