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Valero Texas Open: Steeped in history as one of PGA TOUR’s oldest events

By Kathlene Bissell

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 23: Golfers make their way up the 18th fairway during the final round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio AT
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 23: Golfers make their way up the 18th fairway during the final round of the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio AT /
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The Valero Texas Open is one of the PGA TOUR’s oldest events. Even today, it’s a tournament that other TOUR stops would love to model themselves after.

The Valero Texas Open is a survivor with some remarkable history and a long list of noted winners.  In its 96-year history, it took a pause four times. The first was during the depths of the Great Depression, and the second was in 1943, during WWII.

There were two years, one in the 1960s and one in the 1970s when the tournament wasn’t held, but it was determined to endure. Now, as ever, it is being played in San Antonio, one of the fastest growing cities in a remarkably fast-growing state. It is secure with sponsorship from Valero through 2028.

The tournament has had remarkable champions since 1922. Nearly every golfer who is anybody has won there.

Arnold Palmer carried home the trophy three times in a row in 1960, 1961 and 1962.  When Palmer won a tournament, it was definitely on the map.  But the rich history of Texas golf includes many noted champions.

Byron Nelson won in 1940, but he did not win the tournament in 1945 when he won 11 in a row and 18 during the season. That year Sam Byrd won.    One reason the Texas Open was not in Nelson’s streak is that it was played in January and Nelson’s victory run started two months later, in March.

Ben Hogan was runner-up three times, to Byron Nelson, Lawson Little and Chick Harbert before getting to the winner’s circle in 1946.

Doug Ford and Jimmy Demaret were both runners-up three times without ever winning.

Deane Beman won the Valero in 1969, five years before he would become the second commissioner of the PGA Tour.

Bill Rodgers won the tournament in 1981, the same year he won the British Open.

Ben Crenshaw won the Valero immediately after he turned pro in 1973.  He became an immediate star on the PGA Tour. He won it again 13 years later.

Valero Texas Open carries its legacy into the modern age

Justin Leonard was a back-to-back champ in 2000 and 2001 as was Zach Johnson in 2008 and 2009.

Major champs Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Hal Sutton, Corey Pavin, Mark O’Meara, Adam Scott and Jimmy Walker have won at Valero.

Going way back, Walter Hagen won in a playoff over ‘’Wild Bill” Melhorn, but a few years later, in 1928 and 1929, Melhorn won back-to-back.  Some say Melhorn got the name Wild Bill because he had a fondness for cowboy hats and boots, while others say it was due to an article in a New Orleans paper written by Leo Diegel in which he said Melhorn went wild at the start of a round, making numerous birdies.

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Going way back, Walter Hagen won in a playoff over ‘’Wild Bill” Melhorn, but a few years later, in 1928 and 1929, Melhorn won back-to-back.  Some say Melhorn got the name Wild Bill because he had a fondness for cowboy hats and boots, while others say it was due to an article in a New Orleans paper written by Leo Diegel in which he said Melhorn went wild at the start of a round, making numerous birdies.

The Valero Texas Open has also been the site of several scoring achievements.  In 1955, Mike Souchak set a new PGA Tour scoring record of 257 for 72 holes.  In the first round, he posted a 60, which at the time was the lowest score ever for the PGA Tour at that time.  Souchak’s single round scoring record held until 1977 when Al Geiberger shot a 59 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Souchak’s four-round PGA Tour scoring record has been bested several times since then, but it took 46 years to do it.  Mark Calcavecchia ( 2001) was the first to break it in 2001 at the Waste Management Open.  He shot 256.  Tommy Armour III lowered the mark at the Valero in 2003, with a total of 254. That held for 14 years until 2017 when Justin Thomas posted 253 at the Sony Open.

Next: Valero Texas Open Power Rankings

This week, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Billy Horschel, J.B. Holmes, Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Ollie Schniederjans, Xander Schauffele, Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker and Jimmy Walker top the list of competitors as the second Texas tournament of the the season begins.

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