Round 4: Valero Texas Open

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

Shot of the day: Ben Curtis’ best shot of the day followed his worst. He bladed a wedge over the 17th green and his one-shot lead was about to evaporate. He chipped to 23 feet. With the tournament in the balance, Curtis rolled home the uphill, curling, left to right putt. He added a 12-foot birdie at the final hole, but it was his par putt at the 17th that won this tournament.

One that got away: Matt Every had a good week. His second-place finish means he’ll keep his card for 2013, but this is a tournament Every easily could have won. He bogeyed the 11^th hole from 133 yards out in the middle of the fairway. He missed makeable birdie putts on both the 12^th and 14^th holes and then misfired from just 4 feet at the 16^th. He did not make a birdie after the sixth hole. This was a tournament Every could have, perhaps should have, won.

Injured: John Huh was 9 over on his first eight holes of the tournament and yet played in the final group in the final round and had a chance to win. It’s even more impressive when you consider Huh played injured. He hurt his wrist during the tournament and is concerned enough to schedule a doctor’s exam and would not commit to any future tournaments. Huh declined to say how he injured the joint.

Hole locations: On Thursday, there was not a single hole location that was less than 5 feet from the edge of the green. That changed on Sunday when one-third of the cups were set four paces from the edge. The tight hole locations made it difficult for players to fire at the flagsticks.

By the numbers: Statistically, Ben Curtis was by far the best player in the field. He was second in fairways hit (42 of 56). He was first in greens in regulation (49 of 72). Curtis led the field in strokes gained-putting, he did not have a three-putt the entire week and did not miss a single putt of 5 feet or less. On Tuesday, Curtis moved his right hand a little more on top of his grip and with each putt he made, he became more and more confident until he finished the tournament with a 12-foot birdie on the 72^nd hole.

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The final round of the Valero Texas Open is in the books with Ben Curtis getting his first win since 2006. Check below for updates from throughout the day and leave your comments below.

UPDATES (All times ET)

6 p.m. — After John Huh and Matt Every missed their birdie attempts on the par-5 18th, Ben Curtis had two putts to get his first win since 2006. He only needed one. Curtis made birdie to cap an even-par 72 to win by two, giving him his first win since 2006.

5:40 p.m. — One up with one to play. That’s the situation for Ben Curtis right now after he made a huge par putt from the front edge of the green on the short par-4 17th to stay at 8 under. John Huh had a chance to tie him but his putt inexplicably slid by.

5:24 p.m. –Another tough blow for Matt Every on the par-3 16th. After hitting his tee shot inside 5 feet and watching playing competitors Ben Curtis and John Huh miss birdie bids from 31 and 21 feet, respectively, Every slid his birdie try past the cup when holing the putt would have tied him for the lead. Every and Huh remain one back of Curtis with the short par-4 17th and par-5 18th ahead.

5:12 p.m. — Matt Every misses an 11-foot par putt on No. 15 on the low side. He drops back to 7 under, tied for second with John Huh. Ben Curtis taps in for par to maintain his one-shot edge.

5 p.m. — The back-and-forth battle between Ben Curtis and Matt Every continues with both players tied for the lead at 8 under with four holes to go. Meanwhile, John Huh has inched another stroke closer and is now one back after moving to 3 under on his round.

4:30 p.m. – As mentioned earlier, since 1960 only three players have successfully defended at this event. Brendan Steele won’t be the fourth, but he acquitted himself quite well, especially in the final round. Steele shot a 5-under 67 and is currently in a tie for fourth three shots off the lead. That probably won’t be enough, but he should stay in the top 5 or near it.

4:15 p.m. — Back-to-back bogeys by Ben Curtis have dropped him to 8 under and into a tie for the lead with Matt Every. After missing from 8 feet one hole earlier, Curtis missed from 7 feet on the par-4 12th. Meanwhile, John Huh is now just two shots back as he tries for his second win of the year.

3:55 p.m. — What looked like a two-man race may not be after all. Ben Curtis just bogeyed the 11th hole, missing from just over 8 feet as he tried to save par, to drop back to 9 under. Matt Every also made bogey, however, so Curtis still leads by one. John Huh, however, is now just three shots off the lead after playing his first 11 holes in 2 under. Bob Estes, 3 under through his first 13 holes, is another shot back from that.

3:25 p.m. — We have our first good number in the clubhouse. Hunter Haas, who was on the first-round leaderboard after a 66, carded a Sunday 67 to get back to 4 under for the week. He’s currently tied for fourth, six shots off the pace, but if the winds pick up the leaders could start coming back toward him.

3 p.m. — Ben Curtis is still leading by one and approaching the turn at TPC San Antonio. He’s played the back nine very well with just one bogey and eight birdies.

2:40 p.m. — It took all of one hole for Ben Curtis to respond to Matt Every’s three straight birdies. Curtis birdied the seventh hole to get to 10 under and is now back in front by a stroke.

2:30 p.m. — Matt Every just made his third straight birdie, this time rolling in a 15-footer on the par-4 sixth to get to 9 under and into a tie for the lead with ben Curtis. That gives Every four birdies over his last five holes.

2:15 p.m. — Matt Every just made his second birdie in a row. The only problem is Ben Curtis just bounced back from his bogey with a birdie on No. 5 as well, maintaining his one-shot lead over Every.

2 p.m. — Ben Curtis just had his first hiccup of the day and it was a costly one. After missing the fairway right on the par-4 fourth, Curtis’ next shot went left and he dumped his third into a greenside bunker before getting up-and-down to make bogey. Matt Every, meanwhile, birdied the hole after sticking his approach shot to 3 feet. The two-shot swing means Curtis leads by just one now.

1:45 p.m. — Three holes down, three pars for Ben Curtis. That’s a very good sign given how difficult TPC San Antonio has played this week. Among those in contention, Hunter Haas has the best round going so far at 4 under, but he’s already through 12 holes and still trails by six. Bob Estes, meanwhile, is 2 under through his first five holes, but he still trails by five.

1:15 p.m. — It only took one hole for Matt Every to bounce back from a bogey on the opening hole with a birdie on the par-5 second. Every came up about 20 yards short of the green on his second shot but then chipped up to 7 feet and made the putt to get back to within three of Ben Curtis. 

1:10 p.m. — At 1 under through six holes, and 1 under for the tournament, it’s going to take something spectacular (or horrific) for Brendan Steele to successfully defend his title this week. Not that it’s an easy feat in this tournament — since 1960, only Arnold Palmer (1960-1962), Justin Leonard (2000, 2001) and Zach Johnson (2008, 2009) have successfully defended here.

1 p.m. — Ben Curtis’ task just got a little easier thanks to a bogey on the opening hole by Matt Every, who sent his approach shot over the green and failed to get up-and-down to save par. Curtis, who made par on the hole, now leads by four shots. David Mathis, meanwhile, is now among a group of players who are tied for third and five shots back after he birdied the first hole.