The Valero Texas Open offers multiple purposes this week, with many using it as preparation for The Masters and others looking for a last-minute major invite.
The field is almost set for the opening major of the year, live from April 9-12 on Sky Sports, with the last remaining place in The Masters field going to this week’s winner PGA Tour – if not already exempt – at TPC San Antonio.
Tommy Fleetwood headlines a strong field containing nine of the world’s top 20, with Collin Morikawa returning for the first time since withdrawing after one hole of The Players and Ludvig Åberg also in action.
Major winners Brian Harman and JJ Spaun feature as past Valero Texas Open champions, while Ryder Cup winners Robert MacIntyre and Sepp Straka are also in the field, with all looking to fine-tune their games ahead of The Masters.
The cut-off to earn an invite to The Masters via the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) ended after the Texas Children’s Houston Open on Sunday, won by Gary Woodland, with 93 players – as of March 31 – scheduled to tee it up in next week’s major.
Three of the last six Valero Texas Open winners have secured a last-minute invite to The Masters in the process, with Spaun (2022), Akshay Bhatia (2024) and Corey Conners (2019) all managing it, but who – if anyone – can add their name to the Augusta National field with a victory?
Fowler, Horschel chasing late Masters spot
Former Masters runner-up Rickie Fowler (world No 65) is in danger of missing the opening major for a fourth time in five years, with Billy Horschel (world No 94) also needing a win after missing a large portion of last season due to injury and slipping down the rankings.
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Tony Finau (world No 107) has featured in every edition since 2018 but hasn’t had a PGA Tour top-10 finish in 13 months, with past major runners-up Tom Kim (world No 126) and Will Zalatoris (world No 299) also currently not in The Masters field.
There are currently eight English players listed in The Masters field, with Jordan Smith (world No 67), John Parry (world No 82), Dan Brown (world No 83) and former Masters par-3 champion Matt Wallace (world No 96) all needing a win this week to add to that.
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Pierceson Coody (world No 52) is the highest-ranked player not yet qualified, with the American having to withdraw mid-tournament from last week’s Houston Open due to a back injury to miss out on the chance to break into the top 50.
Coody bids to become the first grandson of a Masters champion to play in the event, 55 years on from Charles Coody’s win, as Michael Thorbjornsen (world No 54) also missed out on securing a spot via the world rankings after failing to find the top-five finish required in Houston.
Michael Thorbjornsen played alongside Rory McIlroy for Boston Common in the TGL earlier this year
Ryo Hisatsune (world No 63), Patrick Rodgers (world No 72), Max McGreevy (world No 73) and JT Poston (world No 76) are some of the other players involved at the Valero Texas Open who aren’t yet in The Masters.
When is The Masters live on Sky Sports?
Sky Sports continues to be the home of The Masters in the UK and Ireland, with more full action from tournament days than ever before and live coverage from every day that week.
Live coverage from practice days is available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, when the traditional Masters Par-3 contest also takes place, ahead of wall-to-wall tournament coverage getting under way on Thursday April 9 at 2pm.
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Featured Group action and updates from around the course are available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window brings full live coverage from 6pm over the first two days, with that available from the earlier time of 5pm over the weekend.
There will be lots of extra action to enjoy on Sky Sports+, with plenty of bonus feeds – including Featured Holes and Featured Groups – allowing you to follow players’ progress through various parts of Augusta’s famous layout. Sky Sports subscribers can download the Sky Sports App for free to watch The Masters on their phones.
Who will win the Valero Texas Open? Early coverage begins on Thursday from 1.15pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8.30pm. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
