SAN ANTONIO — Kevin Chappell made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Valero Texas Open by one stroke on Sunday.
Chappell had a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish at 12 under for the tournament, edging Brooks Koepka at TPC San Antonio to earn his first PGA Tour victory in his 180th career start.
"A big relief," the 30-year-old Chappell said. "There's been quite the monkey on my back for some time now about getting that first win. And to take that off and not have to answer those questions anymore is nice."
Koepka, a member of the US Ryder Cup team last year, was aiming for his second PGA Tour win. He had the best round of the day at 65. Before Chappell came down the 18th hole, Koepka had birdied the hole with a 3-foot putt to tie him.
"It's hard to win out here — everybody knows that," Koepka said. "I'm knocking on the door to get my second win. It's nice for Kevin to get his first win. That's pretty cool."
Second-round co-leader Tony Finau got in a position to tie Koepka when he birdied four of five holes on the back nine. But his par-bogey finish left him to settle for 69 and a share of third place with Kevin Tway (69) at 9 under.
Australian Aaron Baddeley fired 68 to finish fourth at 8 under. Brian Gay (70), Sung Kang (68), Ryan Palmer (71) and Cameron Smith (71) were a shot further back tied for sixth.
Koepka, trailing Chappell by a shot coming up the 18th, took a 3-metal out of his bag and considered taking a crack at reaching the 606-yard par-5 in two. But he had 293 yards left with a slight uphill shot into the wind with a creek fronting the green.
"I really wanted to go for it — I really wanted to," Koepka said. "But my caddy was kind of pulling the reins back and he wanted me to lay up, and it was probably a good thing that we did."
He put the club back in his bag and laid up to create a 90-wedge approach. He stuck that to about three feet and made the birdie to go into the clubhouse tied with Chappell.
Chappell had almost the same distance for his approach on 18, and he landed it past the hole to set up the winning putt. "I wouldn't want it any other way," said Chappell, who had been runner-up six times in his career.
Finau closed with birdies on four of five holes coming to the 17th. He was just a shot behind Chappell's lead, but he parred there and drove next to a cactus bush on the 18th. He punched out to the fairway, removed cactus needles from his leg, then put his approach into the creek. He took a penalty drop, and his bogey ended his chances.
Franco, Singh shoot course record to win Legends of Golf
In Missouri, Carlos Franco and Vijay Singh teamed to shoot a course-record 12-under par on Sunday to rally from seven shots behind and win the PGA Tour Champions' Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.
Franco and Singh finished at 15 under overall over the rain-shortened 36-hole tournament at the par-3 Top of the Rock course, holding off a trio of teams that finished a stroke back.
The win is the first on the PGA Tour Champions for Singh, and it's the second for Franco. Among those who finished at 14 under were first-round leaders Jeff Sluman and Fred Funk, the winners of the tournament in 2014.
The duo opened the tournament with a then-course record 10 under on Saturday and finished tied for second with the teams of Paul Goydos and Kevin Sutherland and Corey Pavin and Duffy Waldorf.
Playing nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine of better ball, the two began the day seven shots behind Sluman and Funk. However, they opened with seven birdies on their opening nine and finished the course-record 42 with birdies on four of their final five holes, including the 18th.
Pavin had a 15-foot putt on the 18th that would have tied for the lead, but it stayed left of the hole. Sluman birdied the 17th for a fifth birdie in a row for him and Funk to close within a shot of the lead. However, Funk narrowly missed a lengthy birdie putt on the 18th, and Sluman's shot from just off the green came up well short to secure the victory for Franco and Singh. — AP
