SAN ANTONIO — The 16th tee box at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course sits perched with a stunning view of the green and the vast JW Marriott resort behind it.
The vista is so good, in fact, it’s the spot they’ve chosen to place a white Lexus — one waiting for any player at the Valero Texas Open to take it home with an ace on the 183-yard par 3. The area is a hub of activity due to a number of cabanas, a nearby fan shop and its proximity to the main entrance.
And when smaller-than-normal crowds follow names like Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler on this Central Texas course this week, they’ll shuffle past a small path just off the 16th tee that leads down behind a stunning, gnarled live oak.
For those with little knowledge of the course, it’s insignificant.
But ask any of the members about the area and a smile instantly comes to their faces.
“You mean the Sergio tees?” one member said on Thursday. “Trust me, we all know about the Sergio tees.”
Valero Texas Open: Leaderboard | Yardage book
A pair of courses sit in Cibolo Canyon, about 20 miles north of the famous Riverwalk. The Canyons Course — home of the PGA Tour Champions AT&T Championship from 2011 to 2015 — was designed by Pete Dye, who used Bruce Lietzke as his player consultant.
But the Oaks Course was designed by Greg Norman, in consultation with Sergio Garcia. At the time Norman was working through the project, Garcia was dating his daughter, Morgan-Leigh Norman. The two split up, however, before TPC San Antonio officially opened in 2010.
According to the urban legend told by members, Garcia was not extensively involved as the project neared completion, but one of his major contributions to the course was an alternate tee box on 16, which is still rudimentarily maintained, but never set up for live play.
For those who play the course regularly, the Sergio tees often provide an added level of excitement.
“I’d say we only play over there one in every 20 times,” said member Aaron Imler of San Antonio, who has been a member of TPC San Antonio for eight years. “But if it’s a big-money game and we want to mix it up, we’ll use it. And it makes things interesting.”
The Sergio tees play over a pond (immaterial for Tour players) and a series of bunkers. It makes the hole considerably more difficult, even if it shortens things a bit.
“If the pin is on the left side of that green, the angle is really difficult,” Imler said. “There’s no way to get to it. You almost have to play right, take your medicine and try to make par.”
The Sergio tees have only been used once at the Valero Texas Open, during a single round of the 2010 event — the year the tournament ended a 15-year run at La Cantera Golf Club and moved to TPC San Antonio. Adam Scott won that year, holding off Fredrik Jacobson for the victory.
According to numerous people asked on Thursday, there are no plans to include the Sergio tees in any future event.
Imler, for one, thinks that’s a shame.
“They really should use them,” he said, while taking in the first round on Thursday. “The members would sure get a kick out of it, but it would also make things interesting for the players. They wouldn’t know where it’s going to be each day.”
[vertical-gallery id=778096041]