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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2018

Third Round Notes

Weather: Scattered showers early turning to partly cloudy skies in the afternoon. High of 71. Wind SSE 8-16 mph.

54-hole cut: 72 players at 1-over 217.

Third-Round Leaderboard

Zach Johnson70-65-68203 (-13)
Andrew Landry69-67-67203 (-13)
Trey Mullinax74-68-62204 (-12
Ryan Moore68-67-70205 (-11)

Zach Johnson

2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson maintained a share of the lead at the Valero Texas Open following a 4-under 68. At 13-under 203, he will enter the final round tied with Andrew Landry.

Johnson is seeking to join Arnold Palmer (1960-62) and Justin Leonard (2000-01, 2007) as the only three-time winners of the Valero Texas Open.

Johnson through 54 holes: front nine (even), back nine (13-under).

Johnson won the 2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open at LaCantera Golf Club in his first two starts in the event and is one of just four winners in tournament history, dating to 1922, to successfully defend his title (Bill Mehlhorn/1928-29, Arnold Palmer/1960-62, Justin Leonard/2000-01).

On his way to the 2009 victory, Johnson tied the LaCantera Golf Club course record (Bart Bryant/2004) and tied his career low score on the PGA TOUR with a third-round 10-under 60.

Now with six starts at the Valero Texas Open since moving to TPC San Antonio, Johnson has missed two cuts (2010, 2017) and claimed one top-10 finish (T6/2014). He finished T20 and T29 in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Johnson will be seeking his 13th PGA TOUR victory on Sunday at the age of 42 years, 1 month and 29 days. Of his 12 PGA TOUR victories and with the exception of the 2015 Open Championship, each win came in one of just four different states. With four, Texas has produced Johnson’s most wins (2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open, 2010 and 2012 Fort Worth Invitational). He has won three times in Georgia, twice in Illinois and twice in Hawaii.

Saturday’s 68 marked just his fourth round in the 60s (19 rounds) at TPC San Antonio; 68/R2/2010/MC, 69/R1/2016/T29, 65/R2/2018/TBD, 68/R3/2018/TBD).

Now with 12 starts on the PGA TOUR this season, Johnson has missed no cuts and finished inside the top 10 on one occasion (The RSM Classic/T8).

This is the sixth time that Johnson has led or shared the lead on the PGA TOUR through 54 holes. He has converted three of the previous five 54-hole leads into victories: 2004 BellSouth Classic, 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2009 Valero Texas Open.

Andrew Landry

Andrew Landry turned in a bogey-free 5-under 67 to move from T3 into a share of the 54-hole lead with Zach Johnson. As a result, he will carry the lead into the final round for the first time in his PGA TOUR career.

Landry made his way on TOUR this season by virtue of his fourth-place finish on the 2017 Web.com Tour priority list. A victory on Sunday would come in Landry’s 32nd PGA TOUR start at the age of 30 years, 8 months and 15 days.

Landry has three top-10 finishes this season, each in his first seven starts (T7/Safeway Open, T4/The RSM Classic, P2/CareerBuilder Challenge). He lost on the fourth hole of sudden death at the CareerBuilder Challenge to Jon Rahm.

Landry opened with a 4-under 66 to take the first-round lead at the 2016 U.S. Open. He was solo second after a second-round 1-over 71, T2 after a third-round even-par 70 and later finished T15 with an 8-over 78 in the final round.

In his only other start at the Valero Texas Open, Landry finished T51 in 2016.

Third-Round Lead Notes

Since the tournament moved to TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks Course in 2010, five third-round leaders/co-leaders of the Valero Texas Open have held on for the win, most recently Kevin Chappell in 2017.

At 8-under 208, Kevin Chappell held a one-stroke lead over Branden Grace and John Huh at the 2017 Valero Texas Open. He went on to post a final-round 68 for a one-stroke win over Brooks Koepka.

So far this season, 11 of 23 third-round leaders/co-leaders have held on for the win in stroke-play events. The most recent to do it was Patrick Reed at the Masters.

Trey Mullinax

Trey Mullinax closed with a current course record of 10-under 62 to move from T25 to solo third. The previous record at the TPC AT&T Oaks course was 63 (Matt Every/2012, Martin Laird/2013). Overall, Zach Johnson (2009) and Bart Bryant (2004) hold the Valero Texas Open record with matching 60s at LaCantera Golf Club.

