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Jones holes out to earn last Masters spot

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It was a tale of two rounds on the 72nd hole at the Shell Houston Open as Australia’s Matt Jones drained a 46-foot putt for birdie to cap off a final-round 66. Matt Kuchar meanwhile, who had a four-shot lead entering Sunday’s final round, stumbled on the same hole. He pulled his hybrid into the water left of the green, but was able to get up and down for bogey to force a playoff with Jones at 15-under par.

In the end, the mistake proved fatal for Kuchar, who was bested by Jones following a 42-yard chip in for birdie on the first playoff hole. Kuchar also missed the green, but he left his bunker shot short, officially crowning Jones champion and moving Kuchar to 2-1 in career playoffs.

The victory marks the first of Jones’ professional career and earned the 34-year-old pro $1,152,000, 500 points FedEx Cup points and a berth in next week’s Masters tournament. For Kuchar, the runner-up finish marks his second disappointing Sunday in as many weeks. He previously shot a final round 75 to fall out of contention at the Valero Texas Open.

The Shell Houston Open, plagued by headlines of Tiger Woods’ indefinite absence from the game following a successful microdiscectomy earlier in the week, had no shortage of star power with players like Kuchar, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan all among those to make the cut.

Mickelson, who won this event in 2011, shot rounds of 68-70-72-71 to finish tied for 12th at 7-under. Other notable performances belonged to Garcia and McIlroy. Garcia shot 65 to take sole possession of the lead Friday heading to the weekend. Two days later, McIlroy matched Garcia’s feat, rounding out the weekend with a Sunday 65 of his own to finish T7. Garcia finished at 13-under to take sole possession of third.

For McIlroy, the current Masters favorite at 7/1, the closing round was too little too late for his hopes of victory in Texas, but it has the young pro hopeful heading to next week’s Masters. He took to Twitter describing his week at the Shell Houston Open as “productive” and voiced his excitement for the year’s first major.

One notable absence from the field during the weekend was that of defending champion D.A. Points. Points shot openings rounds of 71 and 74 to miss the cut. Joining Points on the sidelines were Jordan Spieth, Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Lucas Glover, Ian Poulter and Peter Uihlein.

The 2014 Shell Houston Open marked the 12th playing of the event at the Golf Club of Houston. Next week the tour heads to Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters.

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Lukas Willems is an avid golfer and single digit handicap who grew up working and playing at Peninsula State Park Golf Course in Door County, Wis. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay cum laude in 2011 and immediately earned a position working media relations for the World Series of Poker. If he's not on the road for the WSOP or on the course, Willems says he's likely out enjoying the Lake Michigan shores he grew up on. Follow him on Twitter at @lukasmwillems.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

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Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.

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Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

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