Tag: 2024 Valero Texas Open

2024 Valero Texas Open prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour.

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour. Just ask this week’s winner, Akshay Bhatia.

The 22-year-old won the 2024 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio after a playoff against Denny McCarthy on Sunday to claim his second PGA Tour victory. His first win at last year’s 2023 Barracuda Championship also came via a playoff. For his efforts, Bhatia will take home the top prize of $1,656,000. Despite coming up short in the playoff, McCarthy still cleared seven figures and banked $1,002,800 for a hefty consolation prize.

With $9.2 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Prize money payouts

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Akshay Bhatia -20 $1,656,000
2 Denny McCarthy -20 $1,002,800
3 Rory McIlroy -11 $634,800
4 Russell Henley -10 $450,800
T5 Adam Schenk -9 $355,350
T5 Brendon Todd -9 $355,350
T7 Ben Martin -8 $289,033
T7 Tommy Fleetwood -8 $289,033
T7 Hideki Matsuyama -8 $289,033
T10 Matt Fitzpatrick -6 $223,100
T10 Peter Kuest -6 $223,100
T10 Mac Meissner -6 $223,100
T10 Jordan Spieth -6 $223,100
T14 S.H. Kim -5 $131,602
T14 Tyson Alexander -5 $131,602
T14 Keith Mitchell -5 $131,602
T14 Sam Stevens -5 $131,602
T14 Chan Kim -5 $131,602
T14 Adam Scott -5 $131,602
T14 Andrew Putnam -5 $131,602
T14 Thorbjorn Olesen -5 $131,602
T14 Alex Noren -5 $131,602
T14 Rico Hoey -5 $131,602
T14 Ludvig Aberg -5 $131,602
T25 Brian Harman -4 $67,735
T25 Corey Conners -4 $67,735
T25 Justin Lower -4 $67,735
T25 Max Homa -4 $67,735
T25 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -4 $67,735
T25 Nick Hardy -4 $67,735
T25 Lucas Glover -4 $67,735
T25 Mark Hubbard -4 $67,735
T33 Robby Shelton -3 $49,067
T33 Garrick Higgo -3 $49,067
T33 Kevin Chappell -3 $49,067
T33 Chez Reavie -3 $49,067
T33 Austin Eckroat -3 $49,067
T33 Alexander Bjork -3 $49,067
T39 Kevin Yu -2 $37,260
T39 Nate Lashley -2 $37,260
T39 Ben Griffin -2 $37,260
T39 Aaron Baddeley -2 $37,260
T39 Bud Cauley -2 $37,260
T39 Stewart Cink -2 $37,260
T45 Kevin Streelman -1 $26,772
T45 Victor Perez -1 $26,772
T45 Davis Thompson -1 $26,772
T45 Vincent Norrman -1 $26,772
T45 Webb Simpson -1 $26,772
T45 Ryan Moore -1 $26,772
T51 Lanto Griffin E $21,988
T51 Adam Svensson E $21,988
T51 J.J. Spaun E $21,988
T51 Joe Highsmith E $21,988
T51 C.T. Pan E $21,988
T51 Tyler Duncan E $21,988
T51 Martin Laird E $21,988
T58 Hayden Springer 1 $20,148
T58 Aaron Rai 1 $20,148
T58 Maverick McNealy 1 $20,148
T58 David Lipsky 1 $20,148
T58 Harry Hall 1 $20,148
T58 Dylan Wu 1 $20,148
T58 Bronson Burgoon 1 $20,148
T58 Carl Yuan 1 $20,148
T58 Andrew Novak 1 $20,148
T58 Josh Teater 1 $20,148
T58 Parker Coody 1 $20,148
T69 Charley Hoffman 2 $18,860
T69 Matti Schmid 2 $18,860
T69 Vince Whaley 2 $18,860
T72 Brandt Snedeker 3 $18,400
T72 Kevin Kisner 3 $18,400
74 Pierceson Coody 4 $18,124
T75 Nicolai Hojgaard 5 $17,756
T75 Collin Morikawa 5 $17,756
T75 Tom Whitney 5 $17,756
T78 Ben Kohles 6 $17,204
T78 Beau Hossler 6 $17,204
T78 Ryo Hisatsune 6 $17,204
81 Ben Silverman 7 $16,836
82 Ryan McCormick 10 $16,652

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

Jordan Spieth explains his crazy gutterball shot at the Valero Texas Open. Would he do it again?

