With the holy grail of golf tournaments, The Masters, just around the corner – April 7. The last stop on the tour to make the cut for the prestigious event begins at TPC San Antonio, with the Valero Texas Open.
The tournament is celebrating its 100th anniversary and will feature the cream of the crop in the golf world
This is the last chance to get a few rounds in before The Masters for those already qualified and for those not qualified, a win here guarantees them a spot. We look at the course, the favorites to win, and some players to keep your eye on.
Scottie Scheffler is in some fantastic form and was last year’s runner-up. The 25-year-old is now the number one ranked player in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Last week he won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament, besting Kevin Kisner. This is his third PGA Tour win since February.
Rory McIlroy – ranked #9, is the tournament favorite. The top-ranked player to enter the TPC San Antonio has odds of +750 to take the title.
Favorites To Win The Valero Texas Open
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| Jordan Spieth | +1400 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +1400 |
| Corey Conners | +1800 |
| Abraham Ancer | +2200 |
| Chris Kirk | +2500 |
| Si Woo Kim | +2800 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +2800 |
| Gary Woodland | +3000 |
| Maverick McNealy | +3500 |
Where to Watch The Valero Texas Open
All of this year’s tournament is featured on the Golf Channel, including the first two qualifying days. Once the cut has been made, you can still tune in there, or check out coverage on NBC.
Watch Round 1 – Thursday, March 31
Golf Channel 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
Watch Round 2 – Friday, April 1
Golf Channel 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
Watch Round 3 – Saturday, April 2
Golf Channel 12:00 – 2:30 p.m CT. NBC 2:30 – 5:00 p.m CT
Watch the Final Round – Sunday, April 3
Golf Channel Golf Channel 12:00 – 1:00 p.m CT. NBC 1:00 – 5:00 p.m CT
About The Valero Texas Open and the Course
The Valero Texas Open is the sixth-oldest professional golf tournament globally and the third eldest to feature on the PGA Tour. 2022 will see the tournament celebrate its 100th anniversary and has helped raise over $187 million for charitable organizations since its inception.
The tournament that offers a final opportunity to qualify for this year’s Masters will begin with a total of 121 players. With Masters qualifiers using this for a final tune-up of their games.
The course is 7,435 yards long and is 72 par. It was designed by Sergio Garcia and Greg Norman and has hosted the PGA Tour event since 2010. During the last decade, the course has seen winning scores ranging from just seven under par to as low as twenty under par.
TPC San Antonio Oaks Course consists of a traditional design that balances narrow fairways and wider holes with multiple routes to the green. The fairways and rough feature Champion Fine: 80% Perennial Ryegrass, and 20% Chewing Fescue.
The Oaks is relatively flat, with just 100 feet of elevation separating the lowest and highest part of the course. The intimate design is carved through oak trees and minimalist, natural bunkers. The greens are unforgiving, so a player with a soft final approach shot will come out ahead on the scorecards.
Who To Keep An Eye On
Five of the eventual tournament winners at San Antonio entered with odds of +8000 or greater in recent years. This uniquely challenging course depends less on how long players can hit off the tee to do well due to the challenging greens. Good iron play is crucial to being in contention, so with that in mind, we take a look at players to keep an eye on.
Chris Kirk +3500
While Chirs Kirk hasn’t won a Tour stop this season, he did tie up a fifth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and took another joint place finish at the Honda Classic, where he ended up seventh.
Kirk is one of the higher-rated players on the PGA Tour to play San Antonio and has had good results playing the Oaks previously. The American has three top-ten finishes at this stop, and with a great short game, he could do well this year.
Ryan Palmer +5000 / +750 to place top 5
Ryan Palmer comes into the Valero Texas Open with some good form – making the cut in two of his last five events. He has four top-ten finishes in San Antonio and six top twenty finishes.
Last year the 45-year-old managed to place 17th in 2021, the last time he played this event. While Palmer’s most recent results haven’t been up to much, he started the year strong with a 12th place finish at the Sony Open and a 16th place at the Farmers Insurance Open.
The local Texan will be plenty used to this course, and while a bet on him winning might be a punt, we can certainly see him doing well and placing highly.
Charley Hoffman +7500 / +1400 to place top 5
Hoffman, who has been playing professionally for 22 years, has had some superior finishes at this tour stop in years passed. He qualified three out of four times during his latest appearances and even won the event back in 2016.
The San Diego native has posted two top-five finishes in his last four trips to this tournament and has an average finishing position of 27th. Just last year, he finished second in the event.
Due to his form this year, you can get a bet on him to place highly in the tournament at a bargain price at all major sportsbooks.
Get the latest futures odds for upcoming golf competitions.
Based in California, James William writes about golf, tennis, UFC and the (sometimes complicated) world of betting on sports. A big lover of live poker, James also takes care of casino reviews for Vegas-Odds.com.
