Name: John VanDerLaan hits 211-yard tee shot to 14 feet, makes birdie on No. 16 at Farmers
Uploaded: 2026-01-30T23:51:26.000Z
Duration: 45 s
Description: In the second round of the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open, John VanDerLaan's tee shot on the 215-yard par-3 16th hole travels 211 yards, landing on the right side of the green, leaving a 14-foot 3-inch putt, which he makes for birdie.

In the third round of the 2026 Valspar, John VanDerLaan's drive on the 543-yard par-5 first hole travels 307 yards, landing in the left rough and leaving 244 yards to the hole, his 233-yard shot from the rough ends up in the right bunker, with 41 feet 1 inch remaining, his 47-foot 5-inch shot from the greenside bunker lands on the left green, finishing 6 feet 2 inches from the hole, and he makes a 6-foot 2-inch putt for birdie.

John VanDerLaan sinks 6-foot birdie putt on No. 1 at Valspar

In the first round of the 2026 Valspar, John VanDerLaan's 189-yard drive on the 194-yard par-3 17th landed on the right green, 24 feet 9 inches from the hole, and he made the 24-foot 9-inch putt for birdie.

John VanDerLaan sinks 25-foot birdie putt on No. 17 at Valspar

In the second round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, John VanDerLaan’s tee shot on the 184-yard par-3 4th hole flew 186 yards, landing on the right side of the green and leaving a 29-foot 11-inch putt, which he made for birdie.

John VanDerLaan pours in 30-foot birdie putt on No. 4 at WM Phoenix Open

In the first round of the 2026 WM Phoenix Open, John VanDerLaan’s drive on the 554-yard, par-5 15th hole went 286 yards into the right rough, his shot from the rough traveled 184 yards and landed in the left fairway, his 93-yard approach shot settled on the right side of the green 12 feet 5 inches from the hole, and he made the 12-foot-5-inch putt for birdie.

John VanDerLaan hits 93-yard approach to 12 feet, sets up birdie on No. 15 at WM Phoenix Open

In the second round of the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open, John VanDerLaan's tee shot on the 215-yard par-3 16th hole travels 211 yards, landing on the right side of the green, leaving a 14-foot 3-inch putt, which he makes for birdie.

John VanDerLaan hits 211-yard tee shot to 14 feet, makes birdie on No. 16 at Farmers

In the first round of the 2026 Sony Open, John VanDerLaan's 223-yard drive on the 394-yard, par-4 15th landed in the left fairway, his 167-yard approach shot from the fairway landed on the left side of the green and left 11 feet to the hole, and he made an 11-foot putt for birdie.

John VanDerLaan sinks 11-foot birdie putt on No. 15 at Sony Open

In the opening round of the 2026 Sony Open, John VanDerLaan's drive on the 540-yard, par-5 18th hole travels 267 yards into the left fairway, his 274-yard approach lands on the left side of the green 29 feet 5 inches from the hole, his 27-foot putt leaves the ball 2 feet 5 inches from the hole, and he makes the 2-foot 5-inch putt for birdie.

John VanDerLaan taps in from 2 feet for birdie on No. 18, cards opening-round 7-under 63 at Sony Open

The journey to reach the PGA TOUR is never easy. Rookies Emilio Gonzalez, Jeffery Kang, John VanDerLaan and Zach Bauchou share their lowest moments on the road to the TOUR and explain how they overcame them.

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Prior to the 2026 Sony Open in Hawaii, PGA TOUR rookies John VanDerLaan, Johnny Keefer, Jeffrey Kang and more have a laugh while trying to guess each other’s baby photos.

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In the second round of the 2026 Valero, Alex Smalley's drive on the 449-yard, par-4 10th hole traveled 279 yards and landed in the left fairway, leaving 171 yards to the hole. His 170-yard approach shot from the fairway finished in the left fairway, 15 feet 10 inches from the hole.

Alex Smalley holes 170-yard approach for birdie on No. 10 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Karl Vilips's drive on the 597-yard, par-5 eighth hole traveled 313 yards and ended in the left rough, with 280 yards remaining to the hole. His 179-yard shot from the rough finished in the left intermediate rough, 101 yards from the pin. Vilips's 103-yard approach from the intermediate rough landed on the left green, 8 feet 9 inches from the hole. He made an 8-foot-9-inch putt for birdie.

Karl Vilips gets up-and-down from 9 feet for birdie on No. 8 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, J.J. Spaun's drive on the 601-yard, par-5 18th went 309 yards into the left intermediate rough, leaving 288 yards to the hole. His 192-yard shot from the rough ended in the left fairway, with 104 yards remaining. Spaun's 106-yard approach from the fairway landed on the right green, 7 feet 5 inches from the hole. He made the 7-foot-5-inch putt for birdie.

J.J. Spaun's 106-yard approach sets up birdie on No. 18 at Valero

Check out all the best shots from the opening round of the 2026 Valero Texas Open, featuring Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler, among others. Play was suspended on Thursday due to darkness, and Round 1 will conclude Friday morning.

Highlights | Round 1 | Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Brian Harman's 294-yard drive on the 601-yard, par-5 18th hole landed in the right intermediate rough, leaving 300 yards to the hole. His 203-yard shot from the rough landed in the left fairway, leaving 100 yards to the hole. Harman's 99-yard approach from the fairway landed on the right green, finishing 12 feet 8 inches from the hole. He made a 12-foot 8-inch putt for birdie.