How insane was the line Spieth took during Saturday’s third round in San Antonio?

How insane was the line Jordan Spieth took during the final hole of Saturday’s third round at the Valero Texas Open?

It was still the talk of the tournament nearly 24 hours later, at least until Denny McCarthy rallied to force a playoff with Akshay Bhatia.

After pulling his drive left through the fairway on the 618-yard par 5, Spieth’s second shot ended up near a drainage ditch in an area. It appeared like he’d punch the ball back into the fairway, but then turned the opposite way and launched a wedge that found a gutter atop the TPC San Antonio clubhouse. The move had social media buzzing.

Spieth wound up making double-bogey after three-putting and he said Sunday that he regretted his decision-making process.

2024 Valero Texas Open
Jordan Spieth plays a ball on the 18th hole during the third round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on April 6, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

“I should have just hit it left-handed out into the fairway. I thought I could get it — I asked the rules official, he told me there’s no out-of-bounds and that if you could get it up here and you know where it is, then you drop it by the scoreboard, which is better than if I were to hit it lefty up towards the fairway,” Spieth explained. “So I tried. It didn’t come out very good and sure enough I was left with the same kind of situation on the next shot and then I did it. If I didn’t three-putt, I maybe felt like I would have saved a shot, but ultimately I could have just re-teed and made a better score.

“It looks weird. I actually played a really, really solid tee-to-green golf course this week and of course highlighted by a weird hole yesterday that makes it look all crazy. But I was just asking questions and to be honest, if it was out of play here, I probably would have made a better score playing the normal route out. I thought I could finagle a stroke, saving a stroke out of it and it didn’t quite do so.”

Spieth said he did not intend to hit the ball on top of the clubhouse, but merely was trying to advance it far enough for a good drop.

“I just needed to get it far enough up to where I would be close enough to the pin to where my drop would be past the hazard,” Spieth said. “So I had to get it far, but you still had to know where the ball was.”

The former University of Texas star rounded out the week with a 69, putting him into a tie for 10th place on the week at 6 under. He also finished the day with a birdie on 18, avoiding any gutters along the way.

“I had come off two missed cuts so I wanted to kind of find out really where I’m at and really feel like I made progress. I felt like my game’s actually been in a better place than other years and it just hasn’t shown for it in the last six, eight weeks. But I wasn’t exactly sure,” Spieth said. “So I think it proved it this week. A couple mistakes. I played the par 5s over par, which is one of my best stats of the year, and I lost like three around the greens, which is also a strength of mine. So it was a very weird. So if I just do those things normal, I’ve got a chance to win. And there’s always ifs, ands and buts.

“I feel like I came into the week unsure if I was confident in being able to win next week and I think I come out of it saying I’ve got a couple things I’ve got to work on, but overall I think I’m in a good place to be able to have a chance. Mission accomplished in that sense, but I do wish that I didn’t kind of give away a few that I gave away this week.”

After Denny McCarthy’s wild comeback, Akshay Bhatia prevails in playoff to win the 2024 Valero Texas Open

McCarthy posted a 28 on the back to overcome a six-stroke deficit, but made a fatal mistake in a playoff.

For those who have followed Akshay Bhatia’s decorated golf career, the fact that the 22-year-old phenom captured his second PGA Tour title on Sunday — earning his first berth into a major tournament — might come as no surprise.

But the way Bhatia won, running away from most of the field early and then outlasting a wily veteran in a playoff at the 2024 Valero Texas Open to earn a spot in next week’s Masters? That certainly might have the golf world doing a collective double-take.

Bhatia finished off one of the most impressive and improbable wire-to-wire victories in recent memory, fending off a heroic charge by runner-up Denny McCarthy on Sunday afternoon, and finding his way into the winner’s circle at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.

McCarthy forced a playoff with an incredible string of eight birdies over the final nine holes, and after he buried a seventh straight birdie putt on 18, it appeared he might be poised for his first PGA Tour victory.

