With a birdie-4 on the first playoff hole (No. 18), Akshay Bhatia defeated Denny McCarthy to win the Valero Texas Open.
Related: Akshay Bhatia zeroing in for second PGA Tour win
Marked the 16th playoff at the Valero Texas Open, but first since the event moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010.
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Playoff records: Bhatia (2-0), McCarthy (0-2)
Bhatia (1st/-20), picked up his second PGA TOUR victory in his 54th start at the age of 22 years, 2 months, 7 days; both wins have come in playoffs (2023 Barracuda Championship, 2024 Valero Texas Open).
Moved to No. 12 in the FedExCup standings and is now fully exempt through the 2026 PGA TOUR season.
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Earned final spot in next week’s Masters Tournament and entry into the four remaining Signature Events this season.
Despite holding the outright lead after the first three rounds and a share of the lead at the end of regulation, the victory isn’t considered an official wire-to-wire win since it went to a playoff.
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Wins in first attempt with the 54-hole lead/co-lead and in his third start at the event (MC/2021, T46/2023, 1st/2024).
First lefthander to win the Valero Texas Open since Eric Axley in 2006; first lefthander to win on TOUR since he (Barracuda Championship) and Brian Harman (Open Championship) did so on the same day in July of 2023.
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The total of 268 equalled the lowest 72-hole score since the event moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 (Corey Conners/2019/won, Denny McCarthy/2024/2nd).
Recorded his first top-10 finish in his 10th start of the season, with a T11 at last week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open his previous best outing; now has six top-20 finishes this season.
Seeking his first PGA TOUR victory in his 174th start, McCarthy (2nd/-20) finished runner-up for the second time, both playoff losses (fell to Viktor Hovland at the 2023 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday).
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Set the back nine scoring record at TPC San Antonio with an 8-under 28 (previous: 29/Trey Mullinax/R3/2018).
Fourth 28 this season and first since Erik van Rooyen at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches (R4/front nine).
Closed his round with seven consecutive birdies (Nos. 12-18); the last player to birdie the final seven holes of regulation and go on to win was Kevin Streelman at the 2014 Travelers Championship.
Marks his first top-10 finish on TOUR since the 2023 RSM Classic (T5).
Best finish in five starts at the Valero Texas Open (T20/2018, MC/2019, T34/2021, T18/2022, 2nd/2024).
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Rory McIlroy (3rd/-11) picked up his first top-10 finish of the season, after entering the week with a streak of five starts to start the season without a top-10, his longest such streak since 2010. In 2010 in his first season as a member, he won the Wells Fargo Championship in his sixth start for his first career PGA TOUR title.
Four-time PGA TOUR winner Russell Henley (4th/-10) picked up his third fourth-place finish of the season (Sony Open in Hawaii/T4, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard/T4, Valero Texas Open/4th).
Two-time Valero Texas Open champion Corey Conners finished T25 in bid to become the first player since World War II to earn his first three wins at the same event.
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