Valero Texas Open Odds, Field and Betting Picks
After a superb and thrilling start to 2023, the PGA Tour is finally about to reach major season with the Masters now just a week away. Here is our 2023 Valero Texas Open Betting Preview!
2023 Valero Texas Open Preview
The Texas Open has long been a fixture on the PGA Tour with the first iteration of the tournament played all the way back in 1922. It is the sixth-oldest golf tournament in the world.
What makes the Texas Open special is that it has been traditionally played the week before the Masters and can often act as a last-chance saloon for anybody who hasn’t qualified for arguably golf’s biggest event.
Throughout the years some of the game’s greatest players have won this iconic event, including the likes of Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Ben Crenshaw, Mark O’Meara, and Jordan Spieth.
A stacked field will head to TPC San Antonio in the hope that they can add their names to the list of prestigious former winners.
The Course
The action will take place at TPC San Antonio. The tournament has been played at the course since 2010 and will offer the field a fair test.
Measuring 7,494 yards and playing as a par 72, the field will look to make hay on the four par 5 holes the course possesses.
With wide and accessible fairways, this tournament will be won on the greens, and it isn’t a surprise that the last two winners of the event J.J Spaun and Jordan Spieth are amongst the very best putters on Tour. To highlight how crucial putting is, seven of the previous eight winners finished the tournament ranked in the top five for overall putting.
The Contenders
With the Texas Open being positioned so closely to the Masters, it isn’t a surprise that the majority of the world’s top 30 have decided to give this week a swerve and instead focus on their preparations for next week’s main event.
With an abundance of big names absent, it is world number eighteen Tyrell Hatton (+1000) who leads the field in terms of ranking this week.
Hatton is an interesting contender this week. By his own admission, he isn’t particularly a fan of Augusta and has a dismal record when it comes to playing at the Masters, with his highest-ever showing being an 18th-place finish.
Hatton also heads to San Antonio with a niggling injury to his hand which clearly impacted his performance at last week’s WGC Matchplay. Hatton lost all three of his group games last week and will be hopeful of putting in a better showing here.
Next in the rankings comes the 2021 Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama (+2200). Since Matsuyama made history at Augusta it’s largely been a frustrating period for the Japanese star who has struggled with both form and fitness.
Now ranked at 21 in the world, Matsuyama pulled out of last week’s WGC Matchplay with a neck injury, and it remains to be seen if he will turn up to his round 1 tee time later this week.
Matsuyama has only played five tournaments on Tour this year but did show some signs of recovery at The Players Championship where he finished fifth. Matsuyama will be hoping to build on that effort here in Texas, but any bets placed on the Japanese star will require a slight leap of faith to see if his body will hold up.
Rounding out the top three when it comes to rankings is Austrian Sepp Straka (+6000). The man from the Alps announced himself to the golf masses when successful in last year’s Honda Classic. His good form continued for much of 2022 where he narrowly missed out on the Sanderson Farm Championship and the St Jude Championship.
Straka has struggled to match his 2022 achievements so far this year but did put in a good showing when trying to defend his Honda Classic title where he finished in a tie for fifth.
Straka already has the luxury of being in next week’s Masters field and will be hoping he can turn up at Augusta with his second PGA Tour title in the bag.
Long Shots and Value Plays
With a deep field this week, there is plenty of value that can be found.
One of the most popular betting selections is bound to be Rickie Fowler (+1800). One of the most popular players on the PGA Tour, it has been fantastic to witness Fowler re-emerge from the golfing wilderness.
Now ranked 59 in the world, Fowler’s consistent play has seen him almost rise 50 places since the turn of the year. A former runner-up at the Masters, Fowler hasn’t done enough to earn a spot in next week’s field and his only chance of competing in this year’s Masters is to win this week.
J.J Spaun (+3000) will have fond memories of TPC San Antonio and will start Thursday’s tournament as the defending champion. Like Fowler, Spaun is currently without a spot in next week’s Masters field and will be needing to repeat his feat from last year to book his place at Augusta.
2023 started fantastically for Spaun, with the American finishing in a tie for 5th in 2023’s opening tournament the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He clearly showed he was hitting the ball well as he was able to qualify for the knockout stages of last week’s WGC Matchplay, only losing narrowly losing to Xander Schauffele in the round of sixteen. Whilst defending titles on the PGA Tour is exceptionally hard to do, Spaun has the game and recent good form to do it.
Corey Conners (+1500) has been a model of consistency in recent seasons and is another who will head to Texas knowing his spot at the Masters has already been confirmed.
A winner of this tournament back in 2020, Conners clearly loves the course and shares the course record with another contender this week Trey Mullinax.
Conners has played in this event four times and alongside his win in 2020, has made the cut on all four occasions. He could only finish 35th last season but will be hopeful of turning that around this week.
2023 Valero Texas Open Odds courtesy of Jazzsports
| GOLFERS | ODDS TO WIN 2023 VALERO TEXAS OPEN |
| TYRRELL HATTON | +1000 |
| COREY CONNERS | +1500 |
| RICKIE FOWLER | +1800 |
| SI WOO KIM | +1800 |
| TAYLOR MONTGOMERY | +2000 |
| DAVIS RILEY | +2200 |
| HIDEKI MATSUYAMA | +2200 |
| MATT KUCHAR | +2500 |
| CHRIS KIRK | +2800 |
| ALEX NOREN / J.J. SPAUN / MATT WALLACE / RYAN FOX | +3000 |
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