It’s going to be really tough to focus this week. The best seven days of the year are a mere six days away, and we just have to wait? It’s BS.
In the meantime, the PGA Tour is in San Antonio, Texas, for the Valero Texas Open, the home of Jordan Spieth’s return to the winner’s circle last season, a victory that broke a winless drought dating back to his major championship triumph at the 2017 Open.
Joining the Lone Star state local in this week’s field is Rory McIlroy, who’s switching up his Masters preparation this year. He took off the Match Play and will make his first start at TPC San Antonio since 2013 (he finished runner-up).
Golf course
TPC San Antonio | Par 72 | 7,438 yards
Key statistics
Strokes Gained: Approach: The fairways are on the wider side, and the rough at TPC San Antonio is the least penalizing on Tour, according to DataGolf.com. That leaves SG: APP as a key component in score variation.
Strokes Gained: Around the Green: There are a plethora of tricky run-off areas around this track. Getting up and down on a regular basis will be at a premium.
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC Summerlin, 2. Monterey Penisula CC, 3. Nine Bridges
Trending: 1. Rory McIlroy (last three starts: T-10, T-13, T-33), 2. Hideki Matsuyama (T-8, T-39, T-20), 3. Corey Conners (T-11, T-26, 3)
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Rory McIlroy (6.5 percent), 2. Hideki Matsuyama (4.4 percent), 3. Corey Conners (3.5 percent)
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Betting odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list.
| Player | Odds |
| Rory McIlroy | (+750) |
| Hideki Matsuyama | (+1500) |
| Jordan Spieth | (+1500) |
| Corey Conners | (+1500) |
| Abraham Ancer | (+2000) |
| Chris Kirk | (+3000) |
| Tony Finau | (+3000) |
| Gary Woodland | (+3000) |
| Si-Woo Kim | (+3000) |
| Maverick McNealy | (+3000) |
Betting card for the 2022 Valero Texas Open
I got killed at the Match Play. Lost every bet. Matthew Fitzpatrick lost in a playoff to Scottie Scheffler to advance. Alex Noren lost a winner take all match against Corey Conners. Max Homa couldn’t take down Dustin Johnson.
Time to move on.
Up 12.69 units on position plays, and up 26.5 units on outright plays in 2022.
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