Bhatia responded with a huge birdie putt of his own on the tournament’s 72nd hole, and then watched as McCarthy made a surprising and fatal mistake by chunking a wedge from 99 yards out on the playoff hole — and splashing it into a creek.

“Wish I could have had that wedge shot back there. I backed off a couple times,” McCarthy said. “There was a bug on my ball and some noise in the stands and a bug jumped back on my ball. I probably should have backed away again, but I thought I could kind of not let it distract me and maybe it did a little.

“Maybe a learning experience for me, but all in all I handled myself really well today.”

Adding a little more drama, Bhatia then asked for his shoulder to be taped up by a trainer before his approach on the playoff hole, telling those on hand that he pulled it out of its socket during a fist-pump celebration after hitting the putt on 18.

But he safely found the green and then dropped a six-footer to earn the trip back to Augusta.

“Denny played unbelievable. It’s tough, he’s one of the best putters out here. Yeah, it’s scary how good he played. To shoot 8 under on the back is like unheard of,” Bhatia said. “You think he might miss one, but it was awesome to see that. It made me feel like, OK, I really need to step up here, I can’t just cruise in. I did such a good job just coming out, sticking to my game plan.

“I still had to shoot 5 under to just get into a playoff, so it was pretty crazy.”

Bhatia has won at every level and Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of his appearance at the Drive, Chip & Putt at Augusta National, where he finished sixth in the 12-13 age category.

At the ripe age of 15, Bhatia won the 2017 Junior PGA Championship, breaking a course record at the Country Club of St. Albans, and cruising to a three-stroke victory. He added a number of major junior events a year later, including the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley and the Rolex Tournament of Champions.

Akshay Bhatia talks with his caddie before teeing off at the first hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

He later became the third-youngest player to win a Korn Ferry Tour event, when he took home the title at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic, with only Sungjae Im and Jason Day doing so at a younger age.

None of this has fazed Bhatia, who continues to work hard, keep his nose to the grindstone and focus on the next major hurdle.

“I’m just true to myself. I’ve never had an easy life growing up, so anytime anyone sees that, oh, this kid’s making a ton of money, he’s playing on the PGA Tour, he’s won on the PGA Tour, that’s just not it,” Bhatia said after his third round of play, “There’s so much more to it than just the golf. For guys coming up from PGA Tour U or Nick Dunlap, for instance, winning on the PGA Tour, like there’s going to be a lot for them to learn and hopefully being peers with them, it kind of can help them along the way and kind of grow up faster.”

Bhatia conducted himself like a veteran in the latter stages on Sunday, as he had a four-stroke lead heading into Sunday, pushed that advantage to six after the fourth hole, but then watched as McCarthy put on an impressive display on the back at the Greg Norman-designed course.

Denny McCarthy hits a tee shot on the tenth hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

McCarthy’s birdie barrage started just after the turn as he knocked off strokes on Nos. 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to pull within one.

On the 17th, a drivable par-4, McCarthy missed right in the rough, while Bhatia dropped his in a bunker off to the right side of the hole. Both players put their second shots to within five feet, but Bhatia missed his putt, marking the first time in 52 times during the tournament that he missed from that distance.

Both players made birdies on the 18th hole, then Bhatia capitalized on McCarthy’s playoff miscue to take the $1.65 million first prize and the final spot in the 2024 Masters.

“t’s cool. It’s a dream come true. I didn’t know what to expect this week,” Bhatia said. “This is just kind of a week where I played a couple times and I was a little more comfortable, I think. I wrote on my wrist today “W-T-W,” which is wire-to-wire. Just kind of pictured a straight wire from the first hole to the 72nd hole and I just tried to really stick to that, and my caddie did an awesome job reminding me of that.”

As for McCarthy, he’ll take plenty away from this week, even though he missed out on the hardware.

“I’m hitting the ball really nice, chipping and putting really nice. Just kind of committing to my process and freeing it up and not really caring where it goes,” McCarthy said. “I did that really well all week, especially today also, Sunday afternoon, last group. It stings right now, but I found a lot of good things in my game this week mentally and physically, so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

How will changes to No. 2 at Augusta National impact the 2024 Masters? Rory McIlroy weighs in

“I thought the tee box was going to point you out towards that right bunker,” McIlroy said.

