SAN DIEGO -- Former San Diego State men's golf All-American J.J. Spaun captured his first PGA Tour title of his career Sunday after winning the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.
In his 147th PGA Tour start, Spaun fired a 3-under-par 69 during the final round, finishing the tournament at 13-under 275. Spaun edged Matt Jones (-11) and Matt Kuchar (-11) by two strokes on the par-72, 7,438-yard TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.
With his victory, Spaun clinched a spot in The Masters Tournament, which will be played next week in Augusta, Georgia, as well as berths in the 2022 PGA Championship, the 2022 Open Championship and the 2023 Players Championship, among other events. Spaun also earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and received 500 FedEx Cup points, climbing from the 66th position to 10th in the latest FedEx Cup standings.
Spaun double-bogeyed the par-4,454-yard first hole but went bogey free the rest of the way with five birdies. Spaun became the first player to win a tournament by starting off the final round with a double bogey since Tiger Woods did it at the 2008 U.S. Open. Spaun closed with four straight pars to seal the win.
Spaun's previous best finish was runner-up showing at the 2018 RSM Classic.
Spaun was in a four-way tie for the lead at 10-under after 54 holes with Beau Hossler (T-4th, -10), Dylan Frittelli (T-8th, -9) and Brandt Snedeker (T-18th, -7), but pulled away on the final round today. Spaun led the field in putts per green in regulation this week (1.532) and tied for the most birdies (23).
Spaun twice received All-America recognition by both the (GCAA) and Golfweek during his time at San Diego State (2009-12). He captured five individual tournament crowns during his career at SDSU, which is tied for most in school history with Aztec Hall of Famer Lennie Clements.
In addition, Spaun earned Mountain West Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2012 and garnered three straight all-conference accolades. He concluded that season ranked 17th nationally by Golfstat.com and 21st by Golfweek after leading SDSU to its best-ever Division I team finish with a fifth-place tie in the match-play phase at the NCAA Championships.