We’re staying put in Texas for the next PGA Tour event, but it will return to its standard stroke-play scoring format during the 2023 Valero Texas Open. This is a relatively new event that began in 2010 after Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia completed the design of the Oaks Course, which we’ll dive into more in-depth shortly. J.J. Spaun is the defending champion at Valero, where he won with a final scorecard of -13-under-par, beating Matt Kuchar and Matt Jones by two strokes. Spaun enters this event at 35/1 odds, which shows us that oddsmakers don’t feel nearly as confident in his ability to defend his 2022 title against the field.
Water hazards will not be frequent here. Instead, lengthy, narrow fairways, coarse Texas vegetation, and expansive sand bunkers litter most of the holes at the Oaks Course. This means players who can drive the golf ball far and accurately, paired with strong iron play and a confident putter, will contend atop the leaderboard in a field that lacks star power compared to recent PGA Tour events. Jordan Spieth won here in 2021, but he won’t be in attendance. However, Corey Conners, who won with a scorching 20-under-par scorecard back in 2019, will look to dominate at Valero to earn his second outright win on the PGA Tour. Conners is currently getting +1800 odds to win outright, third behind only Tyrrell Hatton and Rickie Fowler.
