Is the Texas Open a Masters dress rehearsal? Hardly...

Every April, the golf calendar shifts its focus toward Augusta, Georgia - but the road to the Masters runs directly through San Antonio and The Valero Texas Open. This final pre-Masters competition - still with $9+m prize money - serves as a prep race for some, a last-ditch qualifier for others and simply some bread on the table for the Augusta DNQs.

Those who have their tickets might decide to simply head down to Georgia and get their heads straight… Nicolai Højgaard and Daniel Berger have opted for a week of rest, and Collin Morikawa was forced to withdraw Tuesday due to lingering back spasms—but that said, the Texas Open field still has some heavy hitters like Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, and Jordan Spieth lining up.

The TPC San Antonio (The Oaks Course) was designed by Greg Norman, with Sergio Garcia as the player consultant, and is notorious as one of the most punishing stops on the PGA Tour. A Par 72 stretching to 7,438 yards, it’s a gruelling test of precision with incredibly narrow fairways (averaging just 25–30 yards wide) framed by dense stands of live oaks and rocky areas that make Dartmoor remind one of Croquet. The old apocryphal story was that Norman was having a few “personal issues” and took it out on the course during the design phase, allegedly declaring, “I’m not going to be the only miserable bastard playing golf!”

The result is a course with a 76.5 rating and a 148 slope, featuring deep bunkers (including the famous one in the middle of the 16th green) and firm, fast surfaces. There are four Par 5s that are statistically among the toughest “four-pack” on Tour. While they offer scoring chances, the 600+ yard monsters (like the 2nd and 8th) can just as easily ruin a scorecard. All of that, of course, is before you take into account the Texas Wind. When it blows, winning scores can plummet; last year, Brian Harman took the title at just 9-under par. This year, the weather looks volatile, with gusts up to 25 MPH and a constant threat of thundershowers. We won last week with a 100/1+ winner, and fingers crossed, we’re heading down Winners Avenue again!

EIGHT AGAINST THE FIELD

Boylesports, Ladbrokes and Coral are going 10 places, with the corresponding impact on value; many are going 6 places… yer pays yer money an’ yer takes yer choice!

I shall remain wedded to Betfair, as I simply cannot work out what a tied 5th bet pays when there are six finishes and two of them are left-handed, and one is a Swede!

I feel a surprise coming on - a weekend for wild shots!