Tweaks to the golf course have become the norm at Augusta National in recent years, and the 88th Masters Tournament will mark the third straight tournament in which the course has seen some minor adjustments.

This year, the tees on No. 2 will be moved back 10 yards and to the golfer’s left. Known as Pink Dogwood, this brings the par 5’s maximum distance to 585 yards and it remains the longest on the course.

While many thought the different angle would make a dramatic difference, Rory McIlroy said prior to the Valero Texas Open that a recent scouting trip to Augusta had him underwhelmed by the change.

“I thought it was going to be a different visual than it used to be,” McIlroy said. “I thought whenever someone said they moved it back and to the left, I thought the tee box was going to point you out towards that right bunker and you’re going to have to hit more of a draw around the corner. I mean, if you didn’t know, you would think you were on the same tee box, it doesn’t look that much different.

“You can still see left of the bunker and I thought it was really going to force you to hit some sort of draw shot around the corner, but you can still, you can still hit a straight away shot and keep it left of the trap. It’s not as drastic of a change as I thought it was going to be.”

Jon Rahm surveys the no. 2 green during a practice round for The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Network

The move was meant to help toughen up what has been one of the easiest holes on the golf course. No. 2 was ranked as the least difficult on the course during the 2023 Masters Tournament with a 4.637 scoring average. Its 4.775 cumulative scoring average since 1942 ranks 17 overall (just ahead of No. 13), with a high of 4.996 (1957) and a low of 4.467 (2020).

Before the 2023 tournament, the tees on No. 13 were moved back 35 yards, changes that were a topic of conversation all week. A pair of changes took place in 2022, including moving the No. 15 tee back 20 yards and the No. 11 tee back 15 yards and to the left. The tee box on No. 5 was also moved back 40 yards prior to the 2019 tournament.

While on hand for a practice round, McIlroy noticed a few other subtle changes to the course. Of course, the Masters is the only major to have eluded him and he’ll come in as one of the betting favorites, just behind Scottie Scheffler.

2024 Masters: Hole-by-hole guide to Augusta National

McIlroy noticed changes on every other hole through the first half-dozen at Augusta National.

“There’s new greens on 2, 4 and 6,” hesaid. “There’s like a back middle hole location on 2, there’s a slightly bigger area in there where they can sort of move that around a little bit.

“On 4, they’ve sort of made the back right section a little bit bigger for an extra pin position there.

“And then 6 is different, like the top right plateau is definitely bigger and then they’ve flattened out a section in the back left to maybe have an extra hole location there, too. Those are the three changes.”

Will Cheney of the Augusta Chronicle contributed to this report.

2024 Valero Texas Open Sunday tee times, PGA Tour pairings and how to watch

The purse at the Valero is $9.2 million with $1.656 million going to the winner.

With 18 holes left of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio in Texas, Akshay Bhatia leads by four shots at 15 under after a third-round 4-under 68.

Denny McCarthy, looking for his first win on the PGA Tour, is alone in second at 11 under. Three shots behind him is Brendon Todd at 8 under, while Hideki Matsuyama and Russell Henley are tied for fourth at 7 under.

The purse at the Valero is $9.2 million with $1.656 million going to the winner. The winner will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Valero: Photos | Best merchandise

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the final round of the 2024 Valero Texas Open. All times listed are ET.

Sunday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
10:20 a.m.
Martin Laird, Matt Fitzpatrick, Webb Simpson
10:30 a.m.
Chez Reavie, Tyson Alexander, Austin Eckroat
10:40 a.m.
Ryan Moore, Matti Schmid, Peter Kuest
10:50 a.m.
Chan Kim, Andrew Novak, Bud Cauley
11 a.m.
Keith Mitchell, Josh Teater, Max Homa
11:10 a.m.
Nick Hardy, Justin Lower, Sam Stevens
11:20 a.m.
Parker Coody, Mac Meissner, Jordan Spieth
11:30 a.m.
Andrew Putnam, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Vince Whaley
11:40 a.m.
Tommy Fleetwood, Alexander Bjork, Adam Scott
11:50 a.m.
Mark Hubbard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Adam Schenk
12 p.m.
Rory McIlroy, Lucas Glover, Ben Martin
12:10 p.m.
Rico Hoey, Stewart Cink, Alex Noren
12:20 p.m.
Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley, Ludvig Aberg
12:30 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Denny McCarthy, Brendon Todd