There have now been eight 62s on TOUR this season. Chesson Hadley has the season’s best score with an 11-under 61 in the second round at the Safeway Open.

A first-round 63 at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open (T44) was the previous low round on the PGA TOUR for Mullinax.

Mullinax, currently No. 126 in the FedExCup, was 6-under on his final five holes (eagle-par-birdie-birdie-eagle). It marked the first time in 124 rounds that the former University of Alabama standout has carded multiple eagles.

Mullinax, who will be 25 years, 9 months and 24 days old on Sunday, is in search of his first PGA TOUR victory in his 41st start. He owns two career top-10 finishes: T8 at the 2018 Valspar Championship and T9 at the 2017 U.S. Open.

Miscellaneous Notes

Ryan Moore (4) played his first 36 holes this week without a bogey before doing so on the par-4 opening hole Saturday. Making his fourth start in the Valero Texas Open this week (2017/T18, 2012/T8, 2005/T53), Moore is in search of his sixth PGA TOUR title and first since the 2016 John Deere Classic.

Sean O’Hair’s 7-under 65 (which included a birdie-birdie-eagle finish) marked his best round on TOUR since closing with the same score to finish T10 at the 2017 RBC Canadian Open. O’Hair (T5) is in search of his fifth win in his 345th start, with this week marking his 167th start since last winning at the 2011 RBC Canadian Open.

2015 Valero Texas Open champion and nearby Boerne resident Jimmy Walker sits T5 after a third-round 67. Making his 13th start in the Valero Texas Open, Walker is in search of his third top-10 finish (1-2015, T3-2010).

Joaquin Niemann, the former World No. 1 amateur who is making his professional debut this week, posted a third-round 5-under 67 to move to T11.

Past Valero Texas Open champions in the field: Zach Johnson (T1), Martin Laird (T5), Jimmy Walker (T5), Kevin Chappell (T20), Brendan Steele (T30), Charley Hoffman (T59), Adam Scott (MC), Steven Bowditch (MC).

Bogey-free rounds:

R1: Billy Horschel (68), Ryan Moore (68).

R2: Chris Kirk (66), Ryan Moore (67), Nicholas Lindheim (67), Kevin Na (70), Chris Paisley (71), Chesson Hadley (71).

R3: Sean O’Hair (65), Andrew Landry (67), Andrew Putnam (68), Brandt Snedeker (68), J.T. Poston (68), Sam Ryder (68), Austin Cook (69), Graeme McDowell (70).

Scoring Averages at TPC San Antonio:

RoundFront 9Back 9TotalCumulative
R137.16736.36573.532--
R236.21335.83972.05272.794
R336.037234.88870.92572.412

The par-3 13th hole played the most difficult in round three at 3.263. The par-5 14th played the easiest at 4.563.

ABOUT VALERO

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland and Latin America. Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day. Valero is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, which owns two renewable diesel plants located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, and Valero owns 12 ethanol plants located in the U.S. Mid-Continent region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. Valero manages its operations through its Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. Please visit investorvalero.com for more information.

ABOUT VALERO IN THE COMMUNITY

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where Valero has major operations. In 2023, Valero, its employees and the foundation collectively generated more than $77 million in charitable support through direct/in-kind donations, fundraising and volunteerism. Valero employees logged more than 127,000 volunteer hours in 2023 for hundreds of projects in their communities. Valero provides funding to a variety of nonprofit agencies for programs and services supporting education, basic needs, health care and civic initiatives.  Through the overwhelming support of sponsors, the foundation’s signature programs, the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children, generated more than $23 million raised in 2023 for charities across the United States.

ABOUT THE VALERO TEXAS OPEN

The Valero Texas Open is the sixth-oldest professional tournament in golf worldwide, the third-oldest on the PGA TOUR and the longest held in the same city. In 2022, the tournament celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Its list of champions includes some of the greatest names in golf history: Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and 2019, 2023 champion Corey Conners to name a few.

Since Valero became title sponsor in 2002, the tournament has become a leader in charitable fundraising among PGA TOUR events. The Valero Texas Open, together with its Benefit for Children and Champions fore Charity initiatives, has contributed more than $232 million to hundreds of worthy charities since inception. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for more information.

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