The 2016 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio is just five days away. The deadline for players to commit to the tournament has passed and the field is set. Some big name PGA Tour players are coming down next week to take on the difficult AT&T Oaks Course, but the biggest Texas golf star at the moment is MIA.
In years past, the golf course has played firm and fast, with the South Texas wind playing a big factor in scoring. This year is shaping up to be quite different. We’re expecting heavy rains here in San Antonio starting today and lasting through Wednesday of tournament week. I can’t recall any rain leading up to the tournament in the last couple years so this will make for an interesting course setup. A soft golf course with light wind might make this golf course play really long, so we’ll have to keep an eye on the setup and weather as we head into next week.
Here’s a list of some of the headliners heading into the Valero Texas Open next week along with the full player list.
Phil Mickelson
Phil will headline the Valero Texas Open field this year. It will be Mickelson’s third straight trip to San Antonio and he will surely be one of the favorites next week at TPC San Antonio. Last year Phil didn’t really contend all week and got progressively worse as the week went on. His four rounds consisted of a 70-72-74-76, respectively and finished the week with a T-30 finish. It’s curious to me why Phil is coming back to San Antonio. He hasn’t played particularly well at TPC San Antonio and he actually withdrew during the 3rd round in 2014. I know he needs Ryder Cup points and that could be the real reason. Either way, Phil is a big get for San Antonio and he’ll have the biggest galleries all week.
Dustin Johnson
DJ will be back in San Antonio this year after his T-6 finish last year at TPC San Antonio. Johnson posted a first round 78 last year but bounced back on Friday with a 72. After making the cut on the number he fired back to back 68’s on Saturday and Sunday to get in the top 10.
Bryson DeChambeau
This will be Bryson’s second tournament as a pro after his low amateur effort at The Masters. DeChambeau turned pro after the Masters one week ago and is playing Harbour Town this week in his first pro debut. He’s gotten off to a good start after his first two rounds as a pro, currently sitting three shots off the lead heading into his third round today.
Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker is back defending this year after his stellar four shot victory over Jordan Spieth last year. Walker fired a final round 70 last year to take home the crown at TPC San Antonio. A quick note to all the viewers of the TV broadcast this week. Jimmy Walker is not from San Antonio and he does not live in San Antonio. He lives in Boerne, TX, which is a small town about 15-20 minutes from San Antonio. It’s also pronounced “Burn-E” and not “Born” like you will surely hear this weekend on TV. You’re welcome.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth will not be making his way down to San Antonio this year, which actually comes as a big surprise to me, even after his epic Masters collapse last week. Jordan has played TPC San Antonio the last four years and finished second last year to Jimmy Walker. Maybe he’s still licking his wounds after Augusta or maybe the schedule just didn’t work out for him this year. Either way, I am sure Valero Texas Open officials were looking to reel him in to headline the field, being Texas is his home state. I do wonder if things went differently at Augusta for Jordan if he’d be in San Antonio next week to play…
Past Champions of Valero Texas Open
- 2015 – Jimmy Walker
- 2014 – Steven Bowditch
- 2013 – Martin Laird
- 2012 – Ben Curtis
- 2011 – Brendan Steele
- 2010 – Adam Scott
- 2009 – Zach Johnson
- 2008 – Zach Johnson
- 2007 – Justin Leonard
- 2006 – Eric Axley
Volunteering at Valero Texas Open
This will be my fourth year volunteering at the Texas Open, so I’m lucky to be out at the golf course all four days of tournament play. In previous years, I’ve written about my volunteer experiences each day and I am looking to bring back a post after each day this year as well. I’ll be with the same volunteer committee as last year, Broadcast, the only difference is I am the co-chair this year, so I am leading and overseeing our group of the volunteers this year along with the Chair of the committee. Here’s my four posts from last year if you’d like to read about it.
- VTO Volunteer Experience: Day 1
- VTO Volunteer Experience: Day 2
- VTO Volunteer Experience: Day 3
- VTO Volunteer Experience: Day 4
2016 Valero Texas Open Player Committments
Aiken, Thomas | Gore, Jason | Lee, Lucas | Reifers, Kyle |
Aldridge, Tyler | Grace, Branden | Lee, Richard H. | Roach, Wes |
Allenby, Robert | Guthrie, Luke | Leonard, Justin | Rodgers, Patrick |
Ancer, Abraham | Hadley, Chesson | Levin, Spencer | Rollins, John |
Appleby, Stuart | Hahn, James | Lickliter II, Frank | Romero, Andres |
Baddeley, Aaron | Harman, Brian | List, Luke | Ruffels, Ryan |
Barnes, Ricky | Harrington, Padraig | Loupe, Andrew | Sabbatini, Rory |
Beckman, Cameron | Hearn, David | MacKenzie, Will | Senden, John |
Blair, Zac | Henley, Russell | Mahan, Hunter | Snedeker, Brandt |
Bradley, Keegan | Henry, J.J. | Malnati, Peter | Stallings, Scott |
Bradley, Michael | Herron, Tim | Marino, Steve | Stanley, Kyle |
Burgoon, Bronson | Hicks, Justin | Mayfair, Billy | Steele, Brendan |
Campbell, Chad | Hoffman, Charley | McGirt, William | Stefani, Shawn |
Carballo, Miguel Angel | Hoge, Tom | McNeill, George | Stegmaier, Brett |
Castro, Roberto | Holmes, J.B. | Merrick, John | Stewart, Hunter |
Chappell, Kevin | Horschel, Billy | Merritt, Troy | Stiles, Darron |
Choi, K.J. | Hubbard, Mark | Mickelson, Phil | Streelman, Kevin |
Collins, Chad | Huh, John | Molder, Bryce | Stroud, Chris |
Crane, Ben | Hurley III, Billy | Molinari, Francesco | Stuard, Brian |
Curran, Jon | Iwata, Hiroshi | Noh, Seung-Yul | Summerhays, Daniel |
Curtis, Ben | Jacobson, Freddie | Norlander, Henrik | Swafford, Hudson |
Dalke, Brad | Jaidee, Thongchai | Ogilvy, Geoff | Taylor, Nick |
Davis, Brian | Johnson, Zach | Oppenheim, Rob | Thompson, Michael |
de Jonge, Brendon | Jones, Matt | Ortiz, Carlos | Todd, Brendon |
DeChambeau, Bryson | Kang, Sung | Overton, Jeff | Trahan, D.J. |
Donald, Luke | Kelly, Jerry | Owen, Greg | Tringale, Cameron |
Els, Ernie | Kim, Michael | Palmer, Ryan | Turnesa, Marc |
Ernst, Derek | Kim, Si Woo | Pampling, Rod | Uresti, Omar |
Every, Matt | Kim, Whee | Percy, Cameron | Van Aswegen, Tyrone |
Fathauer, Derek | Kirk, Chris | Pettersson, Carl | van der Walt, Dawie |
Garnett, Brice | Knost, Colt | Piller, Martin | Varner III, Harold |
Garrigus, Robert | Koepka, Brooks | Pinckney, Scott | Vegas, Jhonattan |
Gay, Brian | Kokrak, Jason | Points, D.A. | Villegas, Camilo |
Gibson, Rhein | Kraft, Kelly | Pride, Dicky | Wagner, Johnson |
Gillis, Tom | Kuchar, Matt | Prugh, Alex | Walker, Jimmy |
Glover, Lucas | Landry, Andrew | Putnam, Michael | Wilkinson, Tim |
Gonzales, Andres | Langley, Scott | Reavie, Chez | Wilson, Mark |
Goosen, Retief | Lee, D.H. | Reed, Patrick |
Leave a Reply