2015 Valero Texas Open: Is Jimmy Walker A Closer?
By Danny Norris
Week after week we see tournament leaders after 54 holes blow it in the final round. It has been nine tournaments since there was a solo leader after 54 holes that has actually held onto a lead on the PGA Tour (as a co-leader Bill Haas won at the Humana Challenge).
The last time a solo leader after 54 holes won was Jimmy Walker at the Sony Open back in January. In that time we’ve seen 54 hole leaders such as Henrik Stenson, Jim Furyk, and Ian Poulter all blow leads.
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As Walker heads into the Valero Texas Open with a four shot lead we have to ask: is Jimmy Walker a closer?
Now, a win this week doesn’t completely answer that question. We have to remember that before the Sony Open, Walker blew the lead at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions including a three shot lead with five holes left.
Plus, Walker has a four shot lead over second place Jordan Spieth and a six shot lead over 3rd place Bill Horschel. This isn’t exactly the most pressure packed situation, but you never know. Earlier this year, Martin Kaymer did the unthinkable and blew a ten shot lead at Abu Dhabi.
So, holding onto any lead in the final round is impressive and you should get credit. But, when you factor everything together I don’t think you could definitively say that Walker is a legitimate closer.
It could definitely be argued and it could be argued that he is currently the best closer on the PGA Tour, but for me, not quite yet.
As we touched upon above, Spieth and Horschel currently sit in second and third place four and six shots back respectively. In a tie for 4th at 2-under par sits Chesson Hadley, Jason Kokrak, Zach Johnson, Scott Pinckney, and Brendan Steele.
Aaron Baddeley, who came in just a shot back behind Walker, struggled as he shot a 4-over par today to drop to 1-under. He joins Chris Kirk and Kevin Na in a tie for 9th. Na struggled as well as he shot a 3-over today.
It’s been a struggle all season for Kirk, so it’s good to see him back near the top of the leaderboard. He’s has a chance to record his first top ten finish since the McGladrey Classic.
Matt Jones had a share of the best round of the day at four under par. Jones, Dustin Johnson, and Gary Woodland shared that distinction today. The low round of the day propelled Jones to get back to even par for the tournament and in a tie for 12th overall.
For Johnson and Woodland, the low rounds of the day shot them all the way up to 1-over par and in a tie for 18th. They were the biggest movers of the day as they climbed up 51 spots.
They join a number of notable golfers at 1-over including: K.J. Choi, Ryan Palmer, Pat Perez, Brendon Todd, and Charley Hoffman who really struggled.
Hoffman had one of the three highest rounds of the day as he shot a 7-over par. The fact that he’s still in line for a top 25 shows how well he was playing for the first couple of days.
The final round of the Valero Texas Open should be interesting. A couple of Texans will be battling it out and we shall see if Walker, the 54 hole leader, can seal the deal.