Round 1, Valero Texas Open

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May. 20, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's first round of the Valero Texas Open. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:40 am ET No. 10		Michael Bradley, Mark Wilson, Anthony Kim Anthony Kim finished as a runner-up here in his first start on the PGA TOUR. Can he improve on that this week? Track 'em
1:45 pm ET No. 1		Justin Leonard, Chad Campbell, Brian Bateman Justin Leonard is a three-time winner at the Valero Texas Open, while fellow Texan Campbell looks for his first. Track 'em
1:55 pm ET No. 1		Nolan Henke, Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson Zach Johnson is the defending champ and tees it up with long-hitting, TOUR winner Dustin Johnson. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Thursday's first round:

As the first tournament to crack the FedExCup portion of the schedule from the Fall Series, and coming on the heels of THE PLAYERS Championship, the Valero Texas Open might be overlooked by some, but others see a fabulous opportunity.

Ryan Palmer was born in Amarillo, used to live in San Antonio, went to Texas A&M and often wears the Dallas Cowboys logo on his shirt and on his bag. He knows what this tournament was as recently as a year ago because he also won a Fall Series event a few weeks later in Palm Coast, Fla.

Thursday's forecast

Isolated T-storms
Temp: 96 high/74 low
Isolated thunderstorms are expected during the first round with winds coming from the south, southeast at 17 mph.

For that win, he got a two-year exemption on TOUR and a trip to the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship, but no FedExCup points and no ticket to the Masters this past April, all of which is on the line this week. That, and the fact that the last two winners, Johnson and Justin Leonard, emerged from big slumps with wins here that re-energized their careers makes this a tournament worth playing and paying attention to.

By the way, Palmer thinks the move to spring could produce even lower scores than the 19-under totals of the last two winners. He told me that with the Bermuda rough a little shorter and less penal than it is in the fall, he truly thinks this year it'll be a "race to 20 and maybe more" for the winner, something he's fine with. Palmer's two PGA TOUR wins came with scores of 22 under at Disney and 7 under at Ginn Sur Mer last fall.

From the category of "go figure," defending champion Zach Johnson has won four of his five tournaments on courses more suited to a mountain goat than a kid from the Iowa prairie. Zach's victories have come at the hilly TPC Sugarloaf outside Atlanta (twice), Augusta National and here at La Cantera. He's also played well, and is on the board of the John Deere Classic, played at the surprisingly roller-coaster TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities. Maybe the "go figure" is how he won at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu this January, one of the TOUR's flattest courses. Don't worry about trying to figure out why, Zach told me he had no idea either.

Stat of the day

Justin Leonard is a three-time winner of the Valero Texas Open, was a runner-up twice and has a whopping nine top-25 finishes overall in 11 Texas Open appearances.

FEDEXCUP NOTES: ROUND 1
• Currently sixth in the FedExCup standings, Zach Johnson is the only player who could pass Geoff Ogilvy for the top spot in the standings with a victory at the Valero Texas Open.

Johnson

• Nine players could move into the top 10 this week with a victory, but only Dustin Johnson could move into the top 10 with a solo third or better finish.

• Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson have each played in 12 events this season and are both trying for their second win. However in their other 11 starts, Z. Johnson has averaged more than twice the points per start than D. Johnson and is ahead by 235 points in the standings.

• Three-time Valero Texas Open winner Justin Leonard ranked in the top 10 in the FedExCup standings every week in 2008 and finished eighth overall in the final standings.

• Currently 46th in the standings, Leonard needs a victory this week to reach the top 10 in the standings.

-- Mike Vitti, PGA TOUR Staff

The Film Room

	Opening Shot Marc Fein and Brian Katrek recap Henrik Stenson's victory at THE PLAYERS Championship, analyze Tiger Woods' recent play and look ahead to the Texas Swing starting this week. Watch it
	Fantasy Insider: 2009 Valero Texas Open Need help with your fantasy picks for the 2009 Valero Texas Open? John Swantek and the Fantasy Insider can help you out. Watch it
	Outside the ropes: Zach Johnson Learn about defending Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson's favorite meal, his first job, and what subject he enjoyed in school. Watch it