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In pursuit of his first PGA TOUR victory, Texas product Andrew Landry proves he’s got what it takes with a 4-under 68 in the final round at TPC San Antonio. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Landry shook off short misses at the par-4 12th hole (just inside five feet) and par-5 14th (inside four feet) to win and move from 42nd to 9th in the FedExCup. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. Landry knows his game. “My game is built for hard golf courses, tough conditions, just because I’m pretty accurate with the driver,â€� he said a few years ago. Yep. Shortly after that, Landry went on to contend at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont before a final-round 78 and a T15 finish, and he was at it again at difficult TPC San Antonio. He led the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green, and his 17-under total was the lowest winning score since the Valero moved to TPC San Antonio (AT&T Oaks Course) in 2010. “Every single player out here is good,â€� said Landry, who lost to Jon Rahm on the fourth hole of a playoff at the CareerBuilder Challenge earlier this season. “Every single one of them is great. We’re all here for reasons, because we worked really hard and we’re really good at what we do.â€� 2. Zach Johnson, 42, the 54-hole co-leader with Landry, was exactly the right guy for the 30-year-old Landry to play with as he tried to chase down his first win. In fact, Johnson was such a perfect playing partner it was almost eerie. Landry, interviewed on camera after he had finished 21st on the 2015 Web.com Tour money list, was asked which players he looked up to. Answer: Jason Day (not in the Valero field) and Zach Johnson. “Zach’s such a good guy and he is so—he just gets it,â€� Landry said after winning the Valero. “He was telling me good shot after good shot, just keep pushing. He would change the subject every now and then to just kind of lighten the mood. I just knew what I had to do. I just stuck to my game plan and saw it happen.â€� 3. As for Johnson, the 12-time TOUR winner struggled with a final-round 72, but he says he doesn’t mind being a shoulder to lean on for the younger players like Landry. “What I’ve seen lately is that I’m getting questioned a lot by the young guys, about not just golf stuff but life stuff,â€� Johnson said at the RBC Heritage. “That just means I’m getting old. But I asked the same questions myself with David Toms, Chris DiMarco, Davis Love, Corey Pavin, Tom Lehman, Lee Janzen, guys that I really admired.â€�     Johnson was vying to become the third player to win the Valero three times, after Arnold Palmer (1960-’62) and Justin Leonard (2000-’01, ’07). 4. Sean O’Hair isn’t far off. After a T2 that saw him sign for the lowest final round (66), the 35-year-old four-time TOUR winner was a mixture of disappointed and encouraged. The upside: He’d just racked up eight birdies on a course that’s notoriously stingy with them. The downside: He was still chasing his first win since the 2011 RBC Canadian Open. “That fifth [win] has been hard to come by,â€� he said. “… I’ve had some close calls. “I feel like my game’s kind of coming into form a little bit,â€� added O’Hair, who with partner Steve Stricker won the unofficial QBE Shootout late last year. “But this year’s been a little bit erratic and I’ve just got to clean that up a bit. I’ve been driving it really well all year and I felt like this golf course really called for that. Felt like if I could just hit a few more greens, because this golf course is all about that as well, make a few putts, which is what I did, I was going to have a good week.â€� O’Hair chipped in for birdie from 55’ 1â€� on the final hole for his seventh runner-up finish in 345 starts, including one in each of the last four seasons. 5. There were breakthroughs all around in San Antonio. Landry is the seventh first-time winner of the season, with three coming in the last five weeks (Landry, Satoshi Kodaira, Brice Garnett). He’s also the third first-time winner in the last five editions of the Valero, joining Steven Bowditch (2014) and Kevin Chappell (2017). Trey Mullinax shot 62-69 on the weekend for a career-best T2 in his 41st TOUR start. Jimmy Walker (67, solo fourth) had his best finish since a third at TPC Boston in the fall of 2016. Then there was former No. 1-ranked amateur Joaquin Niemann of Chile. The 19-year-old merely birdied his last three holes for a second straight 67 and solo sixth place. “It’s one of the best week of my life,â€� Niemann said. Even better, while becoming the first player since Anthony Kim (T2, 2006) to finish in the top 10 at the Valero in his professional debut on TOUR, Niemann also gained entry into the Wells Fargo Championship without having to burn a sponsor’s exemption. FIVE INSIGHTS 1. Although he came into the Valero at 91st in strokes gained: tee-to-green, Landry was first in the field in that stat at TPC San Antonio. He came into the Valero at 84th in strokes gained: approach-the-green, but led that category, too. He was 98th in greens in regulation entering the Valero, but first last week. In fact, his 53/72 greens in regulation was tied for his second-best effort on TOUR. And he’s now one-for-one at converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead into a victory.    