“That’s the attitude I’m going to take this week,” Spieth responded. “Once I hit it in the trees, inevitably, I’ll be like, well, I can only get better from here, right?”
Spieth’s comment proved prophetic, although it wasn’t the trees at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course that dropped him to that line of thinking.
Instead, Spieth’s faux pas came on the sixth green with the reigning tournament champion just four strokes off the lead.
Spieth was a little long with his approach at the 404-yard par-4, but was in good position to save par after a nice chip put him to around two feet.
That’s when the former Texas Longhorn lost his focus.
After making double, Spieth sat at 2 under, just barely above the projected cutline.
He had gotten into good position by virtue of a 34 on his opening nine — the back — and then had a pair of birdies after the turn to get within striking distance of the leaders.
Putting has been one of the wildcards for Spieth, who finished second in Strokes Gained: Putting back in 2015-16, but has dropped to 141st on Tour in that stat this season.
Matsuyama withdrew from the Valero after just missing a hole-in-one on the 16th hole.
SAN ANTONIO — Just 10 days after he told media members he was at 80 percent in his recovery from neck and shoulder injuries suffered during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama pulled out of the Valero Texas Open on Friday.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of treatment,” Matsuyama said on March 22 in a conference call with reporters. “I’ll do my best to prepare well so I can defend my title at Augusta. I haven’t been able to practice as much as I’d like, but what I have been doing, I feel like I’m on the right track.”
Matsuyama has a pair of victories on Tour this year, the last coming at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he has a total of eight on the PGA Tour to go with eight wins on the Japan Golf Tour. The 30-year-old is tied with K.J. Choi for most PGA Tour wins by an Asian-born player.
Also, Kevin Tway withdrew from the Valero with a wrist injury.
Everything you need to know for the second round of the 2022 Valero Texas Open.
The PGA Tour is in San Antonio, Texas, for the Valero Texas Open this week. Defending champion Jordan Spieth is in the field but is once again trying to find his game.
TPC San Antonio will play as a par 72, measuring in at 7,438 yards.
Russell Knox, playing this week for a spot in the Masters, got off to a hot start, firing a 7-under 65. Knox hasn’t had much success at this event in his career but came into the week with great form, recently grabbing a top 10 at the Players.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2022 Valero Texas Open. All times Eastern.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
Last season, Kuchar missed as many cuts (12) as he made (12).
SAN ANTONIO — Matt Kuchar finds himself at the point in his career when reflection starts to take precedence.
It’s been more than three years since the four-time Ryder Cupper won an individual PGA Tour event. The last time he made the cut in a major was before the pandemic. And last season, Kuchar missed as many cuts (12) as he made (12).
But the 43-year-old can still get it rolling when things click, as he did during the opening round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course on Thursday. Using a string of six birdies in eight holes, Kuchar finished the day with an impressive 67, just two shots off the lead after the early wave.
And while that 67 is impressive, he achieved an even more impressive number — making his 500th career start on Tour. The Georgia Tech product still has a long way to climb into the top 10 in Tour starts (more than 200, in fact) but he admitted that’s the kind of eye-popping figure that can give cause for contemplation.
“Five hundred, it’s a number I don’t put a whole lot of stake into that being a huge feather in the cap or anything. It is a big number. It’s kind of caused me to just reflect a little bit going, holy cow, 500 is a big number.
“I think I look back and I go, what a great ride, what a great run, how much I’ve enjoyed my years out on Tour. It’s been an incredible journey, for sure, and I’ve been fortunate to share most of the 500 with my family. They’ve been traveling most of the time, so it’s really been an enjoyable stretch.”
On Thursday, he made just a single bogey and played the Greg Norman design with few flaws, like he has numerous times before. Although he hasn’t played the Texas Open since 2017, Kuchar has enjoyed plenty of success in his nine previous trips to the Alamo City, finishing in the top 15 on five occasions and never missing the cut.
