Valero Texas Open: 2021 tournament preview and picks
Ryan Palmer +2500
The man who seemingly never wins gets the nod this week in an event that should be wide open. Palmer was unbeaten in the group stage of last week’s WGC event before eventually losing to Jon Rahm in a playoff that saw the Spaniard progress into the last 16.
Ryan continued to play well last week following on from his 17th place finish at TPC Sawgrass a couple of weeks ago and he should come into this week full of confidence. The Texas native has a 4th, 6th, 4th at this event in the past, though he has missed the cut at TPC San Antonio in his last two appearances, albeit with both of those coming during a stretch when he was in much worse form than he is currently in.
Perhaps one of the most encouraging aspects of his game at the moment is the progress he has shown with the putter, while still maintaining his excellent ball striking.
Cameron Davis +5000
Davis can follow in the footsteps of fellow countrymen who have found success at the Valero Texas Open this week. The Australian has a game that should be perfectly suited for the oaks course, mainly that he is a good driver of the ball and one of the better ball-strikers out there.
It was the driver oddly enough that had let him down in recent starts before a resurgence at the Honda Classic in his last start where he finished 33rd after a run of two missed cuts in his two previous starts.
Cameron missed the cut in his lone start at the Valero Texas Open back in 2019, but it was during a stretch when he had also missed the cut in his two previous starts prior to that as well. Davis was excellent with both his approach shots and off the tee game at PGA National and over the past 24 rounds, he is second in the field ball-striking statistics.
Harry Higgs +9000
Higgs comes into this week perhaps striking the ball better than anyone in the field at the moment after gaining a ridiculous eight strokes with his irons in his last start. The 29 year old has put together a 29th and 19th in his last two starts on two difficult courses at both THE PLAYERS and the Honda Classic.
There have been some interesting comparisons between the Valero Texas Open and Safeway Open when observing crossovers between the two leaderboards, a fact that should bode well for Higgs after he was 2nd at Silverado at the beginning of this super PGA season.
While he has yet to play the event at TPC San Antonio the Dallas resident will be no stranger to Texas golf having had played his collegiate golf at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Longshots
The Valero Texas Open is a good event to take some shots with players at deeper odds and there are three that stick out in the triple digits this week. Doug Ghim +10000 was superb at THE PLAYERS before a collapse on Sunday took the Texas University product out of contention. Doug would go on to miss the cut at PGA National in his last start but it was encouraging to see that his approach numbers and off the tee stats were in the positive throughout, it would not be a surprise to see this excellent ball striker rebound this week.
Danny Willett +10000 and Graeme McDowell +16000 both had finishes inside of the top ten at last week’s Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship event and McDowell was 7th at TPC San Antonio in 2019. Both players are excellent wind players as well, so should condition’s prove difficult should flourish.
Valero Texas Open Card
Ryan Palmer +2500
Cameron Davis +5000
Harry Higgs +9000
Doug Ghim +10000 (with top 10, top 20 play)
Danny Willett +10000 (with top 10, top 20 play)
Graeme McDowell +16000 (with top 10, top 20 play)