Life as U.S. Open champ was an adjustment for J.J. Spaun. He figured it out by winning the Texas Open again

The last time we saw J. J. Spaun win a tournament, he drove the green on the par-4 17th hole to make a critical birdie and climb atop a crowded leaderboard.

On Sunday at the Valero Texas Open, you only had to change one word in the script: he drove the green on the par-4 17th hole to make a critical eagle and climb atop a crowded leaderboard. And while the drive at Oakmont that led to winning the U. S.

Open will always be more famous, his closing stretch at TPC San Antonio, through 20 mph wind and rain, goes down as one of the best closing stretches we've seen this year. It's Spaun's third PGA Tour victory, and his second at the Texas Open. It also broke at least one heart—that of Matt Wallace, who could only make the Masters with a win, and had a realistic shot when his 68 gave him the clubhouse lead for nearly 90 minutes at 16 under.

But it was consecutive 2s from Spaun on 16 and 17, the former after a 199-yard tee shot to three feet, that shut the door on Wallace's dreams. After those fireworks, though, Spaun still had a few obstacles to dodge. The first came in his own game, when he had to make par on the incredibly challenging par-5 18th, which—considering the wind—was playing to the equivalent of 670 yards at times.