“This course is one of my favorites out on Tour. There’s a lot of good and bad that can happen here. I feel like this place really punishes the bad shots, but it’s a type of course that it rewards good quality shots,” he said. “I was kind of managing early on in the round and then found a little something on about the fifth or sixth hole where started having some birdie chances and converted on a few birdie chances late in my first round, first nine, and I was able to kind of maintain some good golf throughout my second nine today.”
Matt Kuchar plays his shot on the 14th hole during the first round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio on March 31, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Kuchar said his swing has started to feel better of late, and he believes he has what it takes to contend at this event, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this week — making it the sixth-oldest golf tournament in the world.
See? There’s nothing wrong with having plenty of birthdays under your belt. In fact, Kuchar said he never feels the need to press when he’s playing well, knowing opportunities will continue to surface, albeit at a different frequency than they once did.
“I think each shot presents its own scenario of the right shot for the moment,” he said. “Even if I’m on, I don’t know that being overly aggressive is always the key. Each one presents kind of a different opportunity. It depends so much on what hazards lie around each area you’re looking to hit towards.”
“I would love to win and get to play next week, that’s obviously why I’m here.”
Russell Knox knows he has to win the Valero Texas Open to earn an invitation into next week’s Masters.
A tall order, indeed.
Sort of like climbing Mount Everest, if you will, considering how tough it is to win, period, and considering his history in the event. He missed his last three cuts at the Valero and his best finish in six starts was a tie for 26th.
And the Scot hasn’t won since the 2018 Irish Open and hasn’t tasted victory on the PGA Tour since the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, his second title.
So, of course, Knox, ranked 169th in the official world rankings, went out and shot a bogey-free, 7-under-par 65 Thursday in the first round on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. It was the first time in 19 rounds he’s broken 70 in the event.
“Obviously thrilled with the round,” Knox said. “I took care of business off the tee, which was nice. Obviously, this course, if you get offline, it can be very penal. So I drove the ball well, iron play was solid again and just a couple of those good luck moments starting the round kind of got my momentum nice.”
Those would include a chip-in on the seventh and superb up-and-downs on the sixth and ninth holes.
“Those were kind of the key parts that allowed me to kind of settle into the back nine and have some easier birdies,” Knox said.
As the afternoon wave began play, Knox was the leader in the clubhouse. While he’s taken a significant fall in the world rankings from a career-high rank of 18th in 2017, he’s played well of late – a tie for sixth in The Players Championship and a tie for seventh in the Sony Open in Hawaii this year.
“It’s been more kind of the way I want to play golf. I’ve been a little more consistent tee to green. I’m back to kind of feeling like the way I should be playing, which has been nice,” he said. “Sometimes when you’re putting in work and you don’t get results, it’s very demoralizing. But it’s nice, I’ve practiced hard and I’m starting to see some benefits.”
And he has an envied temperament.
“I would love to win and get to play next week, that’s obviously why I’m here,” said Knox, who missed the cut in 2016 and 2017 in his only Masters appearances. “I know my game is good so I’ve got to keep playing and see if I can have a great finish. It would be the biggest bonus of the year, obviously, if that happened, but no, I’m quite happy to sit on the couch with my dog next week, too.
“But I mean, I’m going to try my hardest to finish first this week.”
Ancer’s best finish at the Valero came last season when he tied for 23rd.
Abraham Ancer was one of the betting favorites coming into the week at TPC San Antonio (+2000) but has withdrawn from the Valero Texas Open. The reason for withdrawal were not disclosed. He’s being replaced in the field by Scott Gutschewski.
This week was a home game for Ancer, as the 31-year-old lives in San Antonio. He bounced back from missed cut at the Valspar Championship nicely last week at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, making it past the group stage but eventually losing in the Elite Eight.
In four appearances at the Valero, Ancer has made the weekend in all four starts with his best finish coming last season when he tied for 23rd.
Andrew Landry has also withdrawn from the tournament. He’s being replaced by Jared Wolfe.
