The clubs J.J. Spaun used to win the 2026 Valero Texas Open

It wasn’t exactly Davy Crockett and James Bowie at the Alamo, but J.J. Spaun dodged some bullets on the way to winning the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. It marked the second time Spaun has won the event, emerging victorious in 2022 as well.

Standing seven shots in arrears when Sunday’s re-start of the third round began, Spaun finished strong, going 2-2 on 16 and 17 to take the outright lead. He then watched as Michael Kim, Andrew Putnam and, finally, Robert MacIntyre took their shots and missed.

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The birdie-eagle sequence began with a 5-iron that Spaun staked to four feet at the 198-yard, par-3 16th. That was followed by a driver to 10 feet on the 306-yard 17th that came to rest 10 feet from the cup, the ensuing birdie leapfrogging Matt Wallace who had finished nearly 90 minutes earlier and needed victory to make his way to Augusta.

The tee shot on 17 was reminiscent of the one he hit at the 314-yard, uphill par-4 17th at Oakmont in the final round of last year’s U.S. Open when Spaun unleashed a drive that found the putting surface, settling 18 feet from the hole. The ensuing two-putt birdie gave him a one-shot cushion heading to 18.

falseTitleistGT3$650|Golf Galaxy 5.0 GD SCOREGD HOT LIST SCOREHot List Gold$650It has a more forward center of gravity compared to the GT2 and works best for golfers with a repeatable impact location looking to maximize ball speed.The weight track is forward in the sole to allow the golfer to dial in the preferred center of gravity for better energy transfer and more directional control.A super lightweight thermoformed polymer piece, which wraps around the crown to meet the sole on the heel and toe sides, helps maintain Titleist’s preferred sound and feel.The lightweight crown piece saves weight so that the center of gravity is slightly forward and lower from past models for increased ball speed and less spin.A slightly raised rear section and smoother lines and curves from crown to sole create better aerodynamics for increased swing-speed potential.A new variable-thickness pattern includes a ring encircling the back perimeter of the face to maximize ball speed.MOI Rating: MODERATETop 5 in Performance, low- and high-handicaps8, 9, 10, 11 degrees (with a 16-way adjustable hosel)BUY NOW DETAILS

Both drives were hit with a 9-degree Titleist GT3 with a Fujikura Ventus Black Velocore+ 6X shaft. The GT drivers feature a face design that incorporates a thicker ring shape around the perimeter of the back of the face, while the middle of the face inside that ring uses a variable thickness pattern to maximize deflection.

Spaun uses a split set of Srixon irons with the ZXi5 for the 4-iron and the sleeker ZXi7 for the rest of the set, including the 5-iron he struck on 16. For the week Spaun ranked second in strokes gained/approach the green.

Not quite as memorable as the Alamo, but worth remembering, nonetheless.

What J.J. Spaun had in the bag at the 2026 Valero Texas Open

Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Driver: Titleist GT3 (Fujikura Ventus Black Velocore+ 6X), 9 degrees

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10, 15 degrees

7-wood: TaylorMade Qi10, 21 degrees

Irons (4): Srixon ZXi5; (5-PW): Srixon ZXi7

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50 degrees); Cleveland RTZ (54 degrees); Cleveland RTX6 (60 degrees)

Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3

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