Key notes and best bets for this week’s PGA Tour stop at the Valero Texas Open, which begins Thursday at TPC San Antonio.
LAST TOURNAMENT: World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play (Billy Horschel)
THIS WEEK
Valero Texas Open, San Antonio, April 1-4
Course: TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks (Par 72, 7,494 yards)
Purse: $7.7 million (Winner: $1.386M)
Defending Champion: Corey Conners (2019)
FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau
HOW TO WATCH
- TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (GC), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC).
- PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3:30-6 p.m. (Featured Holes); Sunday, 8:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30-6 p.m. (Featured Holes).
NOTES
- The event returns after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Rickie Fowler is among those in this week’s field who have yet to qualify for the Masters next week and needs a win to secure a spot at Augusta National. He has not missed a major since the 2010 U.S. Open, but also does not have a top-10 in his past 26 Tour starts.
- Twenty-three players in this week’s field have already qualified for the Masters.
- World No. 1 Dustin Johnson withdrew on Monday, leaving No. 13 Tony Finau as the top-ranked player in the field, which includes eight of the top 50 players in the official world golf rankings.
- Conners will defend his maiden PGA Tour victory, when he became the most recent of only five Monday qualifiers to win on Tour since 1980.
- This week’s sponsors exemptions include Sam Bennett, Austin Eckroat, Mac Meissner and 18-year-old Akshay Bhatia. Eckroat finished T12 at this season’s Mayakoba Classic.
- The Texas Open was first held in 1922, making it one of the longest-running events on Tour.
BEST BETS
- Finau (+1100 at DraftKings) is the pre-tournament favorite as he seeks his first victory since 2017. Finau was in contention on Sunday for three consecutive events before cooling off with a solo 14th, missed cut and a T28 in his past three.
- Dallas native Jordan Spieth (+1200) is also seeking his first win since ’17. He has five top-20s in his past six starts, including three top-fours.
- Scottie Scheffler (+1400) is another Texas resident and coming off a run to the finals in last week’s match play.
- Abraham Ancer (+2000) has a T5 earlier this year to go along with two T18s in two WGC events and a T22 in The Players leading up to this event as he seeks his first Tour win. He is also a San Antonio resident.
- Charley Hoffman (+3300) is the tournament’s all-time earnings leader while making the cut in all 10 previous starts, including a win in 2016 and a pair of runner-ups. He has yet to qualify for the Masters but has a pair of top-10s in his past five starts.
- Si Woo Kim (+3500) held the solo lead after each of the first three rounds last year before finishing T4.
NEXT WEEK: The Masters, Augusta, Ga., April 8-11
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