“Tiger went on to have a pretty good career. I’m currently between win one and two.”
SAN ANTONIO — It’s been 26 long years since David Ogrin posted his debut victory on the PGA Tour — one in which he held off a youngster named Tiger Woods — and although the memory of the win fades, Ogrin was recently noteworthy thanks to an unbecoming stat.
Ogrin held on for the victory and the $216,000 top prize at the 1996 Texas Open, edging Woods by two strokes and Jay Haas by one at La Cantera Golf Club, all despite a triple on the par-3 sixth hole and a bogey on the tournament’s final hole.
When Ogrin saw his name pop up on a recent broadcast, he admits he laughed.
“That was one of those stats I saw and I went, ‘well, isn’t that interesting,’ ” he said this week. “I mean, it happened. I made triple and won the tournament anyway.”
Now the owner of a golf academy in New Braunfels, a small but bustling city just a half-hour ride from TPC San Antonio, Ogrin said the memory of his victory is starting to fade. As the tournament celebrates its 100th anniversary — making it the sixth-oldest golf tournament in the world, the third oldest on Tour and the longest held in the same city — Ogrin realizes his chapter is falling farther back in the book.
David Ogrin and a student at the David Ogrin Golf Academy in New Braunfels, Texas. (Contributed photo)
“Time has a way of eroding excitement,” he said. “So I won in 1996, and we can play games like this — it was 26 years ago, so that’s as close to us today as it would be the other way to the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Perspective changes things.”
But Ogrin said that while he was thrilled to hang on and beat Woods at La Cantera, he knew he was witnessing something special. In fact, he said, almost everyone did.
“Tiger went on to have a pretty good career. I’m currently between win one and two.”
As for the current venue for the Texas Open, Ogrin insists the Tour has the right one when it comes to San Antonio. The tournament has spent time at historic Brackenridge Park Golf Course, Willow Springs Golf Course, Ft. Sam Houston Golf Course, Oak Hills Country Club, Pecan Valley Woodlake Golf Club, and the Resort Course at La Cantera before moving to its current home, The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.
“It’s being played exactly where it should be played. There’s no other course in San Antonio that is up to the task of hosting the PGA Tournament at the level that the guys play at now,” he said. “These days you need a footprint as big as TPC for a PGA Tour event. When you play that course from the back tees or a combination of the two back tees, which they’ll use, it is a true test of modern golf skill. But if we go play it, if we play anything farther back than the green tees, we should be indicted for idiocy. I go play it at 6,200 yards and I think it’s a blast.”
So should you look for Ogrin during this week’s festivities, especially with the tournament celebrating a major milestone?
“Because I’m old and cranky and run a business I don’t think I’ll go,” he said. “There have been a couple regime changes with the Texas Open, and in those changes, I’ve lost a lot of my contacts. I’m just basically a former champion who’s a civilian in relation to the tournament. They invited me to one of the events — I went and had lunch with Lee Trevino — but that’s the last time anyone contacted me. So I probably won’t make it.”
Well, there is an exception.
“The only thing that will get me out to the Texas Open on Sunday is if there’s a chance Jimmy Walker can win again,” Ogrin said. “Then I might make the trip.”
Rory McIlroy wants to win this week, but is preparing for the year’s first major at the same time.
In 2013, Rory McIlroy made his debut in the Valero Texas Open and finished second to Martin Laird.
Reasons varied as to why he never returned – tight schedule, playing in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play the week before, COVID-19.
This year, however, McIlroy felt the tournament would be an ideal fit en route to next week’s Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
“I played well here back in 2013 and 2013 wasn’t a great year for me anyway, but I definitely thought that the finish here gave me some confidence going into Augusta and ended up having a decent week there,” McIlroy, 32, said Wednesday at TPC San Antonio. “I just wanted to mix it up. I sort of haven’t really enjoyed the format of the Match Play the last couple years and I just wanted to mix it up and I still wanted to feel like I was sharp going into Augusta.
