PGA First Look: Valero Texas Open

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2018-04-19 12:14:13

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

The PGA Tour heads to Texas this week for the Valero Texas Open. While there are a few big names that headline the field, this is one of the weakest that we will see the rest of the season. This event has been played at the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio since 2010. If you are a course history buff like myself, make sure to throw out any results before 2010. This is typically one of the toughest stops on the PGA Tour, largely thanks to the wind. It’s still early in the week, but forecasts show double-digit winds for all four days of the tournament. It could be a great week to stack tee times (both sides in tournaments), so be sure to check the weather late Wednesday night.

The AT&T Oaks course is a Par 72 that measures 7,435 yards. It typically plays firm and fast and many Australians say that it reminds them of the courses that they play at home. This is a long course, so it will require distance off the tee. It’s not a complete bomber’s track though, as the rough here can be penal. There are also a number of hazards in play off the tee. Rather than focusing on distance, I will be favoring the total drivers (combination of distance and accuracy). The greens are made of Bermudagrass and are multi-tiered with plenty of undulation. They are a little easier to hit than the greens last week, but that could change if the wind picks up.

As mentioned above, this is not going to be a birdie fest. It has ranked inside the top ten in terms of difficult in three of the last five seasons. I always like to lean on ball strikers when the wind picks up, as they are able to control their ball better than those that rely on a strong short game. I will be looking at par five scoring as well, although it’s worth noting that only one of the par fives is reachable by the entire field. The other three are only reachable by the longest of hitters and it will take two great shots to get there. Given the fact that scoring will be tough, I may lean toward bogey avoidance instead of birdie or better percentage this week.

As always, be sure to check out our great premium content. Good luck this week.

Cut Rule: The top 70 and ties move on after the first two rounds. The MDF rule is in effect if more than 78 golfers make the initial cut.

Recent Winners of this Event: Kevin Chappell (2017), Charley Hoffman (2016), Jimmy Walker (2015), Steven Bowditch (2014), Martin Laird (2013)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Off the Tee (or Total Driving)
2) Strokes Gained Approach
3) Par 5 Scoring
4) Bogey Avoidance
5) Strokes Gained Putting (Emphasis on Bermuda)

