SAN MARTIN, October 14, 2013 (AFP) - The 34-year-old American had to come from behind to win at the CordeValle Golf Club as it took Walker 188 tries to get his first victory on the Tour.
"I think it'll sink in after a while. I'm still feeling the adrenaline right now. It feels like a release right now, but it feels really good," said Walker, who reached 17-under 267 overall.
Fiji's Vijay Singh (68) placed second, two strokes back as he finished at 15-under par 269. Third-round leader Brooks Koepka, who was playing in the group behind of Walker, stumbled to a one-over 72.
For Singh it was his best USPGA Tour showing since finishing runner-up at the 2011 Northern Trust Open.
Koepka was joined in third place at 14-under-par 270 by Kevin Na (64), Scott Brown (64) and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (66).
George McNeill (71) and Brian Harman (65) shared seventh place at minus-13, while Will MacKenzie (69), Billy Hurley (68) and Max Homa (69) were one shot back at 12-under-par 272.
Walker tapped in his three-footer for par at No. 18 to seal the victory.
The well-travelled Walker said he appreciates this victory more than most.
"I wasn't good enough to play golf on tour when I was at 20 or 21 like these guys are. They're really good," said Walker, who turned pro in 2001.
"I've gone through everything. I played on a lot of tours, I've won on a lot of tours, and this is the final stepping stone. It feels great. I wouldn't take back anything I've ever done or anything I've ever gone through to get here."
Leading final-round scores on Sunday in the $5 million PGA Tour's Frys.com Open (USA unless noted):
267 - Jimmy Walker 70-69-62-66
269 - Vijay Singh (FIJ) 69-67-65-68
270 - Kevin Na 75-67-64-64, Scott Brown 68-67-71-64, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 70-66-68-66, Brooks Koepka 67-64-67-72
271 - Brian Harman 65-74-67-65, George McNeill 68-70-62-71
272 - Billy Hurley 69-66-69-68, Will MacKenzie 69-70-64-69, Max Homa 69-68-66-69
273 - Charlie Wi (KOR) 67-68-69-69, Spencer Levin 71-65-68-69, Robert Garrigus 70-63-68-72, Jason Kokrak 67-65-68-73
274 - J.J. Henry 67-71-68-68, Andres Gonzales 74-62-69-69, Jeff Overton 64-72-69-69
274 - Justin Hicks 68-68-68-70, Ben Martin 69-68-66-71