10th tee

Tee time Players
10:20 a.m.
Vincent Norrman, C.T. Pan, Davis Thompson
10:30 a.m.
Garrick Higgo, Kevin Chappell, Brian Harman
10:40 a.m.
Joe Highsmith, Aaron Baddeley, Tyler Duncan
10:50 a.m.
Corey Conners, Carl Yuan, Nate Lashley
11 a.m.
Ben Griffin, S.H. Kim, Bronson Burgoon
11:10 a.m.
Victor Perez, Robby Shelton, Ryo Hisatsune
11:20 a.m.
Kevin Streelman, Kevin Kisner, Dylan Wu
11:30 a.m.
Charley Hoffman, Harry Hall, Pierceson Coody
11:40 a.m.
Tom Whitney, Collin Morikawa, Kevin Yu
11:50 a.m.
Aaron Rai, Maverick McNealy, Nicolai Hojgaard
12 p.m.
David Lipsky, Brandt Snedeker, J.J. Spaun
12:10 p.m.
Beau Hossler, Hayden Springer, Adam Svensson
12:20 p.m.
Lanto Griffin, Ben Kohles
12:30 p.m.
Ben Silverman, Ryan McCormick

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. You can also watch the Valero Texas Open on Golf Channel free on Fubo. All times ET.

Sunday, April 7

Golf Channel/Peacock: 1-2:30 p.m

NBC: 2:30-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+: 10 a.m.-6 p.m

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

Watch: Jordan Spieth hit into a drain and then a gutter on the clubhouse roof at the Valero Texas Open

What a journey for Spieth.

SAN ANTONIO — For as much nervous energy as Jordan Spieth often appears to play with, he seems to have a calm about him as he saunters around the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course, a track record of success at the Valero Texas Open firmly in his back pocket.

Spieth won here in 2021, his second-most recent victory behind his 2022 RBC Heritage win, and he also has three top-10 finishes in the event.

But the final hole of Spieth’s third round on Saturday not only had the Texas legend displaying his normal jitters, it also gave him a tour of the course he may not have previously taken.

After pulling his drive left through the fairway on the 618-yard par 5, Spieth’s second shot ended up near a drainage ditch in an area few have found themselves.

But rather than take the conventional route back into the fairway, the former University of Texas star displayed the creativity that only he can, taking a full swing in the wrong direction. The ball ended up in the gutter atop the TPC San Antonio clubhouse, affording Spieth a drop that would give him a chance to salvage par.

Unfortunately for him, after putting the ball onto the front of the green, Spieth three-putted for the day’s only double-bogey on the 18th hole.

He finished the day at even par 72 and heads into the final round at 3 under.

Watch: Ludvig Aberg snaps his driver, ends up with eagle putt at Valero Texas Open en route to a 67

Ludvig Aberg has a silky smooth swing, but don’t be fooled, the Swedish star packs a healthy dose of power into every cut.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Ludvig Aberg has a silky smooth swing, but don’t be fooled, the Swedish star packs a healthy dose of power into every cut.

And that was never more evident than Saturday during the third round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio.

The Texas Tech product was swinging away on the risk/reward No. 17 at the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course, a par 4 that was playing just over 300 yards from the front tee. But when he made contact, his driver head snapped clean off. Did it mean disaster? Not for Aberg, who has been as steady as a rock this season, making the cut in all seven of his starts.

His drive bounced just to the right of the green and hopped to within 11 feet, giving him an eagle opportunity on a hole that could have been a mess. Although he missed the eagle putt, he tapped in for his third birdie in eight holes, getting to 4 under for the tournament.

“It was odd, it was bizarre,” Aberg said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that, not even in practice or anything, I’ve never seen it before, so I was just in shock. I’m glad the ball stayed in bounds because I really don’t know what could have happened. Somehow it made it all the way to the green, I don’t know how.”

Aberg, who already has a win under his belt at the PGA Tour’s 2023 RSM Classic, is a Titleist player who had been using the TSR2 (9 degrees) with a Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft through the Players Championship.

