May. 12, 2010
By PGATOUR.COM staff
This year, the tournament moves to TPC San Antonio's AT&T Oaks Course. The new course can stretch to 7,500 yards and includes three par 5s measuring more than 600 yards. The project also includes the Pete Dye-designed AT&T Canyons Course, the future home of the city's Champions Tour event, and the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa.
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| TV/Radio (all times ET) |
| TV: GOLF CHANNEL (Thu.-Fri., 3-6 p.m.); CBS (Sat.-Sun. 3-6 p.m.) |
| RADIO: PGA TOUR NETWORK - Sirius 209, XM 146, PGATOUR.COM (Thu.-Sun. 12-6 p.m.) |
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| Weather |
The weather calls for thunderstorms Thursday-Sunday, with temperatures in the high 80s, low 90s. Winds will be from 5-10 mph.
Updated weather info |
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CONSULTANT ADVANTAGE: Sergio Garcia served as a Player Consultant to Greg Norman on the design of this course. He's seeking his first win since the 2008 PLAYERS Championship. He's made the cut in eight of nine starts this year with a fourth at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship his best effort. This will be just his second career start in the Valero Texas Open. He finished 79th in 2003.
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Zach Johnson was four strokes worse last year but was still able to walk away with his second Valero Texas Open title. In 2008, Johnson was 19-under in defeating Charlie Wi, Tim Wilkinson and Mark Wilson by two strokes. A year ago, Johnson was 15-under, tying him with James Driscoll at the end of regulation. Johnson won the playoff with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
SPONSORS CHOICE: Bobby Gates, a Texas A&M graduate and this season's Nationwide Tour leading money-winner, is taking a break from his home Tour to tee it up in San Antonio this week. Gates received a sponsor's exemption into the event. Gates also played at the Valero Texas Open in 2009, tying for 47th. That remains his only PGA TOUR start. This season, the Gainesville, Fla., native won the season-opening Michael Hill New Zealand Open. He has earned $186,383. In his last start, Gates tied for seventh at the Stadion Athens Classic at UGA in Georgia. Prior to this season, Gates had never played a Nationwide Tour event.
FEDEXCUP LEADER: Ernie Els, a two-time winner in 2010 -- including his first World Golf Championships win, at the CA Championship -- is making his first Valero Texas Open start this week. Els is first in the FedExCup standings and counts two other top-10 finishes this season to go with his two victories.
CAN WE WIN A FOURTH?: A three-time winner of the Valero Texas Open, Leonard would be the first to ever win the tournament four times. Arnold Palmer is the only other player to win the Valero Texas Open three times. Leonard has also been second here twice and has 7 Top 10 finishes in 12 starts in this tournament. He's 135-under with 38 of his 46 rounds in the 60s.
FOND HISTORY: Dallas resident Tommy Armour III is playing primarily on the Champions Tour this year, but should have a fondness for this event -- he won here in 2003 setting an all-time PGA TOUR scoring record. He has three Top 10 finishes in five starts on the Champions Tour with a runner-up effort at the ACE Group Classic his best. He shot 61 in the final round there to finish just behind Fred Couples.
HOME GAME: The San Antonio resident won earlier this year at the Mayakoba Classic for his third TOUR win. He won in 2001, but lost his fully exempt privileges in 2005 and 2006 before bouncing back and winning again in 2008. He's struggled since winning in Mexico, missing the cut in 5 of his last 6 starts, but playing at home might be what he needs to get going again.
READY TO BREAK THROUGH: After a standout amateur career, Ricky Barnes struggled to reach the PGA TOUR, but broke through last year finishing T2 at the U.S. Open. He recorded back-to-back Top 10 efforts at the Master and Verizon Heritage this year and is poised to break into the winners circle for the first time.
REPORTING FOR DUTY: John C. Little II is 2009's All-Armed Forces champion who received a sponsor's exemption into the 2010 Valero Texas Open field. Little, a native of Phenix City, AL, is currently on active duty as a senior airman in the Air Force at MacDill Air Force base in Florida.
VERITABLE WHO'S WHO OF GOLF: Fifteen different World Golf Hall of Famers have won this tournament. They are Walter Hagen (1923), Denny Shute (1930), Byron Nelson (1940), Lawson Little (1941), Ben Hogan (1946), Sam Snead (1948 and 1950), Jack Burke, Jr. (1952), Gene Littler (1956), Arnold Palmer (1960-62), Chi Chi Rodriguez (1967), Deane Beman (1969), Ben Crenshaw (1973 and 1986), Hale Irwin (1977), Lee Trevino (1980) and Nick Price (1992).
| Columnists' predictions |
| Each week, PGATOUR.COM columnists will predict the winner. Here are their picks for the Valero Texas Open. |
| Columnist |
Pick |
Comment |
Stan
AWTREY |
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BO VAN PELT: He may be the hottest player on TOUR right now with three consecutive top-five finishes. A second career win would be a nice bonus. |
Craig
DOLCH |
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FREDRIK JACOBSEN: The timing appears right for another foreign-born, first-time winner on the PGA TOUR, following Rory McIlroy and Tim Clark. |
Melanie
HAUSER |
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BO VAN PELT: New course, tough to know whose game is a perfect fit. Thought of Adam Scott and Ernie Els, but settled on BVP whose game is on cruise. Hard to argue with three consecutive top fives. |
John
MAGINNES |
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ERNIE ELS:This weeks pick is easy... the Big Easy. He missed the cut last week out for redemption in San Antonio. |
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| Did you know? |
| The Valero Texas Open has been the single tournament leader in generating charity dollars. The tournament contributed $8 million in 2009. |
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| Bolton's Yahoo! selections |
| Fantasy columnist Rob Bolton will provide his Yahoo! picks as a starting point for you every week. Use the advice and opinion from his Power Rankings and Fantasy Insider to assist in determining lineups changes throughout each tournament. |
| Group |
Starters |
Bench |
| Group A |
Ernie Els |
Vijay Singh |
| Group B |
Chad Campbell, Bo Van Pelt |
Charley Hoffman, Marc Leishman |
| Group C |
John Rollins |
Matt Jones |
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| What the winner gets |
| A win this week at the Valero Texas Open will earn the following benefits: |
| • Fully Exempt for the remainder of 2010 and all of 2011 and 2012. |
| • 500 FedExCup points (TOUR members only). It took 354 points to qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup in 2009 and 494 to reach the Deutsche Bank Championship. |
| • A spot in the following events in order of play: 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2010 Memorial, 2010 AT&T National, 2010 PGA Championship. |
| • If a U.S. player, 1,098,000 points towards making the 2011 Presidents Cup team. |
| • If it is a second victory for a player since last June 4, a spot in the U.S. Open. |
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| Kodak Challenge |
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Current PGA TOUR player Sergio Garcia lent his unique perspective in assisting celebrated golfer and renowned golf course architect Greg Norman with the design of the par-72, 7,522-yard AT&T Oaks Course. Similar to renown golf course designer Pete Dye, Norman's design philosophy is underscored by environmental sensitivity and a deep reverence for nature. Great care has been taken to incorporate the distinct nuances and indigenous flora of the natural Hill Country topography into the course design, to create a compelling, strategically diverse and strikingly beautiful course for golfers of all skill levels.More on Kodak Challenge |
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