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer	DK Salary	FD Salary	FDRFT Salary	OWGR	Odds	DK Odds	FD Odds	FDRFT Odds	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Sergio Garcia	$12,000	$12,400	$16,900	10	13	0%	0%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Matt Kuchar	$11,400	$12,100	$16,400	21	16	0%	0%	0%	40	42	15	4	22
Charley Hoffman	$10,900	$11,200	$16,200	26	17	0%	40%	0%	40	1	11	11	3
Ryan Moore	$10,200	$10,500	$15,600	64	23	-25%	44%	0%	18	500	500	500	500
Luke List	$10,000	$10,900	$15,800	53	21	20%	33%	0%	92	29	500	500	46
Adam Scott	$9,600	$11,700	$15,400	59	28	-17%	-133%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Kevin Chappell	$9,300	$10,500	$15,500	43	26	14%	33%	0%	1	4	66	127	15
Billy Horschel	$9,100	$9,100	$15,300	78	30	-13%	68%	-13%	110	4	3	113	3
Brandt Snedeker	$9,000	$11,500	$14,800	81	35	-33%	-200%	8%	500	25	500	500	500
Brendan Steele	$8,900	$10,100	$15,000	46	30	20%	33%	20%	62	13	8	105	46
Xander Schauffele	$8,800	$10,100	$15,100	28	35	9%	17%	-11%	92	500	500	500	500
Ollie Schniederjans	$8,700	$9,400	$14,700	84	40	-33%	20%	-7%	18	500	500	500	500
Si Woo Kim	$8,600	$9,600	$14,900	39	39	-8%	18%	-17%	22	93	500	500	500
Chesson Hadley	$8,500	$9,500	$15,000	71	35	21%	39%	-10%	500	125	4	56	500
Pat Perez	$8,400	$10,300	$14,800	22	37	13%	-18%	0%	500	500	20	11	500
Ryan Palmer	$8,300	$9,500	$14,400	110	44	-13%	0%	0%	6	4	6	56	15
Jimmy Walker	$8,200	$9,400	$14,200	88	47	-12%	5%	5%	13	140	1	16	31
Beau Hossler	$8,100	$9,400	$14,600	83	40	17%	25%	6%	144	500	500	500	500
Zach Johnson	$8,000	$10,700	$14,500	58	42	11%	-143%	0%	117	29	20	6	500
Martin Laird	$8,000	$9,300	$14,200	101	55	-11%	13%	-5%	18	500	50	95	1
Keegan Bradley	$7,900	$9,700	$14,000	74	58	-14%	-50%	8%	139	37	500	500	500
J.B. Holmes	$7,800	$9,400	$14,200	96	53	9%	0%	0%	500	13	500	64	500
Kevin Na	$7,800	$8,600	$13,900	73	70	-23%	37%	4%	500	500	20	11	500
Jamie Lovemark	$7,700	$10,000	$14,300	91	57	8%	-57%	-16%	40	500	500	36	500
Kevin Streelman	$7,700	$9,100	$14,100	117	62	-8%	7%	-13%	53	37	500	500	500
Jim Furyk	$7,700	$9,000	$13,200	205	81	-33%	-7%	11%	500	500	58	6	3
Bill Haas	$7,600	$10,600	$14,100	76	57	15%	-188%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Julian Suri	$7,600	$8,900	$14,000	70	72	-4%	15%	-8%	500	500	500	500	500
Chris Paisley	$7,600	$8,400	$13,100	82	103	-63%	8%	-16%	500	500	500	500	500
Chris Kirk	$7,500	$8,700	$13,800	154	82	-10%	11%	-14%	92	13	8	500	500
Russell Knox	$7,500	$9,200	$13,800	106	73	3%	-12%	0%	500	500	76	26	69
Brian Gay	$7,500	$8,100	$12,600	147	122	-77%	15%	-13%	6	133	500	56	61
Patrick Rodgers	$7,500	$8,600	$12,600	135	104	-50%	-5%	4%	500	128	500	500	500
Shubhankar Sharma	$7,500	$9,300	$13,500	72	90	-17%	-46%	-9%	500	500	500	500	500
Jason Kokrak	$7,400	$8,700	$13,400	116	85	3%	8%	-3%	67	81	11	31	15
Scott Piercy	$7,400	$9,800	$14,100	125	62	29%	-67%	-9%	130	500	40	500	500
Dylan Frittelli	$7,400	$9,000	$13,400	51	75	14%	0%	9%	500	500	500	500	500
John Huh	$7,400	$8,700	$13,300	197	91	-3%	3%	-3%	22	72	35	81	72
