Valero Texas Open 2022
Overview
Dates: March 31, 2022 to April 3, 2022
Location: Texas, USA
Course: TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)
Course Par: 72
Course Length: 7435 Yards
Prize Purse: $8600000
Valero Texas Open: Jordan Spieth looks to defend title on tournament’s 100th anniversary
It will be a special weekend at the Valero Texas Open as the tournament celebrates its 100th anniversary and welcomes a number of top names to TPC San Antonio.
Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino are among the legends to have won here while Jordan Spieth joined them on the list last year.
It ended a barren 1,351-day run without a tournament victory for the 28-year-old Texan, who went on to tie for third place at the Masters the following week.
“My preparations look very similar,” said Spieth. “Last year I was knocked out of Austin on Saturday, took a day off, came down and practiced in the afternoon. Didn’t play any holes, then played nine and nine.
“I know the course well enough to the point where I don’t feel like playing 18 or 27 or 36 holes prior to this tournament is going to serve me much better and could actually wear you out a little bit with this wind.
“The idea that you obviously want to play well this weekend. I want a 10-day stretch of peaking from Thursday through the next Sunday, so I’m trying to save energy. I did that a lot last year too, and I felt like I was primed by Sunday.
“I’m just trying to do the exact same thing, which is not very different from any other week to week as well. I would say maybe a little bit more dialling on a couple shots, thinking about next week, that could only help for this week.”
Only five professional tournaments in the world have been running longer than the Texas Open while it is the third oldest on the PGA Tour and can claim to be the event held the longest in the same city.
Spieth is joined in the field by fellow former Masters winner Zach Johnson and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, who clinched the Green Jacket at Augusta National last year.
The Japanese world number 12 won his first major on the back of finishing tied for 30th in Texas the previous week and becomes the first defending Masters champion to compete in the tournament since Johnson won at San Antonio in 2007.
Rory McIlroy will be present after skipping the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play last week while Bryson DeChambeau looks to have shaken off his recent injury worries and will also tee it up this weekend.
“Bryson is one of the most dynamic players in the game and we are thrilled to add him to the list of competitors for this year’s historic tournament,” said Larson Segerdahl, the tournament’s executive director.
Abraham Ancer may compete under the Mexican flag but the 31-year-old was born in Texas and is now a resident in San Antonio, so boasts a wealth of experience at the venue.
“This is the golf course that kind of prepared me to where I am now,” he said. “When I first moved to San Antonio, I made this my home course.
“I live just down the road and practice here every single day for at least four years and this is a place that is special to me.
“A lot of my family and friends come to this event and I always have some people obviously that come out to this event and cheer me on. It’s always fun to play in front of them. So it definitely feels like home now, for sure.”
Ancer and co will be looking to tame the par-72 7,438-yard Oaks Course, which was designed by Greg Norman in collaboration with Sergio Garcia and opened in 2010.
All this comes with the backdrop of the Masters being just over a week away, of course, and while many eyes will be on Hill Country there will also be a large part of the golfing population checking to see whether Tiger Woods is in the field at Augusta National after playing a practice round on Tuesday. Watch this space…
Results
The rollercoaster of golf punting was in full evidence over the weekend and those who followed our selections will have been on the edge of their seats for a good proportion of the event. At the half way stage, despite our headline selection McIlroy having departed early, hopes were high of a bit payout with Ryan Palmer leading the way by two shots. He promptly collapsed on Saturday (barely making the top 50 in the end), but was swiftly replaced at the summit by Beau Hossler (tipped at 125/1), who raced up the leaderboard and held a one shot lead half way through the final round. He never looked fully in control of his game however and a horrific knifed bunker shot into a bush on 14 sadly put paid to his chances of a huge win for us.
Hossler held on down the stretch for fourth place though and a 25/1 place payout, showing the value in identifying those down the rankings who are gradually trending into form (although also highlighting that these are the very same players who will understandably be more likely to wobble when the heat is on). JJ Spaun, the eventual winner, was another player who fell into that category – we’ve tipped him several times for top 20s recently, so it was a tough one to see him win this week without our support, although not the complete surprise that his 200/1+ pre-tournament odds suggested.
With our top-20 interests in Hossler and McCarthy, the final result was a solid profit, albeit one that threatened for much of the event to be a whole lot better.
