Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth Favored at TPC San Antonio

2022 Valero Texas Open Odds

Odds via BetMGM.

The final stop before Augusta National has arrived. The PGA TOUR goes from Austin to San Antonio this week for the Valero Texas Open, which has names of interests for bettors before the Masters.

Atop the opening odds board are two players who didn’t play the WGC-Dell Match Play last week in Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama. McIlroy opted to play at the Texas Open instead of the Match Play in order to prep for the Masters, while the reigning Masters champion has been recovering from a back injury that saw him withdraw from THE PLAYERS on the morning of the first round.

Outside of those two, Bryson DeChambeau is the biggest name in this field. The heavy hitter returned from an absence that lasted almost two months at the Match Play in uninspiring fashion, losing twice with one tie in his three group matchups.

Jordan Spieth and Abraham Ancer highlight the next part of the board. Spieth sent shockwaves through the golf world when he capped a stellar start to his year with a win at TPC San Antonio, which vaulted him to the top of some sportsbooks’ odds.

Masters Implications

The field at the Masters is nearly set.

The easiest ways to qualify are to be in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking as of this morning, or to have won a tournament on the PGA TOUR since the 2021 Masters.

That will include the Valero Texas Open, which means a longshot winner this week would punch his ticket to Augusta National. We’ve seen plenty of them on TOUR this year already with the likes of Hudson Swafford, Tom Hoge and Sepp Straka, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Among the notable names in this field who are not currently heading to Augusta are Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Maverick McNealy.

The Course

TPC San Antonio played almost 7,500 yards last year, which would make it one of the longer courses that players on TOUR will have seen this year. With that, players who drive the ball further than most tend to have an advantage here, although winds this time of year in Texas can play a big factor.

Ball-strikers should thrive here, especially if they’re able to stay in the fairway throughout the week. If the conditions are ideal, the winner this week could reach 20-under.