2021 Valero Texas Open: PGA Tour Betting Odds
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is playing, though, and is favoured on the golf odds in Texas.
Any player who wins the Texas Open gets the last spot in the Masters if not already qualified, but most guys already are in Augusta or at their home course preparing.
The Texas Open dates way back to 1922 and is now held at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, which only opened in 2010 and is a par 72 at 7,490 yards. For a while, this was in the fall but moved ahead of the Masters for good in 2019 – COVID cancelled the 2020 tournament.
The defending champion then is Canadian Corey Conners, who had to Monday qualify just to get in. Conners had Tour status that year but his priority ranking wasn’t enough on its own to make him eligible. Conners shot 69-67-66-66 to finish at 16-under 268, the lowest total in this tournament since it moved to TPC San Antonio 11 years ago.
His final round included 10 birdies, four bogeys and four pars as Conners became the first Monday qualifier to win on Tour since 2010. It remains the lone PGA Tour victory for the Ontario native. A handful of players have won here multiple times and the last repeat winner was Zach Johnson in 2009. Conners is +2500 this week.
Valero Texas Open Golf Odds
This writer is frankly shocked Johnson (+700), the defending Masters champion, is playing; he was a late entrant. DJ last played the Texas Open in 2015 and was T6. His PGA Tour debut was in this tournament in 2007 on a sponsor exemption. DJ didn’t play last week at the Honda Classic.
Texas native Jordan Spieth is +1200 with Tony Finau at +1600 and Scottie Scheffler at +1800. Spieth was runner-up here in 2015 to Jimmy Walker and was T30 in the 2019 event. Finau was T61 then and also took last week off. Scheffler was T20 at the 2019 Texas Open and also took last week off.
Phil Mickelson (+8000) and Rickie Fowler (+6600) both were late entrants, too – Fowler has to win here to get a spot in the Masters, and he hasn’t failed to qualify for that tournament since 2010. Lefty was T25 on Sunday at the Honda Classic, while Fowler was T65. Aussie Matt Jones won that but isn’t playing in San Antonio.
Conners is the lone Canadian winner of the tournament. Al Balding finished second to Arnold Palmer in 1962; Palmer is the only player to win this event three straight years and that was the second of the three. Two years ago, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson both finished T42, Nick Taylor T52, and Roger Sloan and Ben Silverman each missed the cut. Hadwin is +6600 and has to win to get into the Masters. Taylor is +15000 as is Sloan. Michael Gligic is +25000.
Valero Texas Open Golf Predictions
Take Johnson and Conners for Top 10s, but the winner at +3300 is Charley Hoffman. He was runner-up last year, won the tournament in 2016 and has been Top 15 in this event 11 times overall in 14 starts.