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Sports Illustrated

Max Schreiber

Valero Texas Open Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch

Valero Tour Valero Texas Open Texas Open JJ Spaun Jordan Spieth Russell Henley Tommy Fleetwood Masters PGA Tour

One last chance.

This week’s Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio offers the final spot in next week’s Masters. Win, and you’re in (if you’re not already). On top of that, the champion will collect 500 FedEx Cup points and $1,764,000 from the $9.8 million purse.

From its 132-player field, course, 104-year history, tee times and how to watch, here’s what you need to know for the 2026 Valero Texas Open.

The field: Most seeking that Masters spot

The tournament has 15 of the top 50 players in the world ranking, headlined by No. 4 Tommy Fleetwood and No. 10 Russell Henley.

In all, there’s 22 players this week who will tee it up in the Masters: Ludvig Åberg, Fleetwood, Brian Harman, Henley, Max Homa, Johnny Keefer, Michael Kim, Si Woo Kim, Haotong Li, Robert MacIntyre, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt McCarty, Maverick McNealy, Alex Noren, Andrew Novak, Marco Penge, Kristoffer Reitan, J.J. Spaun, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Nick Taylor and Sami Valimaki.

However, the rest of the field needs to win to be in. The two most notable players in that category are Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler.

Plus, the field includes five past Valero Texas Open champions: Jimmy Walker (2015), Charley Hoffman (2016), Spieth (2021), Spaun (2022) and Brian Harman (2025).

Course: A solid test at TPC San Antonio

TPC San Antonio’s Oaks course, where the Valero Texas Open has been played since 2010, provides a rigorous test.

“It’s a good golf course,” said Rory McIlroy in 2024 when he last played. “It’s tough, you’ve got to—it’s visually intimidating. If you start missing it off the tee, you can get yourself in some pretty big trouble out here.”

The Greg Norman-designed 7,438-yard, par-72 was the 11th-hardest course on Tour last season, with a scoring average of 72.46. It features roughly 100 feet of elevation and a mix of wide and narrow tree-lined fairways. Plus, windy conditions typically throw a wrench into the tournament.

“Obviously, this golf course is quite demanding,” Åberg said in 2024. “It’s quite tough, especially when it starts to get windy and the greens get a little firmer.”

The Oaks course’s hardest hole is the 454-yard, par-4 1st, which played 0.305 strokes over par last season, ranking 29th on Tour in terms of difficulty. On the flip side, its easiest hole last year was the 553-yard par-5 14th, which played .448 strokes under par, making it the 79th easiest hole on Tour (out of 882).

The wait is over...it is officially @valerotxopen week! pic.twitter.com/qZEotpjSoC
— TPC San Antonio (@TPCSanAntonio) March 30, 2026

History: A sportswriter’s idea

In 1921, Jack O’Brien, a sports editor for the San Antonio Evening News, wanted to increase the city’s tourism during the winter, so he started a golf tournament.

After convincing the San Antonio Junior Chamber of Commerce and other benefactors to cough up $5,000, 60 of the world’s top golfers showed up for the first round of the Texas Open on Feb. 3, 1922. Future Hall of Famer Walter Hagen rallied from six strokes back to win the inaugural event in a playoff.

Now, 104 years later, it’s the PGA Tour’s third-oldest tournament and its longest event contested in the same city. It also pioneered the idea of playing in warm-weather areas during the winter months, which has become customary on Tour.

The Valero Texas Open boasts illustrious champions such as Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Spieth.

However, it had to overcome various obstacles to maintain its longevity.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the event was often staged the same week as the Ryder or Presidents Cup, depreciating the event’s interest. Then, after 2000, Westin Hotels & Resorts didn’t renew its title sponsorship, putting the Texas Open’s future in jeopardy.

Valero Energy Corporation CEO William Greehey would be its savior, though, paying $15.3 million for Valero to attach its name to the tournament for five years. Valero has been the title sponsor ever since.

Still, its spot on the Tour calendar wasn’t ideal. In 2007, it became a fall event, meaning it wasn’t part of the Tour’s regular season. But when the Atlanta Classic dissolved after 2008, the Texas Open took its spring spot on schedule.

Afterward, it flip-flopped on the schedule before and after the Masters, continuing to weaken the strength of field. However, since 2017, the Texas Open has been played the week before the year’s first major, offering the final spot in the field at Augusta to its champion (if they haven’t already qualified).

Recently, Corey Conners in 2019, Spaun in 2022 and Akshay Bhatia in 2024 punched their ticket to Augusta by winning at TPC San Antonio. Maybe someone will follow suit at this year’s tournament, which merely exists because of O’Brien’s idea.