J.J. Spaun wins Texas Open. Lauren Coughlin runs away in Aramco Championship

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — J.J. Spaun came up with two big shots at the end of a long, wet Sunday, one leading to birdie and the other for eagle that carried him to a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory in the Valero Texas Open for his first title since the U.S. Open last summer.

Spaun won for the second time at the TPC San Antonio, with one big difference. His victory four years ago got him into the Masters. Now he is the U.S. Open champion who already had his spot at Augusta National secured. But this was an important win.

He had yet to finish in the top 20 in seven starts this year — his best was a tie for 24th in The Players Championship — and now the 35-year-old Californian has a validating win in tough conditions as he heads into the first major of the year.

Robert MacIntyre, who had led for so much of the tournament, completed 12 holes Sunday morning in the storm-delayed tournament for an even-par 72 to stay ahead by a shot going into the final round.

Spaun was in the mix with a dozen other players when he hit his tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 16th for birdie, and then drove the green on the 306-yard 17th hole to 10 feet for eagle.

He finished with a par to set the target at 17-under 271, finishing about an hour before MacIntyre and the final group. MacIntyre closed with a 70 to share second place with Matt Wallace (68) and Michael Kim (69).

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — After coming oh so close to winning at Shadow Creek last year, Lauren Coughlin made sure victory was never truly in doubt Sunday in the Aramco Championship in rolling to a five-shot win over Nelly Korda and the rest of the star-studded field.

Coughlin shot an even-par 72 for a 7-under total and her first victory in two years, earning the 33-year-old from Virginia $600,000. She won her third LPGA Tour title and first in the United States, after winning in Canada and Scotland in 2024.

Korda was runner-up yet again after shooting a 75 and finishing at 2 under. She made her one birdie on the par-5 18th, avoiding going without one in a round for the first time since the first day of The ANNIKA last November in the Tampa Bay area.

This was her third consecutive second-place finish after opening her season by winning in Orlando, Florida, moving Korda up a spot to No. 1 in the world ranking.

Leona Maguire (71) also finished at 2 under, and the only other player with an under-par score was Miyu Yamashita (74) at 1 under.

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Gandon of France birdied his last three holes Sunday for a 7-under 65, giving him a one-shot victory in the Lecom Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Mitchell Meisner closed with a 64 and Jay Card III had a 65. Both of them had finished their round and appeared to at least be set for a playoff until Gandon ran off his three straight birdies to finish at 22-under 262. Four players, including Ian Gilligan finished two shots behind.

Gandon won for the second year in a row on the Korn Ferry Tour, this one moving him to No. 3 in the points standing.

Travis Smyth of Australia holed a 20-foot eagle putt on the final hole for a 7-under 64, giving him a one-shot victory over Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and Ryosuke Kinoshita of Japan in the International Series Japan on the Asian Tour. ... Sayaka Takahashi rallied with a 5-under 67 and defeated Yuna Araki and Kano Nakamura in a playoff to win the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi on the Japan LPGA. ... Jiwon Ko closed with a 1-over 73 and held on for a one-shot victory over Kyorim Seo in The Siena Open on the Korea LPGA.

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