After 68 holes, it seemed like the win would be up from grabs for at least 3 players, including eventual winner Ben Curtis. At that point, Curtis, and Matt Every were tied for the lead, and John Huh was one back.
Though Huh came close on the finishing holes, none of the birdie attempts found the bottom of the cup.
For Every, a bogey on the par 4 15th (the 69th of the round), dashed his chances at a PGA Tour victory.
At 16 and 17, the final group all had pars, and so it came down to #18, the 72nd of the tournament, to see if Curtis could hold on to the lead.
As Every and Huh could only manage to par the 72nd hole, Curtis sank his putt for a birdie to win by 2 shots.
However, even though the Curtis win is a great story itself, the story of Huh finishing in a tie for 2nd. His first 9 on Thursday he seemed to be out of even making the cut. Yes, that early. He shot a 44 on the back side of the AT&T Oaks course at TPC San Antonio, his first 9. However, he rallied after the turn to a 33 for a total of 77, at that time 14 shots back from Round 1 leader, Matt Every.
Every, as you remember, shot the course record 63 on Thursday, and tied for 2nd.
During a Valero Texas Open tradition, Rudy's on the Range, I am fortunate to lunch with many players, caddies, media, sponsors, and volunteers. This year, I was able to lunch with Curtis' caddy, Ricky Elliot. We discussed how been had been playing lately, and also how he liked the course.
At that point, he had only played 10 holes, and Elliot said "Ben should do well this week. He's strking the ball well, and staying out of trouble." I did, of course ask, do you think he has a chance to win? As any good caddy would say "Well, of course!". Good on you Ricky!
Tony Vaught is an international golf writer based in Texas. He currently serves as Vice President of the Texas Golf Writers Association and has been a special contributor to Golfer’s Guide for over 10 years.
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