SAN ANTONIO: PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele shot a 1-under 71 Sunday, overcoming relentless wind and fellow first-year player Kevin Chappell to win the Texas Open by a stroke. The leader by one heading into the final round, the 28-year-old Steele played steadily throughout the day, and finished at 8-under for his first tour victory. “I was a lot more calm today,” Steele said. “When you've got the one-shot lead, it's not even your tournament. There's so many guys that could still win with a good round, without you even doing anything wrong, that I didn't feel as much pressure.” Steele birdied the second hole, dropping his approach from a bunker to within 10 feet of the pin, then bogeyed the par-4 No. 5, leaving a 12-foot putt short. He put his tee shot within 3 feet of the hole on No. 7 to move back to 8 under, but then missed a couple of makable birdie putts on the back nine, including one that was 6 inches off on the par-3 16th. His 12 straight pars was enough to hold off Chappell, though. Chappell had had a share of the lead through seven holes, but hit his second shot on the 17th well right of the hole and couldn't make a 10-foot put to save par. “I'll be honest, I think I just fell asleep,” he said. “I felt the wind was dead into me. ... I should have known it was a little left to right.” It was the first time since the 2006 Phoenix Open that two PGA Tour rookies finished in the top two spots at a tournament. Another rookie, Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, won last week at the Masters, making this the first time rookies have won back-to-back titles on the tour since 2002. The wind, which pushed drives into the woods and knocked down approach shots all week, continued to blow at about 32 kph (20 mph) Sunday, with gusts exceeding 48 kph (30 mph). Charley Hoffman finished in a share of second place with Chappell after beginning the day three strokes back at 3-under. He found the hole from the fairway for an eagle on the par-5 No. 8, then followed with a birdie on No. 9, where Kevin Na had the worst par-4 hole in PGA Tour history on Thursday, shooting a 16 with a nightmarish sequence of shots. Hoffman just missed a 10-footer to save par on No. 14, but his birdie on 18 moved him back to 7 under. Brandt Snedeker had two birdies on the front nine to finish in fourth place at 6 under. Players in their 20s have won three of the last four PGA Tour events and four of the last six. A player in his 30s has not won since Rory Sabbatini at the Honda Classic in Florida in March, a span of seven events. Steele won last year's Nationwide Tour Championship in South Carolina to earn his Tour card, but had never led any round during his previous 11 starts.
