Valero Texas Open 2026
Overview
Dates: April 2, 2026 to April 5, 2026
Location: SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS • USA
Course: TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)
Course Par: 72
Course Length: 7438
Prize Purse: $9800000
It’s hard to know whether to be pleased or disappointed with the final outcome of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Our picks performed superbly well, with three of the six selections finishing inside the top 10 and headline pick Min Woo Lee making a bold defence of his title, albeit a respectable distance behind the winner Gary Woodland. Having identified power as the key attribute to succeed at Memorial Park, it was no surprise to see the leaderboard packed with bombers – of the top 9 finishers, 6 were in the top 10 for driving distance for the week.
Ultimately whether the week was profitable or not depended very much on how you played it. Following the staking plan led to a small loss, with both Jake Knapp and Sudarshan Yellamaraju agonisingly finishing one shot short of making the top 5. Knapp in particular was frustrating given he played 66 holes of superb golf, only for the first six holes of round 3 to push him out of contention. However, if you played in top 10/20 markets (or included Nicolai Hojgaard, who featured in our preview as another to consider), you may well have been able to make a profit on the event. Woodland’s power off the tee had him in our considerations, however a lack of worthwhile recent form meant we left him out – a decision we are wholeheartedly regretting!
The Masters is now just two weeks away and in the meantime we’ll be previewing the Valero Texas Open, which is missing the very biggest names but a boasts a decent field looking to build some confidence ahead of the first major of 2026.
Preview
Despite staying in Texas for the final event before the Masters, this week’s challenge could hardly be any more different to last week’s. While power came very much to the fore in Houston, a delicate touch on and around the greens is the key to success at TPC San Antonio. So this presents us with an opportunity to look away from the most recent results and instead focus our attentions on short game prowess and solid course history.
The 2026 Valero Texas Open returns to TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course from April 2–5, 2026, serving once again as the final PGA Tour stop before The Masters. With an $9.8 million purse and a field packed with players seeking form—or a last‑minute invitation to Augusta—the stakes are high.
The Oaks Course is one of the top few on the PGA Tour where history tends to repeat itself and there are several value plays that meet the criteria we’re looking for this week. We’ll keep stakes relatively low however given that it’s hard to know how focused some of the bigger names will be ahead of their trip to Augusta National.
🏆 Previous Winners
Recent champions reflect the event’s tendency to reward elite ball‑strikers—and occasionally produce upsets.
2025 – Brian Harman (defending champion)
2024 – Akshay Bhatia (elite approach week)
2023 – Corey Conners (dominant SG: Approach performance)
2022 – J.J. Spaun
2021 – Jordan Spieth
💰 Purse & Tournament Significance
Purse: $8.8 million
FedExCup Points: 500
Masters Invitation: Awarded to any non‑exempt winner
Field Strength: Strong at the top but plenty of big names deciding to opt out in favour of Masters prep work.
The event is widely viewed as the “last audition” before The Masters, attracting a mix of stars, hopefuls, and players fighting for momentum.
Headline Pick:
Alex Noren (3 units win +3500, 3 units top 5 +700)