More: Ludvig Aberg on his rapid rise, earliest Masters memory and being a rookie in the majors

A PGA Tour rules official was kind enough to run back to the locker room to grab Aberg’s backup driver, one that he’s played a few rounds with in the past. He bombed a drive on the 18th hole of the day, and even though he only managed par, he finished the day with a 67, and he sits firmly inside the top 10 at 6 under for the event.

Aberg wasn’t blaming the manufacturer or anyone else who was involved with the driver.

“I think there’s a screw that came off. It’s on me, I should have checked that a little bit better, but luckily we were able to get a new one on the next tee box,” he said. “I hit some good drives after that as well.”

2024 Valero Texas Open Saturday tee times, PGA Tour pairings and how to watch

The purse at the Valero is $9.2 million with $1.656 million going to the winner.

After 36 holes of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio in Texas, Akshay Bhatia holds a five-shot lead at 11 under after a second-round 2-under 70, a solid follow-up to his 63 on Thursday.

Brendon Todd, Russell Henley and Denny McCarthy are tied for second at 6 under, while Rory McIlroy is alone in fifth at 5 under.

Bhatia, who’s finished T-17 and T-11 in two starts since missing the cut at the Players Championship, has one PGA Tour win on his resume, the 2023 Barracuda Championship.

The purse at the Valero is $9.2 million with $1.656 million going to the winner. The winner will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.

Valero: Photos | Best merchandise

From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the third round of the 2024 Valero Texas Open. All times listed are ET.

Saturday tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
10:25 a.m.
Alexander Bjork, C.T. Pan, Justin Lower
10:35 a.m.
Garrick Higgo, Sam Stevens, Kevin Streelman
10:45 a.m.
Ben Griffin, Chez Reavie, Hideki Matsuyama
10:55 a.m.
Andrew Putnam, Charley Hoffman, Max Homa
11:05 a.m.
Chan Kim, Rico Hoey, Pierceson Coody
11:15 a.m.
Bronson Burgoon, Kevin Chappell, Victor Perez
11:25 a.m.
Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Austin Eckroat
11:35 a.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Ben Martin, Tyler Duncan
11:45 a.m.
Mark Hubbard, Corey Conners, Martin Laird
11:55 a.m.
Jordan Spieth, Thorbjorn Olsen, Ryan Moore
12:05 p.m.
Matti Schmid, Robby Shelton, Nick Hardy
12:15 p.m.
Webb Simpson, Adam Schenk, Peter Kuest
12:25 p.m.
Denny McCarthy, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood
12:35 p.m.
Akshay Bhatia, Brendon Todd, Russell Henley

10th tee

Tee time Players
10:25 a.m.
Adam Scott, Ludvig Aberg, Davis Thompson
10:35 a.m.
Ben Silverman, Keith Mitchell, Mate Lashley
10:45 a.m.
Kevin Kisner, Adam Svensson, Josh Teater
10:55 a.m.
Harry Hall, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, S.H. Kim
11:05 a.m.
Tom Whitney, Vince Whaley, Andrew oivak
11:15 a.m.
Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman, Tyson Alexander
11:25 a.m.
Joe Highsmith, Parker Coody, Lanto Griffin
11:35 a.m.
Bud Cauley, Ben Kohles, Alex Noren
11:45 a.m.
Kevin Yu, Mac Meissner, Ryan McCormick
11:55 a.m.
Aaron Rai, Maverick McNealy, Nicolai Hoojgaard
12:05 p.m.
Carl Yuan, Matt Fitzpatrick, Brandt Snedker
12:15 p.m.
J.J. Spaun, Vincent Norrman, David Lipsky
12:25 p.m.
Dylan Wu, Bea Hossler
12:35 p.m.
Ryo Hisatune, Hayden Springer

How to watch, listen

ESPN+ is the exclusive home of PGA Tour Live. You can also watch the Valero Texas Open on Golf Channel free on Fubo. All times ET.

Saturday, April 6

Golf Channel/Peacock: 1-3:30 p.m

NBC: 3:30-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 3-6 p.m

ESPN+: 10 a.m.-6 p.m

Sunday, April 7

Golf Channel/Peacock: 1-2:30 p.m

NBC: 2:30-6 p.m.

Sirius XM: 1-6 p.m

ESPN+: 10 a.m.-6 p.m

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

Watch: Jimmy Walker snaps putter with Rory McIlroy, Smylie Kaufman on the call – and their reaction was priceless

This was too good.

