Overview
The 2022 Valero Texas Open is the prelude event on the PGA Tour’s schedule before play returns to Augusta for The Masters. The tournament dates back 100 years to 1922 and The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio has hosted the event since 2010. Birdies and bogey-avoidance is the name of the game this week, with the average winning score over the last three years just over 18-under.
Play begins on Thursday, and the pros will be vying for a piece of the $86 million purse and a spot in next week’s Masters for the winner. The winner of the tournament also receives 500 FedEx Cup points.
Last Tournaments Records
Jordan Spieth returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2017. Spieth shot an 18-under over the four rounds, defeating Charley Hoffman by two shots.
Rounding out the top-5 was Matt Wallace at 14-under, Lucas Glover at 12-under, and Anirban Lahiri at 10-under. The solo third for Wallace was his best finish on Tour outside of a T3 at the 2019 PGA Championship.
Matchup Information
- March 31st through April 3rd
- San Antonio, Texas
- TPC San Antonio
Valero Texas Open Betting Analysis
In the most recent Valero Texas Open betting trends, Rory McIlroy is the pre-tournament favorite at +750. Hideki Matsuyama and Speith are right behind McIlroy at +1400. Corey Conners, fresh off a third-place finish at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and the 2019 winner can be grabbed at +1800.
Many of the top players in the world take this week off to prepare for the Masters, but stars like Bryson DeChambeau (+2800), Tony Finau (+4000), Jason Day (+5000), and Rickie Fowler (+6500) are out there to grab at the decent value this week.
Valero Texas Open Preview
Can Spieth defend his title as he gears up for a run at the green jacket? Spieth captured a solo second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, but that was the 28-year olds only top-25 finish in 2022.
McIlroy’s played in just four PGA Tour events this season but has a pair of top-10 finishes, including a win at the CJ CUP under his belt. The four-time major champion has played just once here before, a solo second finish back in 2013.
Matsuyama returns to action a week before trying to defend his title after withdrawing from the PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP with an injury. The 30-year old already has a pair of victories this season at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP at Sony Open.
Recent past champions joining Spieth this week include Conners, Andrew Landry, Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman, Jimmy Walker, Martin Laird, Brendan Steele, and two-time winner Zach Johnson.
Valero Texas Open Betting Prediction
This week’s field is one of the best for an event leading up to a major. Even though McIlroy is the only participant in the top-10 rankings in the world, there is a handful of major winners and distinguished golfers in the field.
One of the safest plays we like is taking last year’s champion to crack the top ten. Spieth hasn’t had a great 2022 year, but the 28-year old seems to consistently perform well in his home state. McIlroy can also be grabbed at plus money (+120), which isn’t the riskiest of plays but a safe bet against a weaker field.
If you are looking for winners, we will focus down the list for some value plays. Gary Woodland (+3000) hasn’t won a tournament since his 2019 U.S. Open title, but the 37-year old has a pair of T5s in his last four starts.
Sahith Theegala (+7500) is our dark horseplay this week. Theegala is in his rookie season on the PGA Tour but already has a trio of top-10 finishes, including a T7 at the Valspar two weeks ago.
How to Bet on Valero Texas Open
Betting on golf is relatively easy, and not difficult to understand the options out there. The difficulty of betting on golf picks is trying to pick a winner out of 156 players during a typical tournament.
Golf odds are generally much higher than other sports, with the favorite (McIlroy) at +750. If you want to wager $100 on McIlroy and he were to win, you’d get $750 in return pus your wager amount. There are also bets that can be placed for players to finish T10, T20, or T40 as well as matchup plays for each round or tournament matchups you can play that are bets made favoring one player against another.
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