\t\t\t\tHere\u2019s everything you need to know about the Valero Texas Open, including who our resident betting expert is backing for glory\u2026<\/p>\n
While most eyes wander closer to Augusta National, golfers will have one final shot at securing a place in the Masters<\/a> at the Valero Texas Open.<\/p>\n The second consecutive tournament in the Lone Star State brings the return of TPC San Antonio, where Open champion Brian Harman added to his collection of PGA Tour wins in 2025.<\/p>\n A strong field has assembled as part of preparations for the first major of the season, with 18 of the world\u2019s top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings competing on the Oaks Course. <\/p>\n The big names include certified Masters contenders such as Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg and Robert MacIntyre.<\/p>\n So before diving into my Valero Texas Open betting tips for the week, here\u2019s everything else you need to know\u2026<\/p>\n 2026 Valero Texas Open key details<\/p>\n Dates:\u00a0April 2-5 Valero Texas Open tee times<\/p>\n Tee times and groupings for the 2026 Valero Texas Open can be found\u00a0on the PGA Tour website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Valero Texas Open prize money<\/p>\n You can see the full purse breakdown here<\/a>. <\/p>\n How to watch the Valero Texas Open<\/p>\n Thursday:\u00a0Golf Channel from 4pm UK viewers can watch on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n Thursday:\u00a0Sky Sports Golf from 1.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event from 11pm 2026 Valero Texas Open betting tips<\/p>\n The Banker: Sepp Straka <\/p>\n 20\/1 e\/w (Coral, Ladbrokes, Boylesports 10 Places 1\/5 Odds)<\/p>\n I spent a good amount of time here detailing why Nicolai Hojgaard was going to win and justifying his price. Then he decided to withdraw, which means the next man I was wrestling with comes to the fore instead.<\/p>\n Sepp Straka went off the boil at the end of last year, but it was more to do with personal circumstances than anything els. He\u2019s right back on the wagon again in 2026 and showing form that suggests a fifth PGA Tour win isn\u2019t too far away.<\/p>\n Before his first win in 2022, I think many people thought he was capable of sneaking a win or two, but I can\u2019t imagine many thought three years later he\u2019d be a four-time winner who has beaten both Shane Lowry and Justin Thomas twice. His other win over Alex Smalley and Brendon Todd at the John Deere was perhaps less impressive, but it was the first of two times he won right before a major.<\/p>\n He won the 2023 John Deere Classic which was held two weeks before the Open Championship, rather than in it\u2019s traditional spot one week before, but he also won the Truist Championship last year, a week before the PGA. This goes to show he\u2019s never one to look a week ahead, and is instead focused on the job at hand, which is winning golf tournaments.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not many better than him at doing that in this field, at least in recent years, and I am encouraged by the fact he finished 22nd here in 2022 once he teed it up as a winner here for the first time, bouncing back from a couple of poor showings on his first two visits to TPC San Antonio.<\/p>\n A pair of top-5s in the Houston Open when a far less player suggest he can play well in the state when in form, and that he most certainly is. Since missing the cut in his first start of the year at The American Express, Straka\u2019s form reads 18-2-50-13-8, and that doesn\u2019t tell the whole story. Yes, a 2nd and three more top 20 finishes in his last five starts is enough of a headline, but dig deeper and you will find further reasons for encouragement.<\/p>\n In his worst start in that span, he was 19th at the halfway mark at the Genesis, before eventually finishing 50th, and that goes to show even on an off week, he was able to hang for a couple of rounds. At Pebble Beach he just couldn\u2019t quite keep pace, but he chased down Collin Morikawa as best he could, sitting 2nd after 54 and eventually 72 holes. He didn\u2019t even start poorly, he opened with a pair of 66s, and closed with rounds of 67 and 68, he simply lost out by one stroke. When 13th at Bay Hill, he was 3rd after 54 holes, and last time out at The Players, he lead after round 1 and stayed inside the top 10 for the rest of the week, eventually finishing 8th.<\/p>\n Simply put, the Austrian is clearly in contending form, and once you get past the first half a dozen in the market here, the quality really starts to thin out, and for the most part, those around him in the betting will have one eye on next week. Not Straka though.<\/p>\n The last two years he\u2019s gone into the Masters having not played since the Valspar, and he\u2019s clearly trying to change his preparation, and I think that will see him go all out for a confidence-boosting victory.<\/p>\n Straka ranks 12th in SG Approach and 13th in SG Tee to Green this season, and while he could improve his short game, there\u2019s plenty in his efforts in recent weeks that suggest that\u2019s on the right trajectory as well. He gained in all four strokes gained categories at The Players, something he\u2019d also done at Pebble Beach, and he only marginally lost strokes around the green at Bay Hill, so he looks in good shape coming into this one.<\/p>\n While I\u2019ve got you, I helped TG\u2019s Alex Perry put together the annual Masters Power Rankings, where we rate every single player in the field. You can read that here if you like<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Outsider: Denny McCarthy <\/p>\n 40\/1 e\/w (Betfred 8 Places 1\/5 Odds)<\/p>\n
Venue:\u00a0Oaks Course, TPC San Antonio
Course:\u00a0Par 72 \u2013 7,438 yards
Format:\u00a072-hole stroke play with halfway cut
Purse:\u00a0$9,800,000
Defending champion:\u00a0Brian Harman<\/p>\n
Friday:\u00a0Golf Channel from 4pm
Saturday:\u00a0Golf Channel from 1pm
Sunday:\u00a0Golf Channel from 1pm
(All times ET)<\/p>\n
Friday:\u00a0Sky Sports Golf from 1.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event from 10.30pm
Saturday:\u00a0Sky Sports Golf from 3.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event from 8.30pm
Sunday:\u00a0Sky Sports Golf from 6pm
(All times GMT)<\/p>\n