Valero Texas Open Preview 2021
Dates: March 29 – April 4, 2021
Where: San Antonio, Texas
Course: TPC San Antonio (The Oaks Course; 36-36—72/7,494 yards)
Field size: 144
Defending champion: Corey Conners
Purse: $7,700,000 ($1,386,000/winner)
FedExCup: 500 points (winner)
Things to Know
- Due to COVID-19, Valero Texas Open was not held in 2020; 2019 winner Corey Conners returns as defending champion
- In 2019, Conners became the first Monday Qualifier to win on TOUR since 2010
- World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play runner-up Scottie Scheffler set to make second start at the event
- After top-five finishes in three of last five stroke-play events, Jordan Spieth will make his sixth Valero Texas Open start
- A Valero Texas Open victory is the final opportunity to earn a spot for next week’s Masters Tournament
- Tournament being contested the week before the Masters for the third time in the last nine years (2013, 2019, 2021)
- 23 players in the field are also scheduled to compete in next week’s Masters Tournament
Field Notes
- Four of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, led by No. 9 Tony Finau
- Eight of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by Finau (No. 13)
- 82 PGA TOUR winners combining for 318 total victories
- 15 major championship winners combining for 24 major victories, led by Phil Mickelson (5)
- Four FedExCup champions: Jim Furyk (2010), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Henrik Stenson (2013), Jordan Spieth (2015)
- Eight past champions: Zach Johnson (2008, 2009), Brendan Steele (2011), Martin Laird (2013), Jimmy Walker (2015), Charley Hoffman (2016), Kevin Chappell (2017), Andrew Landry (2018) and Corey Conners (2019)
A look back at the 2019 Valero Texas Open
| Pos. | Name | Score |
| 1 | Corey Conners | 69-67-66-66—268 (-20) |
| 2 | Charley Hoffman | 71-68-64-67—270 (-18) |
| 3 | Ryan Moore | 68-70-69-64—271 (-17) |
| T4 | Si Woo Kim | 66-66-69-72—273 (-15) |
| T4 | Brian Stuard | 67-70-70-66—273 (-15) |
- Corey Conners entered the final round trailing Si Woo Kim by one stroke before a 6-under 66 led to the win
- Conners became the first Monday Qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since Arjun Atwal at the 2010 Wyndham Championship and the 15th Canadian to win on TOUR
- Si Woo Kim held the solo-lead after each of the first three rounds before finishing T4
Valero Texas Open and the FedExCup
- The Valero Texas Open is the 27th of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season
- Since 2009, five winners of the Valero Texas Open have qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship: Zach Johnson (2009), Adam Scott (2010), Jimmy Walker (2015), Kevin Chappell (2017) and Corey Conners (2019)
- Zach Johnson owns the best finish in the FedExCup by a champion of Valero Texas Open in that season (No. 6, 2009)
Current FedExCup standings:
Top 10 at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship will be recognized through the Comcast Business TOUR Top 10. Updated standings are below:
| Pos. | Player | Points | Wins | Top-10s | Pts. Behind | Starts |
| 1 | Bryson DeChambeau | 1,565 | 2 | 5 | 9 | |
| 2 | Justin Thomas | 1,508 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 11 |
| 3 | Patrick Cantlay | 1,280 | 1 | 4 | 285 | 11 |
| 4 | Viktor Hovland | 1,215 | 1 | 4 | 350 | 12 |
| 5 | Xander Schauffele | 1,155 | 0 | 5 | 410 | 11 |
| 6 | Dustin Johnson | 1,139 | 1 | 4 | 426 | 8 |
| 7 | Billy Horschel | 1,061 | 1 | 4 | 504 | 13 |
| 8 | Harris English | 1,011 | 1 | 5 | 554 | 13 |
| 9 | Tony Finau | 1,005 | 0 | 5 | 560 | 12 |
| 10 | Joaquin Niemann | 977 | 0 | 3 | 588 | 13 |
Players in the field at both the Valero Texas Open and next week’s Masters Tournament (23)
- Abraham Ancer
- Cameron Champ
- Corey Conners
- Tony Finau
- Brian Gay
- Lanto Griffin
- Zach Johnson
- Si Woo Kim
- Matt Kuchar
- Martin Laird
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Phil Mickelson
- Sebastian Munoz
- Ryan Palmer
- Scottie Scheffler
- Charl Schwartzel
- Jordan Spieth
- Henrik Stenson
- Jimmy Walker
- Matt Wallace
- Bernd Wiesberger
- Danny Willett
- Gary Woodland
Player Notes
Scottie Scheffler
- Dallas, Texas native and 2018 University of Texas graduate (Finance)
- Scheduled to make his second start in the Valero Texas Open (2019/T20)
- Comes off a runner-up finish in last week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, his best career finish on the PGA TOUR; lost 2 and 1 to Billy Horschel in the Championship Match