2. Landry became only the fourth player to rank in the top 10 in strokes gained: approach-the-green (1st) and strokes gained: putting (8th) while winning this season. The others have been Dustin Johnson at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (7th in sg: approach-the-green, 6th in sg: putting); Ryan Armour at the Sanderson Farms Championships (3rd in sg: approach-the-green, 2nd in sg: putting); and Patton Kizzire at the Sony Open in Hawaii (3rd in both). 3. Zach Johnson, who won the Valero Texas Open twice before it moved to TPC San Antonio, might have won the tournament had the front nine been closed for the week. Johnson was even on the front but 13-under on the back over the four rounds. 4. The margin of victory at the Valero, two strokes, qualified as something of a blowout relative to the rest of this season. Going into the Valero, eight of 14 tournaments had been decided by a playoff, and the average margin of victory was one shot. 5. Since the Valero moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010, six third-round leaders/co-leaders have held on to win, with Landry doing so on the heels of Kevin Chappell in 2017. That makes the TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks Course one of the best places on TOUR to be a 54-hole leader/co-leader. So far this season, just 12 of 24 leaders/co-leaders have held on for the win in stroke-play events, with Patrick Reed at the Masters the most recent to do it before Landry.

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Ever since the consecutive doubleheaders in mid-July, it’s been a whirlwind of action on the PGA TOUR. From those four events in a fortnight to the run-up to the FedExCup Playoffs to the series itself to the determination of the final set of new members via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, and then with the 2022-23 season starting before the special week to focus on the Presidents Cup, the routing has been rigorous. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look Now it’s time to exhale. Where better than in the embraceable tempo of the South to reconnect with a steady cadence that will take the TOUR all the way to the holiday break. The first in the eight-week groove is the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. A field of 144 is assembling at the Country Club of Jackson. For what it expects, how the final leaderboard should be determined and more, continue reading beneath the ranking. POWER RANKINGS: SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP Seamus Power, Sepp Straka, Chris Kirk and Christiaan Bezuidenhout will be among the notables reviewed in Draws and Fades. Contributing to the familiar feels of routine is the arrival of autumn that, of course, includes the SEC digging into league play on the gridiron. College football’s strongest conference is well-represented on the PGA TOUR for all the reasons, so it’s of little surprise that it boasts the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship, Sam Burns. The LSU product set the course tournament record on the CC of Jackson at 22-under 266 last year. Sensibly, the field’s scoring average of 69.870 also was a new low in its eight years as host. With no changes to the stock par 72 and absolutely perfect weather forecast, both marks are within reach this week. The tallest rough is trimmed to 2½ inches and the bermuda greens are prepped to measure 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. At 7,461 yards, CC of Jackson can stretch but it’s always rewarded all skill sets. It’s lengthened in time but consider that Ryan Armour prevailed only five years ago when the track was just 40 yards shorter. Cameron Champ took the title the following year. You don’t need to dive into the data to confirm that positioning those two winners at opposite ends of the spectrum in distance off the tee is correct. Calling cards are calling cards, and that includes the fair and consistent test in the Mississippi capital. Indeed, muscle matters, but precision on approach almost always elevates into the top priority in a shootout. Case in point, Burns co-led the field in greens in regulation (63 of 72) en route to his victory. He also paced it in Stroked Gained: Off-the-Tee and SG: Tee-to-Green. And he needed every bit of that dominance because he surrendered two strokes on the greens across four rounds. It was proof that not all shootouts are putting contests. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Australia’s Adam Scott had impressive command from tee to green, hitting nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation on the way to a 3-under 69. The 2013 Masters champion’s day might have been even better but for the fact that he took 30 putts. Scott was tied with South Africa’s Justin Harding and Spain’s Jon Rahm with several players still out on the course during the first round of the 83rd Masters Tournament. “Yeah, look, it’s a great start on a kind of tricky day,â€� Scott said. “Even though it wasn’t windy, I just felt it was very hard to get it near any of the pins through the first seven holes, whether I was just slightly out of position or the pins were just tough.