Austin Cook	$7,400	$9,200	$13,200	109	102	-20%	-62%	-17%	500	500	500	500	500
Keith Mitchell	$7,400	$8,500	$12,700	179	93	-11%	15%	7%	500	500	500	500	500
Harris English	$7,400	$8,400	$13,600	195	78	11%	35%	0%	500	500	30	500	61
Peter Uihlein	$7,400	$8,300	$12,700	65	107	-37%	11%	-14%	500	500	500	113	500
Aaron Wise	$7,300	$8,400	$12,700	196	112	-21%	-8%	-24%	500	500	500	500	500
Aaron Baddeley	$7,300	$8,300	$12,600	230	103	0%	20%	9%	5	29	20	67	15
Brandon Harkins	$7,300	$8,100	$11,900	208	141	-44%	0%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Nick Watney	$7,300	$8,800	$12,300	277	126	-33%	-63%	-6%	77	500	111	500	500
Grayson Murray	$7,300	$8,700	$12,900	108	109	-16%	-35%	-25%	500	500	500	500	500
Jhonattan Vegas	$7,300	$8,900	$12,700	55	105	-7%	-39%	-10%	34	120	68	113	500
JT Poston	$7,300	$8,000	$11,700	340	193	-91%	-28%	-5%	27	500	500	500	500
Sean O’Hair	$7,300	$8,600	$12,300	112	123	-28%	-28%	-2%	500	500	111	81	500
Michael Thompson	$7,300	$8,000	$12,200	279	132	-35%	9%	0%	49	133	44	16	500
William McGirt	$7,200	$8,800	$13,000	130	91	27%	-9%	3%	500	37	40	31	37
Brice Garnett	$7,200	$8,300	$12,700	120	108	6%	9%	-17%	500	65	30	31	500
Graeme McDowell	$7,200	$8,700	$12,600	222	101	21%	-11%	13%	27	500	500	500	500
Cheng-Tsung Pan	$7,200	$7,900	$12,400	176	106	10%	31%	11%	117	500	500	500	500
Trey Mullinax	$7,200	$8,200	$12,300	306	137	-15%	-3%	-11%	130	500	500	500	500
Matt Jones	$7,200	$7,700	$11,800	290	167	-35%	4%	-9%	13	60	26	500	500
J.J. Spaun	$7,200	$7,700	$11,800	148	173	-37%	3%	-11%	49	500	500	500	500
Martin Kaymer	$7,200	$9,000	$12,800	93	101	23%	-33%	2%	500	500	133	500	500
Dominic Bozzelli	$7,200	$8,200	$11,600	228	199	-65%	-48%	-2%	69	500	500	500	500
Anirban Lahiri	$7,200	$8,400	$11,800	90	162	-29%	-40%	-5%	72	500	500	500	500
Martin Piller	$7,200	$7,300	$12,100	229	125	-8%	43%	5%	500	4	500	500	500
Stewart Cink	$7,100	$8,700	$12,300	139	123	14%	-46%	0%	22	500	500	500	500
Tom Lovelady	$7,100	$7,600	$11,700	259	195	-32%	-4%	-6%	500	500	500	500	500
Shawn Stefani	$7,100	$7,300	$11,800	351	158	-2%	35%	0%	49	29	26	500	141
Corey Conners	$7,100	$8,200	$11,700	473	175	-16%	-26%	6%	500	500	500	500	500
Adam Schenk	$7,100	$7,500	$11,400	297	228	-51%	-9%	-4%	500	500	500	500	500
Seamus Power	$7,100	$7,800	$11,700	329	186	-27%	-13%	-3%	58	500	500	500	500
Robert Garrigus	$7,100	$7,800	$11,700	218	180	-24%	-10%	0%	92	109	58	500	500
Nicholas Lindheim	$7,100	$7,400	$11,500	281	205	-41%	4%	-2%	27	500	500	500	500
John Peterson	$7,100	$7,900	$11,500	749	208	-43%	-32%	-3%	147	500	11	67	74
Sung Kang	$7,100	$7,200	$11,900	103	179	-22%	31%	-26%	6	42	500	500	500
Danny Lee	$7,100	$7,500	$11,800	173	160	-3%	25%	-2%	130	500	500	113	500
Roberto Diaz	$7,100	$7,200	$11,200	517	242	-60%	9%	1%	500	500	500	500	500
Kevin Tway	$7,000	$7,900	$12,600	224	110	32%	25%	-9%	3	500	500	119	500
Andrew Landry	$7,000		$11,800	114	133	21%		8%	500	51	500	500	500
Tom Hoge	$7,000	$7,600	$12,000	185	138	19%	24%	-2%	53	9	76	500	500
Martin Flores	$7,000	$7,300	$11,300	275	243	-37%	-4%	-6%	92	500	100	16	10