Jimmy Walker hit a nice third shot into the par-5 eighth at TPC San Antonio during the second round of the Valero Texas Open on Friday and left himself a seven-foot birdie putt.

When Golf Channel panned to Walker to show his attempt, Smylie Kaufman was hosting his ‘Happy Hour’ segment with Rory McIlroy in the guest chair. Walker took the putter back, made his stroke and was disappointed when his ball failed to fall right at the cup, leaving him a three-foot par putt behind the hole.

But then he did something Kaufman and McIlroy weren’t expecting.

After taking a step towards his ball, Walker snapped the putter head right off the shaft.

“We’ve all been there,” McIlroy said.

“I must say, of things I expected to happen just then, I don’t think I expected the club to snap in half,” Kaufman responded.

“I didn’t think Jimmy was that strong,” McIlroy joked.

Walker was 2-over after nine holes Friday, 4 over total.

The ‘unique’ 16th hole at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course has a new nickname — and it’s delicious

The shirts started flying out of the merchandise tent early Thursday and by Friday they were all gone.

SAN ANTONIO — Ask those who consistently play the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course, and the responses regarding the unique design of the 16th green are, um … unsavory.

“Who would do that?”

“I feel like they were trying to torture us.”

“To be honest, I don’t understand what the hell they were thinking when they built that hole.”

These were just a few of the comments from volunteers and members who play the Greg Norman-designed 18 on a regular basis.

The 16th hole measures around 180 yards, depending on tee placement, and includes a feature that is distinctive, to say the least — a massive bunker smack dab in the middle of the green. It’s long been an interesting twist for PGA Tour players at the Valero Texas Open. The attribute was likely paying homage to No. 6 at Riviera Country Club, a course designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William P. Bell.

The Oaks Course was designed by Norman, in consultation with Sergio Garcia. When 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.

TPC San Antonio Oaks
The StrackaLine yardage book for the 16th hole at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course in Texas, site of the PGA Tour’s Texas Valero Open (Courtesy of StrackaLine)

And while it’s well-known among locals that a rarely-if-ever used tee box that changes the hole dramatically was all Garcia’s idea, there’s no official word on who came up with the concept to drop a pit in the middle of a luscious green space.

But leave it to a merchandising manager to see how delectable the feature could be.

Enter Liz Ortiz, a graduate of nearby Texas State, who started working in merchandising with the course nearly four years ago. Ortiz admits she knows little about golf, but when she first toured the course, the thing that popped out to her was the green on 16.

“During COVID we were out here looking at the property. It was my first Valero,” said Ortiz, who originally hails from Fort Worth. “The former merchandising manager was showing me around and on 16 I was like, ‘Wow is this called the avocado hole?’ She looked at me and said, ‘No, it’s just 16.’ And I said, ‘Well it looks a lot like an avocado. Let’s call it that.’ But nothing really happened.”

More: The urban legend of TPC San Antonio’s ‘Sergio tees’ on the 16th hole (and will they ever be used again?)

Fast-forward to last winter, when some of the TPC San Antonio staff members were on a call with folks from PGA Tour headquarters to discuss potential logo changes and new merchandise ideas.

Ortiz, who has been promoted, got a nudge from Jason Polka, the resort’s former director of golf, to dust off her idea.

“We normally collaborate on artwork and someone asked if we had a signature hole. I was like, well, not really, but I do love the 16th because it looks like an avocado,” she said. “They loved the idea and mocked up some artwork.”

Merchandise from the 2024 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. (Photo: Tim Schmitt/Golfweek)

The response was instant. The shirts started flying out of the merchandise tent early Thursday and only picked up steam after local hero Jordan Spieth aced the hole in his opening round of play. By mid-morning on Friday all the shirts were gone.

“Everyone has been coming in here saying, ‘Where’s the avocado shirt? Where’s the avocado shirt?'” Ortiz said. “It’s done really, really well.”

So what’s next, now that The Avocado has clearly struck a chord with fans?

“Next year we’ll try to have more shirts, headwear, accessories, towels, everything,” Ortiz said. “I want to bring it into the golf shop and add it to our network. I think it’s cool.”