Valero Texas Open
The PGA Tour heads to Texas this week for the Valero Texas Open, played on the Oaks course at TPC San Antonio. The course was designed by Greg Normal, but in collaboration with Sergio Garcia, so it’s worth noting the World No.9 lining up in the field this week.
As is usual with the Texan tracks, the ability to control the ball in gusty conditions can be an advantage, and the winner is likely to have decent Green In Regulation stats come Sunday night. Getting well off the tee is important, as is the second shot generally, but this is more about control than distance. With a relatively weak field on show – just two players inside the top 25 – this could be an event to pick out a few decent priced runners.
Let’s kick off with American Luke List, who is enjoying a great season. He was 3rd last week, which brought his latest form card up to a not-too-shabby 3-24-7-16-2-26-26-12 since January, and those results have come in much tougher fields than he’ll face this week. His 3rd place last week was a surprise given his preference for the longer tracks, and this could be an opportunity to go one (or two hopefully) better. He is 25/1 to win with Coral who pay 7 places.
Mexican Abraham Ancer is an interesting prospect for this one having finished 8-13-16 on his last three outings. He doesn’t have any course form to speak of, but having grown up in and around these parts he’s certainly comfortable playing in the sorts of conditions we should see this week. With seven rounds sub-70 in his last three tournaments, he’s looking super reliable at the moment, and that’s belied by his odds of 100/1 – especially for a player ranked 30th for ball striking right now. E/W terms of 1/5 the odds for a top 8 finish delivers a place part to this bet at a whopping 20/1 for a top 8 finish!
Brendan Steele is a former winner here, albeit back in 2011, but he’s followed up with a 4th, 8th and a 13th since then, and finished a 2018 best 3rd place in the Phoenix earlier this season in what could be similar conditions. His ranking of 8th for GIR this season is another bonus and he looks to have the long game, and ball striking performance to pull off another good result at a venue he loves. At 30/1, you’re still getting 6/1 about a top eight finish, which looks more than acceptable.
1pt e/w Luke List at 30/1 (Coral 7 places 1/5)
1pt e/w Abraham Ancer at 100/1 (Sky Bet 8 places 1/5)
1pt e/w Brendan Steele at 30/1 (Sky Bet 8 places 1/5)