The Valero Texas Open used to take place two weeks before Augusta, but it got moved up into the on-deck spot about five years back. Despite the designer (Greg Norman) becoming public enemy No.1 of the PGA Tour over the last year, TPC San Antonio is a great venue for players to use as a final prep for major championship golf. Unfortunately for the event (and perhaps the players as well), most of the top names on the PGA have decided to skip this stop of late.
Below are some of the top players in the field to watch this week given their recent form and course history:
Field Notes: This event doesn’t have a ton of superstars attached to it, but there are lots of former winners playing. Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Corey Conners and last season’s winner J.J. Spaun will all be teeing it up. It’s worth watching the news on both Tyrrell Hatton and Hideki Matsuyama this week. Both men were dealing with physical issues at the Match Play, and Matsuyama withdrew from his final match of the group stage while still being technically alive to advance. Dylan Wu and Akshay Bhatia are a couple of younger players to keep an eye on. They both played well last week and should feel good about their chances in this field.
TPC San Antonio: Par 72, 7,438
Greens: Poa overseed
Designer: Greg Norman
Similar Courses: Colonial, PGA National, El Chameleon
TPC San Antonio is a longer, winding par 72 that is part parkland and part Texas desert course. There are tree-lined sections but also lots of flat, brush-filled areas that make the course play a bit like a links venue as well. The more open course is also susceptible to the Texas wind, and conditions have been nasty here in the past when the wind gets up.
The course features nine par 4’s that measure over 400 yards and four between 450 to 500 yards. Two of the par 3’s stretch well over 200 yards, and two of the four par 5’s play between 600 and 650 yards. TPC San Antonio has some easier stretches as well, but it ensures players are constantly tested with longer approaches and holes that require a solid drive off the tee. As such, it’s not shocking to see that players at TPC San Antonio gain more strokes both off the tee and on approach than they do around the greens.
The past winners validate the claim that pure ball strikers are the place to look. Corey Conners won here in 2019 while losing strokes around the green, as did Charley Hoffman. While J.J. Spaun and Jordan Spieth had more vaunted weeks in that area, both Kevin Chappell and Andrew Landry had simply average weeks in the scrambling department.
To support approach and off-tee stats with this week, perhaps look at mid-range putting stats. Top finishers tend to have higher make rates than usual between 5 and 15 feet here.
Valero Texas Open Betting Trends
- Each of the past eight winners had played this event at least once prior and made the cut at TPC San Antonio at least once prior as well.
- Six of the past 11 winners of the Valero Texas Open were first-time winners on tour, and four of the past five winners were first-timers.
Below are some of the top players in the field to watch this week given their recent form and course history:
- Tyrrell Hatton: Hatton got knocked out early from the Match Play last week but is making the trek to Texas for his Masters prep. He put together two top-5 finishes in Florida and should be the pre-event favorite in the betting markets this week.
- Matt Wallace: Wallace grabbed the first PGA Tour win of his career last weekend at Corales. He has had a massive bounce-back season in 2023 and has top-10 finishes in two of his last four starts.
- Michael Kim: Kim is another player who has found his form again in 2023. He has made four of his last five cuts and finished fifth in Puerto Rico just three starts ago.
- Thomas Detry: Detry was in the mix last week in Corales, where he ultimately finished eighth. He has only missed one cut over his last 10 starts.
- Ben Martin: Martin was near the top of the leaderboard for much of last week. He has two top-10 finishes over his last four starts.
Field Notes: This event doesn’t have a ton of superstars attached to it, but there are lots of former winners playing. Charley Hoffman, Kevin Chappell, Corey Conners and last season’s winner J.J. Spaun will all be teeing it up. It’s worth watching the news on both Tyrrell Hatton and Hideki Matsuyama this week. Both men were dealing with physical issues at the Match Play, and Matsuyama withdrew from his final match of the group stage while still being technically alive to advance. Dylan Wu and Akshay Bhatia are a couple of younger players to keep an eye on. They both played well last week and should feel good about their chances in this field.
2023 Valero Texas Open Course Preview
TPC San Antonio: Par 72, 7,438
Greens: Poa overseed
Designer: Greg Norman
Similar Courses: Colonial, PGA National, El Chameleon
TPC San Antonio is a longer, winding par 72 that is part parkland and part Texas desert course. There are tree-lined sections but also lots of flat, brush-filled areas that make the course play a bit like a links venue as well. The more open course is also susceptible to the Texas wind, and conditions have been nasty here in the past when the wind gets up.
The course features nine par 4’s that measure over 400 yards and four between 450 to 500 yards. Two of the par 3’s stretch well over 200 yards, and two of the four par 5’s play between 600 and 650 yards. TPC San Antonio has some easier stretches as well, but it ensures players are constantly tested with longer approaches and holes that require a solid drive off the tee. As such, it’s not shocking to see that players at TPC San Antonio gain more strokes both off the tee and on approach than they do around the greens.
The past winners validate the claim that pure ball strikers are the place to look. Corey Conners won here in 2019 while losing strokes around the green, as did Charley Hoffman. While J.J. Spaun and Jordan Spieth had more vaunted weeks in that area, both Kevin Chappell and Andrew Landry had simply average weeks in the scrambling department.
To support approach and off-tee stats with this week, perhaps look at mid-range putting stats. Top finishers tend to have higher make rates than usual between 5 and 15 feet here.