Brian Harman gets up-and-down from 13 feet for birdie on No. 18 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Mark Hubbard's drive on the 193-yard, par-3 16th hole traveled 194 yards and landed on the left green, finishing 6 feet 2 inches from the hole. Hubbard made the 6-foot-2-inch putt for birdie.

Mark Hubbard sinks 6-foot birdie putt on No. 16 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, J.J. Spaun's drive on the 351-yard, par-4 17th hole went 279 yards into the right bunker, leaving 77 yards to the hole. His 73-yard approach shot from the fairway bunker landed on the left green, finishing 12 feet 10 inches from the hole. Spaun made a 12-foot 10-inch putt for birdie.

J.J. Spaun drains 13-foot birdie putt on No. 17 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Robert MacIntyre's drive on the 601-yard, par-5 18th hole traveled 307 yards and landed in the left fairway, leaving 289 yards to the hole. His 219-yard shot from the fairway landed in the right fairway, leaving 77 yards to the hole. MacIntyre's 75-yard approach shot from the fairway landed on the right green, finishing 13 feet 2 inches from the hole. He made a 13-foot 2-inch putt for birdie.

Robert MacIntyre's 75-yard approach sets up birdie on No. 18 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Robert MacIntyre's drive on the 351-yard, par-4 17th hole traveled 292 yards and landed in the left fairway, leaving 60 yards to the hole. His 60-yard approach shot from the fairway landed on the left green, finishing 3 feet 2 inches from the hole. MacIntyre made a 3-foot 2-inch putt for birdie.

Robert MacIntyre gets up-and-down from 60 yards for birdie on No. 17 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero Texas Open, Jordan Spieth's drive on the 351-yard par-4 17th travels 305 yards, landing in the right fairway and leaving 48 yards to the hole. His 49-yard approach shot from the fairway lands on the left green, finishing 4 feet 3 inches from the hole. Spieth made a 4-foot 3-inch putt for birdie.

Jordan Spieth hits 49-yard approach to 4 feet, sets up birdie on No. 17 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Stephan Jaeger's drive on the 14th hole, a 569-yard par 5, travels 321 yards and lands in the left fairway, leaving 248 yards to the hole. His 234-yard shot from the fairway lands on the right green, finishing 43 feet 4 inches from the hole. Jaeger misses a 45-foot 8-inch putt, finishing 2 feet 5 inches from the hole. He makes a 2-foot 5-inch putt for birdie, remaining at 1-under par for the round.

Stephan Jaeger drains 2-foot birdie putt on No. 14 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, J.J. Spaun's drive on the 569-yard, par-5 14th hole went 308 yards into the right native area, with 245 yards remaining to the hole. His 139-yard shot from the native area landed in the left fairway, leaving 114 yards to the hole. Spaun's 113-yard approach from the fairway landed on the left green, finishing 6 feet 3 inches from the hole. He made a 6-foot 3-inch putt for birdie.

J.J. Spaun hits 113-yard approach to 6 feet, sets up birdie on No. 14 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Russell Henley's drive on the 569-yard, par-5 14th hole travels 298 yards and ends up in the right fairway, leaving 263 yards to the hole. His 258-yard shot from the fairway lands in the right rough, finishing 59 feet 3 inches from the hole. Henley's 65-foot-7-inch shot from the rough lands on the left green, finishing 6 feet 9 inches from the hole. He makes a 6-foot-9-inch putt for birdie, remaining at even par for the round.

Russell Henley drains 7-foot birdie putt on No. 14 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Ludvig Åberg's drive on the 454-yard par-4 15th hole travels 299 yards and ends up in the left intermediate rough, 154 yards from the hole. His 158-yard approach shot from the intermediate rough ends in the right rough, finishing 17 feet 7 inches from the hole. Åberg makes a 17-foot 7-inch birdie putt, moving to 5-under for the round.

Ludvig Åberg drains 18-foot birdie putt on No. 15 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Robert MacIntyre's drive on the 569-yard, par-5 14th went 300 yards into the left fairway, leaving 271 yards to the hole. His 240-yard shot from the fairway landed in the left fairway, leaving 97 feet. MacIntyre's 96-foot 5-inch shot from the fairway landed on the left green, finishing 17 inches from the hole. He made a 17-inch putt for birdie.

Robert MacIntyre drains 17-inch birdie putt on No. 14 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, Jordan Spieth's drive on the 569-yard, par-5 14th travels 294 yards, landing in the left fairway and leaving 278 yards to the hole. His 267-yard shot from the fairway lands on the left green, finishing 35 feet 4 inches from the hole. Spieth made a 36-foot 11-inch putt, finishing 22 inches from the hole. He makes a 22-inch putt for birdie, remaining tied for 59th place at 1-under par for the round.

Jordan Spieth's 267-yard approach sets up birdie on No. 14 at Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero Texas Open, Tony Finau shoots a 6-under 66 to take a share of the Thursday lead heading into Friday.

Tony Finau's Round 1 highlights from Valero

In the opening round of the 2026 Valero, J.J. Spaun's drive on the 395-yard, par-4 12th hole traveled 269 yards and landed in the left fairway, leaving 127 yards to the hole. His 128-yard approach shot from the fairway landed on the left green, finishing 16 feet 7 inches from the hole. Spaun made a 16-foot 7-inch putt for birdie.