The Masters is just a week away but before the world’s best take the trip up Magnolia Lane, the Texas Open affords one final chance to tune up, or in the case of many, become the final man to qualify for the Augusta spectacular.
There are 30 Masters invitees in the field at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, Rory McIlroy among them, while the remaining 126 runners are all dreaming of securing the last spot in next week’s field.
We’ve picked out a best bet, an each-way option and a big price outsider ahead of this week’s tournament.
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Valero Texas Open predictions & betting tips
Valero Texas Open best bet – Ludvig Aberg 12/1
TPC San Antonio has hosted the Texas Open since 2010 and the tournament moved to its pre-Masters slot in 2019, when Corey Conners Monday-qualified then went on to win and seal an Augusta debut.
But while only eight members of last year’s Texas Open field had qualified for the Masters including Conners, who would go on to double up in this event, a restructured PGA Tour schedule has made for a stronger field this time around.
With Scottie Scheffler taking a week off, McIlroy is the market leader by default and he was second at the Oaks Course in 2013, but the Northern Irishman is not playing because he’s desperate to win the Texas Open. He will only have the Green Jacket on his mind.
Of the other market principals, Collin Morikawa makes his debut hoping to find something ahead of next week, Jordan Spieth loves this event but struck the ball poorly in Florida and Max Homa failed to capitalise on a strong start at the Players.
Hideki Matsuyama is in fine form and is a big runner both this week and next, although his 2022 Texas Open withdrawal offers a cautionary tale given the Japanese’s fitness concerns.
Instead, it’s no surprise to see Ludvig Aberg installed as second-favourite behind his Ryder Cup colleague McIlroy and the Swede, who incredibly is gearing up for his Major debut at Augusta, could head to Georgia on the back of a second PGA Tour victory.
While San Antonio hasn’t tended to favour one type of player, Aberg has a game which will translate to just about any course. His long, straight driving is always an asset but he’s also been solid on and around the greens in recent appearances.
The 24-year-old made a slow start to the year in Hawaii, taking time to gel with new caddie Joe Skovron, but form figures of 9-2-19-25-8 from his last five events, the most recent of which was the Players, suggest he could be about to kick on as the season starts to really heat up.
Aberg missed the cut as an amateur in the 2022 Texas Open but he knows San Antonio well having attended Texas Tech University. This time he returns as a member of the elite.
Valero Texas Open each-way bet – Corey Conners 25/1
Two-time winner Conners is priced up shorter than would usually be the case but the Canadian returns in solid form, finishing 18th at the Arnold Palmer and 13th at Sawgrass.
He possesses one of the best long-games on the PGA Tour, ranking tenth in strokes-gained tee-to-green, and it will be a surprise if he’s not towards the top of the leaderboard again.
Valero Texas Open each-way outsider bet – Austin Eckroat 100/1
Austin Eckroat has qualified for the Masters by virtue of being a PGA Tour winner and he catches the eye at bigger prices.
Eckroat, who pipped Van Rooyen to the Cognizant Classic title last month, is a tidy operator. He was born and resides in neighbouring Oklahoma, where he also went to college. He was also a runner-up at the 2023 Byron Nelson, which takes place in Dallas.
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