- Three top-10 finishes in 14 starts during in the 2020-21 season, including two top-fives in World Golf Championships events (T7/Waste Management Phoenix Open, 5th/WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession, 2nd/WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play)
Matt Kuchar
- Making his 16th start at the Valero Texas Open, and ninth straight; most recently, finished T7 in 2019
- Best finish at TPC San Antonio is a T4 in 2014 (finished T2 at La Cantera in 2001)
- Won the Consolation Match 2 and 1 over Victor Perez at last week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play to finish third
- Best finish among 11 prior starts on TOUR this season was T34/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
- In search of his 10th career TOUR win and first since the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii; has made 476 TOUR starts
Jordan Spieth
- 2015 FedExCup winner poised for sixth start in the event; two top 10 finishes (2nd/2015, 10th/2014)
- Three top-five finishes in last five stroke-play starts on TOUR: T4/Waste Management Phoenix Open, T3/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T4/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
- Former University of Texas player seeks a 12th career PGA TOUR title and first since The Open Championship in 2017
Charley Hoffman
- Winner of the 2016 Valero Texas Open returns following a runner-up finish in 2019
- Since 2006, leads all players at the Valero Texas Open in top-fives (4), top-10s (6), top-25s (11) and cuts made (14)
- In 17 starts this season on the PGA TOUR, has three top-10 finishes: T6/Sanderson Farms Championship, T7/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T10/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
- Most recent of four PGA TOUR titles was the 2016 Valero Texas Open
Abraham Ancer
- San Antonio resident scheduled to make his fourth start in the Valero Texas Open (T42/2016, T58/2018, T42/2019)
- Two top-fives in 13 starts this season: 4th/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, T5/The American Express
- Looks to better three runner-up finishes with his first career TOUR title in his 111th start
- Attended Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas, where he was All-Valley four years and a three-time MVP
Zach Johnson
- Winner of the Valero Texas Open in his first two starts of 2008 and 2009 (La Cantera Golf Club)
- Two additional top-10 finishes in eight starts in the event: T6/2014, 5th/2018
- Winner of 12 PGA TOUR events, including the 2007 Masters Tournament and 2015 The Open Championship
- In 12 starts on TOUR this season, has posted three top-10 finishes: T8/U.S. Open, T6/The RSM Classic and T8/The Honda Classic
Ryan Palmer
- Four top-10 finishes in 17 Valero Texas Open starts (T9/2010, T6/2015, T4/2016, T6/2017)
- Winner of four PGA TOUR titles in 433 starts (most recent: 2019 Zurich Classic with Jon Rahm)
- Three top-five finishes in 11 starts on TOUR this season: T4/ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, 4th/Sentry Tournament of Champions, T2/Farmers Insurance Open
Rickie Fowler
- Is not yet eligible for the 2021 Masters Tournament and can only get in with a win at the Valero Texas Open
- Has not missed a major championship since the 2010 U.S. Open
- No top-10s in his last 26 PGA TOUR starts; last top-10 on TOUR: 2020 The American Express (T10)
Sam Bennett
- Texas A&M junior making PGA TOUR debut playing on a sponsor exemption he earned by winning the Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course) in early March
- Closed the third (and final) round with a 5-under 67 to win the event
- Born and raised in Madisonville, Texas, a town of approximately 5,000 roughly 100 miles north of Houston
Tournament notes
- The 2021 Valero Texas Open marks the 11th year of the event being contested at TPC San Antonio, a Greg Norman design with Sergio Garcia serving as design consultant; Adam Scott won the first Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio in 2010
- Since 1970, there have only been five international winners of the Valero Texas Open, four of whom emerged since 2010: Adam Scott (2010), Martin Laird (2013), Steven Bowditch (2014) and Corey Conners (2019). In 1992, Nick Price defeated Steve Elkington in a playoff at Oak Hills CC
- Dating to 1922, the Valero Texas Open is the third-oldest non-major on the PGA TOUR calendar behind only the BMW Championship (1899) and RBC Canadian Open (1904). It is also the longest-running event on the PGA TOUR to be held in the same city
The Valero Texas Open Preview is via PGA TOUR