“I don’t want to make this week all about Augusta. I still want to be here and compete and try to win this golf tournament.”
The world No. 9 with 20 PGA Tour titles has played the week before a major 21 of 51 times since turning pro, including four ahead of the Masters (his best finish at Augusta National among the four was a tie for eighth in 2014). Three of his four major titles – the 2012 PGA and the 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA – came after playing the week before.
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the 1st hole during a practice round for The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
“Sometimes being idle at home you can just start to think about things or overthink things or whatever it is,” he said. “So to keep yourself busy and keep your mind on something else is a good thing. I’d just be basically doing what I did last week, practice and playing and just sort of waiting to go up there.
“And it was more just getting four competitive rounds in. And I wanted to play stroke play as well. I wanted my last competitive start before Augusta to be a stroke play event instead of match play. It’s two completely different mindsets, so that was part of the reason, too.”
McIlroy began his prep work for the Masters – the lone major he hasn’t won – Monday with a two-day trip to Augusta National. He saw the changes made to the course – three rebuilt greens (holes 3, 13 and 17) and holes No. 11 and No. 15 having been lengthened by 15 and 20 yards, respectively.
“I just wanted to go there and just see that for myself and sort of do a little bit of a scouting trip that I haven’t really done the last couple years,” McIlroy said. “It was good to be there, good to see the place. At least coming into this event and playing this week, I don’t feel like there’s a rush to get there next week and cram and prepare. I feel like I’ve already done most of my work, which is a nice feeling.”
McIlroy will continue his prep on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, as the course has similar features to Augusta National.
“I think around the greens it can prepare you,” McIlroy said. “I think the runoffs around the greens, the undulations on the greens, some of the shots you face if you miss a green. And some of the bunkering around this course, the bunkers are pretty deep around the greenside. I think more so around the greens and sort of off the tee. This is a generous course off the tee, Augusta’s somewhat generous as well, but it’s just a different look. I think around the greens more sort of the chipping and pitching aspects are good preparation.”
And heading into the Valero Texas Open, McIlroy is feeling much better about himself and his game than he was a year ago at this time. Back then, he was mired in a winless drought dating to 2019. He ended the barren stretch with a win in the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship, then won the CJ Cup at The Summit in the fall.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates winning The CJ Cup at The Summit Club on October 17, 2021, in Las Vegas. Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
“Chalk and cheese,” is how McIlroy put the difference. “I’m way more comfortable with my game, I’m happy with where everything is.
Joining the Lone Star state local in this week’s field is Rory McIlroy, who’s switching up his Masters preparation this year. He took off the Match Play and will make his first start at TPC San Antonio since 2013 (he finished runner-up).
Golf course
TPC San Antonio | Par 72 | 7,438 yards
The 18th hole at TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. (Photo: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports)
Key statistics
Strokes Gained: Approach: The fairways are on the wider side, and the rough at TPC San Antonio is the least penalizing on Tour, according to DataGolf.com. That leaves SG: APP as a key component in score variation.
Strokes Gained: Around the Green: There are a plethora of tricky run-off areas around this track. Getting up and down on a regular basis will be at a premium.
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. TPC Summerlin, 2. Monterey Penisula CC, 3. Nine Bridges
Like golf? How about two idiots talking PGA Tour, golf betting, and everything in-between? Oh, and a lot of laughs along the way. Listen to the Twilight 9 podcast!
I got killed at the Match Play. Lost every bet. Matthew Fitzpatrick lost in a playoff to Scottie Scheffler to advance. Alex Noren lost a winner take all match against Corey Conners. Max Homa couldn’t take down Dustin Johnson.
Time to move on.
Up 12.69 units on position plays, and up 26.5 units on outright plays in 2022.
[tipico]
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
“I want a 10‑day stretch of peaking from Thursday through the next Sunday.”
