With Augusta right around the corner, this weekend’s Texas Open presents the perfect opportunity for golf bettors to build themselves a handy bankroll heading into The Masters next week.
With the first major of the season up next, it’s no surprise to find several of the big names sitting out this weekend, which in turn has left plenty of value right across the board at TPC San Antonio.
The last two winners of this event came at 200-1, the most recent being Canadian Corey Conners, who currently finds himself towards the top of the market following Dustin Johnson’s withdrawal.
With a wide-open field to choose from, our best bets, best value, and best roughies ahead of this week’s Valero Texas Open can be found below.
2021 Texas Open Best Bet
Corey Conners at $17.00
Defending champions don’t have a great track record this year, but the Canadian does present a pretty compelling case heading into the weekend.
Despite bowing out early last week at the Match Play, Conners has enjoyed a sparkling run of form this year that includes two Top 10 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS.
TPC San Antonio is well known for its tight fairways and speedy greens, which basically calls for a bit of everything from the bag.
Conners is as close to the complete package as you’re going to get this weekend, and with nine Top 25 finishes to his name this season, he’s a pretty safe bet to be close to the top of the headboard on the final day.
2021 Texas Open Best Value
Ryan Palmer at $26.00
Nobody has more experience at TPC San Antonio than Ryan Palmer.
The 44-year-old is set to make his 11th consecutive appearance at this event on Friday, a run that includes four Top 10 finishes and only three missed cuts.
As far as recent form goes, Palmer also passes the test.
He opened the year with an outright fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions before finishing runner-up to Patrick Reed at the Farmers.
Since then, he’s gone on to finish T17 at TPC Sawgrass two weeks ago, a course that calls for a bit of everything, much like TPC San Antonio.
Currently ranked 35th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green, this is a guy I’m keen to have something on.
Keegan Bradley at $41.00
It’s been over three years since Bradley won the BMW Championship, but there’s been a bit to like about his game of late.
The 34-year-old has made the cut one each of his last five starts, which includes a T10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
At TPC San Antonio, he’s three-from-four with a strong T9 to his name on debut back in 2011.
His putting needs work, but the fact he ranks Top 10 on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and Tee-to-Green reads well.
2021 Texas Open Best Roughie
Cameron Champ at $91.00
As mentioned earlier, things get rough in a hurry with several big names missing this week.
As far as long shots go though, there is a bit to like about Cameron Champ at 91-1.
He’s a very unpredictable player that recently has missed the cut more often than not, but the fact he’s had a couple of weeks off since THE PLAYERS bodes well for his chances.
I also think TPC San Antonio should suit his style of play. Again, like Bradley, the putter needs some work, but this course has typically favoured long bombers in the past.
Nick Taylor at $101.00
If you read the intro, you’ll know that the last two winners of this event came at triple digit odds.
Therefore, I’m happy to have something very small on another Canadian to follow in Corey Conners’ footsteps this week.
Nick Taylor’s recent form makes for pretty grim reading (two missed cuts in his last three starts), but he did begin the season nicely with a T29 and a T11 over in Hawaii.
True to form, he’s played to mix results at TPC San Antonio in the past, but he did finish inside the Top 25 in his first two appearances at this event.
He needs to bring his A-game with the driver, but his strong iron play should hopefully carry him most of the way.
