The PGA tour will stay in Texas for the 2024 Valero Texas Open. Some golfers will use it as a tune-up for the Masters while others who have not qualified will use it as a last-ditch effort to win and get their invitation to Augusta.

Corey Conners has won two times on tour, both of which were at the Valero Texas Open. His most recent win was last year when he shot 15 under gaining just under ten strokes on approach. He also won in 2019 and gained 11.6 strokes on approach. The winds were rather tame that year and Conners finished with a score of 20 under par.

In 2022 J.J. Spaun won the Valero Texas Open for his first career win. He shot back-to-back rounds of 69 on the weekend to hold off Matt Kuchar and Matt Jones; who shot six under on Sunday. Hossler, Frittelli, and Snedeker collapsed on Sunday after starting the round as the leaders.

Spaun was consistent in all facets gaining over two strokes off the tee, on approach, around the green, and putting.

Jordan Spieth won in 2021. He maintained a two-stroke lead over Charley Hoffman on Sunday by gaining 7.4 strokes on approach for the tournament. Hoffman was also the runner-up in 2019 when Corey Conners won by two strokes.

The Valero Texas Open is played at the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.

The Oaks Course is a 7,438 yard par 72 with Bermuda greens that are overseeded with Poa and velvet Bentgrass. The course was designed by Greg Norman with the help of Sergio Garcia. Obviously as stated in the name the course is in San Antonio, Texas.

There are only three water hazards on the course but bogey or worse scores are very prevalent here. There are 58 bunkers on the course. Most of which are very large and sloped which will lead to awkward lies. There’s also a number of native areas that consist of desert, rocks and trees that will need to be avoided.

The course generally plays as one of the ten hardest courses on tour. A lot of that is weather dependent. The winds can cause absolute carnage like they did in 2015 when seven players withdrew in the first two rounds. Or they can be a bit more tame like in 2019 where the winning score was 20 under par.

There are four par threes, four par fives and ten par fours on the course. The par fives are long and difficult. Three of them play right at or just under 600 yards. They aren’t reachable in two by most but are still some of the easier holes on the course. The 553 yard 14th hole is the easiest hole on the course boasting a 42% birdie rate.

Two of the par threes are 170-185 yards while two play over 200 yards. The 13th hole plays 241 yards and has the lowest birdie rate on the course.

Five of the six most difficult holes on the course are par fours. There are five par fours from 400-450 yards, three from 450-500 yards and the 347 yard 17th hole plays as the 2nd easiest holes on the course.

The greens are average in size but are some of the most difficult to hit on tour. Greens in regulation percentage is only 58 percent.

The greens themselves are multi-tiered with  undulations. The edges are tightly mowed which adds to approach shots often rolling off to collection areas or bunkers. Obviously, missing the greens place an emphasis on around the green play.

Approach shots with mid to long irons are fairly even with 20% coming from 150-175 yards, 18% coming from 175-200, and another 18% from 200+ yards.

Driving accuracy comes in well below tour average with only 56% of fairways being hit. However, driving distance matters a bit more at TPC San Antonio given the length of many of the holes. The average drive is longer than the tour average at 284 yards. Missing fairways isn’t a death sentence but missing wildly could cause serious problems.

Ball striking is key here and a little distance certainly helps. It will likely come down to hitting greens and hitting putts but around the green and scrambling will also come into play especially if the winds pick up.

The field consists of 156 golfers with the Top 65 and ties making the cut after 36 holes to play the weekend.

2024 Valero Texas Open: Key Stats and Figures

• Strokes Gained Ball Striking
• Around the Green
• Driving Distance
• Par 5 Scoring
• Opportunities Gained

Historical Cut Line

• 2023: +1
• 2022: Even
• 2021: +3
• 2020: Covid
• 2019: Even

Previous Winners

2023: Corey Conners -15
2022: J.J. Spaun -13
2021: Jordan Spieth -18
2020: Postponed due to COVID
2019: Corey Conners -20