Jordan Spieth has been down this Texas road before.
A year ago, the Dallas native drove to the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open without having won since the 2017 Open Championship, the third of his three major triumphs.
The drive was far from depressing despite going 83 events without winning, for his form was on an encouraging uptick. After dropping to 92nd in the official world rankings a month into 2021 – his worst rank since 2012 – the former world No. 1 registered five top-15 finishes in six starts ahead of the Valero Texas Open.
The grind – his term to describe the exhaustive hours of work he put into his craft trying to regain his best form – was paying dividends. And he cashed in at TPC San Antonio with rounds of 67-70-67-66 to finish 18 under and two shots clear of the field for his 12th PGA Tour title.
Spieth was back.
Jordan Spieth holds the trophy after winning the Valero Texas Open. (Photo: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports)
But he’s been stuck on 12 wins and he’s once again looking to end a victory drought heading into this week’s Valero Texas Open. He’s made 20 starts since winning, with only five top 10s (although he finished runner-up in the 2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the 2021 Open Championship, and the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge).
Unlike a year ago, however, Spieth is struggling heading into his title defense. A tie for 26th in the Genesis Invitational is his best finish in his last four starts.
“I feel like this year I’ve been actually striking the ball better than I was coming in last year throughout 2022, thus far,” Spieth said Tuesday at TPC San Antonio. “I’ve got a little bit to show for it, but not a ton and a lot of that just comes down to knocking putts in. So I’ve just got to get a little sharper on the greens.”
Maybe more than a little. Spieth, who has had to adjust his life away from the golf course since he and his wife, Annie, welcomed their first child, son, Sammy, into the world on November 11, ranks 141st in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour, 90th in Total Putting, and 105th in Putting Average.
But he remains patient – as he did while enduring his nearly four-year winless stretch.
“I arrived back here and I don’t think about the first however many times I’ve played this place; last year is really what comes to mind,” Spieth said. “It was just a really cool week because it was just a monkey off the back, less about what I put on myself and more about just having to answer the questions and I just kind of got annoyed with that, because I was playing really well and the difference in finishing third or fourth sometimes is simply a bad wind gust or a couple putts that you did nothing wrong on.
“I overreacted to that in the past and I didn’t last year and I think it led to being successful on Sunday.”
Also in Spieth’s favor is his affection for the windswept Oaks Course.
“The golf course itself is such a challenge,” he said. “You normally have to play it in wind, you normally have to play it in different winds, so you almost play two different golf courses. You’ve got to flight the ball, got to shot-make, got to be really precise with your distance control into these greens. I really enjoy that challenge here. Fairway surfaces, green surfaces are money. I’m sure they’ll be able to speed these greens up as this wind dies down as the week goes on, and it’s in as good of shape as I remember seeing it.”
Spieth loves next week’s course, too – Augusta National Golf Club, home to the Masters. He has often and willingly talked about his fondness for the emerald gem that rolls through the Georgia Pines, how imagination, shot-making, and creativity on the perilous greens bring out the best in him.
He will be making his ninth start next week at Augusta National. In his first start, he tied for second in 2014, then won in record-tying fashion in 2015, then tied for second in 2016. He tied for 11th in 2017 and finished third in 2018.
Last year, after winning in San Antonio, he tied for third.
Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of The Masters golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
His career scoring average of 70.32 in 32 rounds is the lowest in the Masters for anyone who has played at least 25 rounds; five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods has a 70.87 average.
His mind will wander to Georgia this week, he’ll hit shots needed for next week. But he certainly won’t neglect the task at hand in the Lone Star State.
“I want a 10‑day stretch of peaking from Thursday through the next Sunday, so I’m trying to save energy,” he said. “I did that a lot last year, too, and I felt like I was primed by Sunday. I’m just trying to do the exact same thing, which is not very different from any other week to week as well.
“I would say maybe a little bit more dialing on a couple shots, thinking about next week, and that could only help for this week.”
