This week the PGA Tour stays in Texas and heads 3 hours west of Humble to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. The tournament dates back to 1922 and has always been played in the San Antonio area. Numerous courses have hosted the event during this time.
This year the tournament is being played on the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio where it has been for the last three years. It is a Par 72, 7522 yard course that was designed by Greg Norman with the consultation of Sergio Garcia and was opened in February 2010. The tees, fairways and rough are Bermuda grass while the greens are Ultradwarf Bermuda grass.
The course was rated the most difficult Par 72 on tour last season with the thick rough and tight fairways playing havoc on the field. Driving accuracy and Greens in Regulation are two stats that stand out this week. Last year the course had the highest stroke average on the tour other than the Majors. This year the rough is noticeably shorter while several greens have under gone renovations. Precision play from tee to green will be important again this week.
The Purse this year is US$6.2 million with the Winner taking home US$1,116,000. Last years Champion Ben Curtis is here to Defend his title along with fellow past winners Brendan Steele, Justin Leonard and Tim Herron.
The Bookies Top 5 in betting are $10 Rory McIlroy, $11 Charl Schwartzel, $15 Matt Kuchar, $23 Ian Poulter and $26 Fredrik Jacobson.
Other notable players to tee it up this week include Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Peter Hanson, Aaron Baddeley and Jimmy Walker. The field also includes D.A. Points, Scott Brown, John Merrick and Brian Gay who have already won on the PGA Tour this season.
From the 156 players in the field this week we have players from countries such as Australia, Sweden, Germany, Wales, England, South Africa and South Korea. Interestingly there have been 14 tournaments so far this season on the PGA Tour and each winner has been American. Will this trend continue this week?
The two players who fit the bill this week are-
Cameron Tringale $34.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
If you want a guy who falls under the category of ‘horses for courses’ you can not go past Cameron Tringale this week.
Last year he finished T8th in this event. In 2011 he was T5th and in 2010 it was T28th finish. Expect to see the same high finish this week.
From 10 starts this season Tringale has made 8 cuts. Four of those results were turned into Top 25 finishes. Cameron’s highest finish this year was a 3rd place at the Tampa Bay Championship in mid March.
Last week at the Shell Houston Open he finished T16th and led the field in greens in regulation.
Stats wise his game is heading in the right direction. 18th in greens in regulation, 22nd in scoring average, 15th in ball striking, 8th in scrambling and 8th in par 5 performance.
At 33/1 he represents an excellent each way selection.
Jordan Spieth $41.00 www.sportsnews.com.au
He might only be nineteen years of age however he has already won two US Junior Amateur Championships. The only other person to win more than one? Tiger Woods.
Jordan made the field of the 2012 US Open as an alternate after Brandt Snedeker withdrew. He went on to finish T21st as the leading amateur.
Turning Pro in December 2012 this season will be his first full season on the PGA Tour. So far this season he has had four starts. He kicked it off with a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open. From there he was a comfortable T22nd in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Next up was a trip down to Puerto Rico where he finished T2nd in their Open. Then it was a T7th at the Tampa Bay Championship. Last week in the Shell Houston Open he made another cut and finished T50th.
This is a kid with a big future and while several big names are missing this week he could sneak under the radar and post a great result.
Stats wise he is ranked 14th in driving accuracy, 7th in greens in regulation, 17th in scoring average, 3rd in ball striking and 8th in par 4 performance.
He played in this event last year and finished T41st. Expect to see him improve on that effort this week.
It will not be long before this kid is on everyone’s lips.
Good luck and good punting.