Johnson Wagner	$7,000	$7,400	$11,200	447	243	-37%	-11%	-1%	139	72	127	26	74
Chad Campbell	$7,000	$7,600	$11,000	268	253	-45%	-36%	1%	77	93	40	500	82
Matt Every	$7,000	$7,500	$11,800	548	178	-1%	13%	-19%	135	147	35	500	79
Whee Kim	$7,000	$7,100	$11,400	141	232	-28%	20%	-5%	77	29	500	500	500
Daniel Summerhays	$7,000	$7,700	$10,700	256	238	-32%	-36%	18%	58	13	4	2	7
Benjamin Silverman	$7,000	$7,000	$11,000	258	292	-61%	6%	-10%	500	500	500	500	500
Scott Brown	$7,000	$7,300	$11,200	151	251	-44%	-9%	-6%	500	500	56	36	129
Geoff Ogilvy	$7,000	$7,000	$10,600	383	287	-57%	9%	6%	27	93	133	11	500
Nate Lashley	$6,900	$7,600	$11,800	276	175	16%	9%	-14%	500	500	500	500	500
Abraham Ancer	$6,900	$8,300	$12,600	189	91	57%	31%	21%	500	42	500	500	500
Ryan Armour	$6,900	$8,000	$11,900	160	162	23%	-5%	-10%	92	500	500	500	500
Troy Merritt	$6,900	$7,600	$11,800	363	174	17%	10%	-13%	49	133	71	46	500
Vaughn Taylor	$6,900	$8,000	$11,800	253	175	16%	-14%	-14%	500	500	500	500	124
Tyrone Van Aswegen	$6,900	$8,500	$11,800	269	161	24%	-43%	-3%	110	500	500	77	500
Ricky Barnes	$6,900	$7,700	$11,000	395	263	-29%	-53%	-2%	67	4	85	500	129
Joel Dahmen	$6,900	$7,300	$10,700	515	289	-37%	-20%	1%	92	500	500	500	500
Denny McCarthy	$6,900	$7,500	$11,400	445	224	-7%	-7%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Tyler Duncan	$6,900	$7,100	$10,600		364	-55%	-13%	-7%	500	500	500	500	500
Richy Werenski	$6,900	$7,100	$10,500	357	392	-57%	-14%	-3%	110	500	500	500	500
Joaquin Niemann	$6,900	$7,500	$11,100		280	-33%	-33%	-7%	500	500	500	500	500
Ben Martin	$6,800	$8,400	$11,800	223	150	36%	-31%	2%	500	500	500	119	500
Hudson Swafford	$6,800	$8,200	$11,600	126	195	16%	-43%	1%	500	125	35	134	500
Wesley Bryan	$6,800	$8,400	$11,800	95	166	30%	-44%	-8%	500	500	500	500	500
Bob Estes	$6,800	$7,100	$10,600	1193	339	-31%	-8%	-3%	27	500	500	500	7
K.J. Choi	$6,800	$7,300	$11,200	595	253	-10%	-10%	-7%	117	51	15	105	6
David Lingmerth	$6,800	$7,600	$11,500	187	187	18%	-1%	7%	500	500	44	95	106
J.J. Henry	$6,800	$7,300	$11,200	431	245	-6%	-6%	-3%	22	81	85	105	95
Chris Stroud	$6,800	$7,400	$11,000	178	279	-15%	-23%	-4%	77	72	116	500	82
Brian Stuard	$6,800	$7,700	$11,300	226	242	-2%	-38%	-4%	130	55	64	500	500
Michael Kim	$6,800	$7,200	$11,300	380	239	-1%	10%	-3%	135	21	500	500	500
Stephan Jaeger	$6,800	$7,100	$10,700	303	303	-24%	-3%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Ernie Els	$6,800	$7,100	$10,900	643	306	-25%	-3%	-6%	500	81	500	81	500
Derek Fathauer	$6,800	$7,000	$10,600	274	350	-33%	-2%	-5%	500	500	64	500	500
Bronson Burgoon	$6,700	$7,300	$11,600	399	200	22%	12%	-4%	500	72	500	500	500
Nick Taylor	$6,700	$7,000	$11,700	216	197	24%	34%	-9%	22	21	500	500	500
Sam Ryder	$6,700	$7,500	$11,800	232	180	30%	10%	-22%	500	500	500	500	500
Jonathan Byrd	$6,700	$7,300	$10,700	285	279	-2%	-15%	5%	500	500	500	500	95
Sang-Moon Bae	$6,700	$7,600	$11,000	915	274	-1%	-41%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Rod Pampling	$6,700	$7,700	$11,000	304	284	-4%	-60%	-6%	500	93	500	500	82
