Before the Masters tees off next week as the 1st major of the season, players will tee it up this week at the 2023 Valero Texas Open. The tournament begins Thursday at TPC San Antonio with Tyrrell Hatton and Rickie Fowler headlining the field.
Below, we search for the best value prop bets among the 2023 Valero Texas Open odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Hatton is the highest-ranked player in the field this week, according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He comes in at No. 14, with Taylor Montgomery at No. 15. Si Woo Kim is the only other player in the field who’s ranked inside the top 25.
TPC San Antonio (par 72, 7,435 yards) typically yields a winning score between 12-under par and 20-under, so it’s not the toughest course for some of the world’s best players. With bunkers on all but 1 hole, greens are guarded and will require accuracy on players’ approaches.
WATCH: PGA Tour is live on ESPN+! Get ESPN+
Valero Texas Open – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 12:34 p.m. ET.
Rickie Fowler (+410)
This feels like a great spot for Fowler to win in advance of the Masters. It’s not a loaded field by any means and few players have been more consistent than Fowler this season. In his last 4 stroke-play starts, he has 3 top-20s and another top-30 finish. At the WGC Match Play last week, he beat Jon Rahm in the opening match. So, his game is peaking at just the right time and he’s heading to a course where he has 2 top-17 finishes in his last 3 starts.
Matt Wallace (+850)
Let’s take a shot on Wallace, the winner of last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship. It was his 2nd straight top-10 finish after a great showing at the Valspar Championship. He missed the cut here last year but in 2021, he came in 3rd, nearly winning at TPC San Antonio. His odds are long but he’s playing well right now and has performed here before.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]
[betwidget_tipico]
Valero Texas Open – Top-10 picks
Si Woo Kim (+245)
Kim didn’t make it to the Round of 16 last week but he did go 2-1 in his matches, showing his game is in good form. He has a strong track record in this event, tying for 13th, 23rd, 4th, 45th and 22nd in his last 5 starts here. With his iron play, he’s a legitimate contender to be atop the leaderboard on Sunday.
Tyrrell Hatton (+165)
Hatton’s hand gave him some trouble just before his 1st match last week, shaking it multiple times on the range. He never withdrew and he’s still in the field in San Antonio, so it must be feeling OK. He’s the favorite this week so his odds for a top-10 are short, but at +165, there’s still plenty of value. He has 3 top-10s in his last 5 starts, but this is his tournament debut.
Cameron Davis (+500)
Davis has made the cut once in 2 tries here and though he didn’t make it out of group play last week, he tied for 6th at the Players Championship. He attributed his early-season struggles to a lingering illness, but he’s past it now and playing much better.
Valero Texas Open – Top-20 picks
Corey Conners (+117)
Conners has made the cut all 4 times in this event and won it back in 2019, never finishing worse than T-35. He too missed out on the match-play bracket last week after failing to win his group, but he tied for 21st at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He’s a good value at +117 for a top-20.
J.J. Spaun (+160)
Spaun is the defending champion, so his success at TPC San Antonio is not to be denied. He won his group at last week’s WGC Match Play event, but lost to Xander Schauffele in the first round. Combining his course history and recent form makes him a solid bet to come in the top 20 again.
Beau Hossler (+250)
Hossler already has 5 top-25 finishes this season and though he’s missed 4 straight cuts, he could get back on track this week in his home state of Texas. Last year, he tied for 4th with a final score of 10-under par.
Other T20 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Charley Hoffman (+410)
- Patton Kizzire (+350)
Valero Texas Open – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Matt Wallace (-120) vs. Adam Schenk (+102)
Schenk has been playing well lately but he’s also missed the cut in this event in each of the last 2 years. I’ll go with the hot hand in Wallace, who has back-to-back top-10s (including a win) in his last 2 starts, as well as a 3rd-place finish in this tournament 2 years ago.
Taylor Montgomery (-120) vs. Matt Kuchar (+102)
Kuchar played well at the WGC Match Play, but he typically does. In stroke play events this season, he’s been hot and cold: 7 of 11 made cuts with 3 top-10s. I’ll go with Montgomery, who’s making his debut here.
Cameron Davis (-109) vs. Ryan Fox (-109)
Davis is healthy now and is going up against Fox, who has 4 straight top-30 finishes this season. He’s never played this event before, however. Davis looked great at the Players Championship with a T-6 and should back that up with another strong showing in Texas.
Valero Texas Open – Top American
Rickie Fowler (+1100)
Fowler is +2000 to win outright this week, so getting him at +1100 without Hatton, Kim or Conners, among others, is a terrific value. Davis Riley (+1500) and Taylor Montgomery (+1500) would be his toughest competitors in the group of Americans, but Fowler should have the edge on both of them.
Valero Texas Open – First-round leader
Corey Conners (+3500)
Conners is someone who can get really hot really quickly. He’s won this event before, shooting 20-under back in 2019, which included two rounds of 66 on the weekend that year.
More expert prop bet predictions
Group C winner: Cameron Davis (+360)
Davis’ group includes Spaun (+265), Riley (+320), Thomas Detry (+390) and Nicolai Hojgaard (+390). I like the way Davis is trending now that he’s past his lingering illness, and he should be in contention this weekend.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
For sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Plus, try out the USA TODAY Parlay Calculator and please gamble responsibly.
Golfweek:
- 2023 Masters: Odds for every player in the field at Augusta National Golf Club
- Tiger Woods to build golf course in New Jersey for baseball star Mike Trout
Follow @camdasilva on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1364]