Preview
With excitement building ahead of the first major of the year at Augusta next week, it’s TPC San Antonio that hosts the final warm up event. A key part of making our picks this week is trying to figure out who is burnt out after (up to) 7 rounds at the Matchplay and who is looking for a confidence-boosting week to set them up for a big performance at the Masters.
There is no particularly strong pattern for this event either in terms of course form or the SG metrics that best correlate to success. We’ll keep it fairly simple, looking for solid all-round form, reasons to think they’ll be at 100% this week and bringing a little course form to the table would certainly be a bonus.
Outrights
| Player | Points | Type | UK Odds | Places | Outright US Odds |
| Rory McIlroy | 5 | Win | 17/2 | 1 | |
| Abraham Ancer | 2 | EW | 22/1 | 8 | |
| Ryan Palmer | 1.5 | EW | 66/1 | 8 | |
| Beau Hossler | 1 | EW | 125/1 | 8 | |
| Hayden Buckley | 1 | EW | 150/1 | 8 |
We won’t be making a habit of tipping market leaders, but sometimes there’s a case to be made for them offering value. Rory McIlroy (5pts win, 17/2) is very easy to make a case for this week. Missing the Matchplay should mean he arrives here fresher than many, he will of course be keen to arrive at Augusta in top form as he chases the elusive career Grand Slam, and his one appearance at this event (albeit nearly 10 years ago) resulted in a second placed finish. At only a few points shorter than Spieth (who appears to have lost confidence in his swing), with Conners (next in the market) surely feeling the effects of a full 7 rounds last week and Matsuyama needing to prove his current wellbeing, he looks to be good value despite being the favourite. Yes, his tendency to play himself out of tournaments before fighting back can be very frustrating to his backers, but if he can get into contention early I can see him pulling clear of this field and going into Augusta with a spring in his step.
Despite getting beaten in the quarters in Austin, Abraham Ancer (2pts ew, 22/1, 8 places) played some exceptional golf. His drubbing of Morikawa in the last 16 was quite something to watch and a narrow defeat to Conners may be a blessing in disguise for this week as he avoided a further 36 holes on Sunday.
Ryan Palmer (1.5pts ew, 66/1, 8 places) is a regular at this event and has posted some solid SG numbers over the years, with four top 20s in his last 6 visits. His early season form was of a high standard and in a week where many will have one eye on Augusta he may view this as an opportunity to get a win on the board.
Beau Hossler (1pt ew, 125/1, 8 places) has emerged from the doldrums and is gradually trending. A big week at Pebble Beach has been followed up with more creditable performances and it’s possible that he’s found something that could see him contend on a more regular basis than he has done in recent seasons.
We’ll throw one more speculative dart with Hayden Buckley (1pt ew, 150/1, 8 places), off the back of a decent week in Punta Cana (albeit in a much weaker field than this), with his price offering a little value as someone who has the potential to improve further. He can be a little up and down but has shown on more than one occasion that he’s capable of posting numbers that will put him in contention when on form.
Match Ups
No match up recommendations for us this week – we’ll keep our staking plan simple and start our prep for the Masters instead!
The rollercoaster of golf punting was in full evidence over the weekend and those who followed our selections will have been on the edge of their seats for a good proportion of the event. At the half way stage, despite our headline selection McIlroy having departed early, hopes were high of a bit payout with Ryan Palmer leading the way by two shots. He promptly collapsed on Saturday (barely making the top 50 in the end), but was swiftly replaced at the summit by Beau Hossler (tipped at 125/1), who raced up the leaderboard and held a one shot lead half way through the final round. He never looked fully in control of his game however and a horrific knifed bunker shot into a bush on 14 sadly put paid to his chances of a huge win for us.
Hossler held on down the stretch for fourth place though and a 25/1 place payout, showing the value in identifying those down the rankings who are gradually trending into form (although also highlighting that these are the very same players who will understandably be more likely to wobble when the heat is on). JJ Spaun, the eventual winner, was another player who fell into that category – we’ve tipped him several times for top 20s recently, so it was a tough one to see him win this week without our support, although not the complete surprise that his 200/1+ pre-tournament odds suggested.
With our top-20 interests in Hossler and McCarthy, the final result was a solid profit, albeit one that threatened for much of the event to be a whole lot better.