â€� Scott, a 13-time TOUR winner, was one of a handful of Presidents Cup hopefuls who enjoyed a solid start, also including Harding, Corey Conners (70), Cameron Smith (70) and 2012 Masters runner-up Louis Oosthuizen (71). Scott, 38, hasn’t won on TOUR since 2016, but finished second at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January. He hasn’t teed up since finishing T12 at THE PLAYERS last month.    “Generally in my career I’m kind of a slow starter,â€� said Scott, who opened with 75s in each of the last two Masters, and 76 in 2016. “Certainly the last 10 years, I don’t jump out of the gates, it seems. So, I don’t know if this is jumping out of the gates, but it certainly is great.â€� Scott started slow again Thursday. He was 1 over through seven holes but birdied the eighth, ninth, 15th, 17th and 18th. His bogeys came at the par-4 seventh and the par-3 12th holes. “I’ve talked a lot about kind of being at peace with the golf course,â€� he said, “and understanding it can give you a lot. It can take it away as well, but certainly I feel like there’s a lot of good karma if you treat it right out there. … A lot of past champions have a great rapport with this golf course and I think I kind of get that feeling too, so it does give you a little pump.â€� Harding off to strong start in Masters debut Justin Harding was playing the Valero Texas Open last week when he asked fellow South African Ernie Els for advice on how to play Augusta National. Preparing for his first career start in the Masters Tournament at age 33, Harding figured there was no one better to ask about it than Els, the 2019 Presidents Cup captain, who amassed six top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, in 23 starts. Els proffered some advice on where to aim and where not to miss, adding that he’d never hit it in the water at the tricky, par-3 12th hole. RELATED: How Tiger’s Thursday went | Tiger accepts Ben Hogan Award | Nicklaus, Player kick off Masters | Day injures back, receives treatment on course “I said, ‘Thanks a lot, you just jinxed me,’â€� Harding said with a laugh after shooting a 3-under 69 in his first-ever round, good enough to take the early first-round lead despite a bogey at 18. Harding made par at the 12th, and if anything could only fault his play on the four par-5s, which he played in just 1 under par. Otherwise, nothing much bothered the late-bloomer, who uses a long putter and is mostly unknown to American fans. He was 422nd in the world a year ago, but his maiden European Tour win in Qatar earlier this season, plus a T2 the next week and three other top-10 finishes, pushed him all the way to 49th and punched his ticket to Augusta. “It’s more about, I guess, how I’m handling myself out on the golf course,â€� Harding said after hitting 10 of 14 fairways, and only 10 greens in regulation but taking just 25 putts. “Not really getting too worked up, no longer going through the highs and lows of emotions.â€� Also, he added, now that he’s started playing well, he can’t seem to stop. “Golf is purely momentum-based,â€� Harding said. “If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well just pretty much need to get out of your own way.â€� Harding has worked his way up to seventh in the International Presidents Cup standings, meaning he could be playing for Captain Els at Royal Melbourne in December. “It’s in the back of my mind,â€� he said, “but way in the back.â€� Conners rides momentum after win In other news with Presidents Cup implications, Canada’s Corey Conners, who won last week’s Valero Texas Open to get to 10th on the International list, opened the Masters with a 2-under 70. The round was 10 shots better than his Masters debut in 2015, when he went 80-69 to miss the cut. He was first off the tee at 8:30 a.m., and watched Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots. He also accepted congratulations from Nicklaus on his first PGA TOUR win. “That felt pretty special,â€� Conners said. “Never thought in a million years that Jack Nicklaus would know who I am and it just felt pretty cool.â€� Weir shoots best round in five years It’s been a rough stretch for Canada’s Mike Weir, 48, the 2003 Masters winner and eight-time PGA TOUR winner who has been trying to fight his way back on the Web.com Tour. After going 3 over for his first seven holes, Thursday looked like more of the same, but Weir, who has a new coach (Mark Blackburn) turned it around with three birdies to card an even-par 72. It was his best round since a second-round 72 in 2014, the last year he made the cut here. “All in all, very happy,â€� said Weir, who will serve as one of Els’ assistants at the Presidents Cup in December. “Hit the ball great. I’ve got to sharpen up the putting a little bit.â€� Weir took 31 putts.

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