Aaron Baddeley has produced one of the best rounds of the final day to jump into the top five at the Valero Texas Open.

The four time TOUR winner posted six birdies against two bogeys on a challenging Sunday at the TPC San Antonio course, only two players recording better scores on the day.

The result signals a return to form for Baddeley whose last top-10 came in October 2016 at the CIMB Classic.

The Victorian’s solid final round performance saw him steal top Australian honours from Cameron Smith who also posted his first top-10 since 2016.

Smith started the day in a share of fourth and looked a chance to contend for his first TOUR title after erasing a first hole bogey with an eagle at the second.

But he couldn’t maintain the momentum and followed with a string of pars before a birdie/bogey finish to the nine saw him make the turn 1-under.

The promising Queenslander trod water on the back nine with two birdies against two dropped shots but will take a lot of confidence from a T6 result.

Also pleased with their week’s work will be Matt Jones, who finished T13, and Geoff Ogilvy who showed signs of good form all week.

Jones will be particularly pleased with his play as he endeavours to parlay limited starts into regaining his full TOUR card, his 14 birdies for the week suggesting all areas of his game are in good shape.

Cameron Percy was the last of the Australians to make the cut but a final round of 80 saw him tumble down the standings.

It is unclear whether his poor play Sunday is related to a back injury he has been suffering at various times this year.

Rookie Curtis Luck was among those to miss the cut by a single stroke, Greg Chalmers and John Senden suffering the same fate.

Luck acquitted himself well in his first appearance as a Professional despite not qualifying for the weekend, the experience of teeing up for the first time in the pay for play ranks a valuable one.

Steven Bowditch and Brett Drewitt also missed the weekend’s play.