Steve Marino	$6,700	$7,100	$11,000	659	237	13%	19%	12%	77	109	500	500	129
David Hearn	$6,700	$7,300	$10,600	397	311	-13%	-27%	0%	147	13	122	500	500
Brett Stegmaier	$6,700	$7,100	$10,400	721	364	-21%	-13%	1%	147	93	500	500	500
Xin-Jun Zhang	$6,700		$10,800		308	-12%		-6%	500	500	500	500	500
Peter Malnati	$6,700	$7,200	$10,600	650	333	-15%	-16%	-2%	144	13	500	119	500
Dou Zecheng	$6,700	$7,000	$10,200	454	528	-30%	-13%	-4%	500	500	500	500	500
Jon Curran	$6,700	$7,000	$10,300	734	433	-25%	-9%	-1%	500	9	44	500	500
Cody Gribble	$6,700	$7,000	$10,200	374	503	-29%	-12%	-2%	130	500	500	500	500
Rob Oppenheim	$6,600	$7,400	$11,500	248	212	28%	2%	-5%	500	37	500	500	500
Talor Gooch	$6,600	$7,400	$11,300	221	237	23%	-4%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Harold Varner	$6,600	$7,200	$11,400	192	201	30%	21%	3%	40	9	500	500	500
Cameron Champ	$6,600	$7,300	$11,300		250	16%	-7%	-9%	500	500	500	500	500
Retief Goosen	$6,600	$7,200	$11,100	346	261	12%	0%	-3%	92	500	58	127	53
Lanto Griffin	$6,600	$7,100	$10,800	371	321	-2%	-7%	-8%	500	500	500	500	500
Fabian Gomez	$6,600	$7,300	$10,700	555	289	5%	-21%	0%	500	500	44	500	500
Cameron Tringale	$6,600	$7,000	$10,500	388	361	-6%	-4%	-1%	144	60	40	46	82
Jonathan Randolph	$6,600	$7,000	$10,600	294	347	-4%	-2%	-4%	27	500	500	500	500
Camilo Villegas	$6,600	$7,000	$10,700	439	294	3%	5%	-2%	10	81	100	77	500
Ben Crane	$6,600		$10,500	457	312	-1%		5%	40	29	500	95	500
Ethan Tracy	$6,600	$7,000	$10,200	616	575	-17%	-15%	-5%	500	500	500	500	500
Greg Chalmers	$6,600	$7,000	$10,400	552	400	-10%	-7%	-1%	77	128	500	56	37
Jesse Droemer	$6,600	$7,000	$10,000		847	-21%	-18%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Andrew Putnam	$6,500	$7,400	$11,400	332	225	33%	-1%	-3%	500	500	72	500	500
Alex Cejka	$6,500	$7,200	$11,200	236	250	24%	5%	-4%	117	500	500	500	500
Hunter Mahan	$6,500	$7,700	$11,400	613	213	34%	-26%	-1%	110	93	500	500	500
Kris Blanks	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100		733	-7%	-16%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
John Senden	$6,500	$7,200	$10,500	786	353	5%	-20%	0%	77	93	76	42	500
Steve Wheatcroft	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	671	494	-2%	-11%	-1%	77	500	85	500	500
Mac Hughes	$6,500	$7,200	$10,200	198	467	-1%	-27%	0%	117	500	500	500	500
Billy Hurley	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	350	506	-4%	-12%	-3%	37	109	35	113	500
Matt Atkins	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	452	483	-1%	-10%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Kyle Thompson	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100	415	681	-6%	-16%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Andrew Yun	$6,500	$7,000	$10,000	490	803	-8%	-17%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Conrad Shindler	$6,500	$7,000	$10,300	449	422	1%	-8%	0%	500	500	500	500	134
Steven Bowditch	$6,500	$7,000	$10,100		547	-5%	-14%	1%	117	500	85	1	69

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend