Valero Texas Open: Big names sent packing in San Antonio

Some of the biggest names in the field for this week’s 2022 Valero Texas Open have been sent packing after just two rounds of action. For some, Augusta National awaits, for others, they will have the next ten days or so off to get ready for the RBC Heritage Classic.

Rory McIlroy won’t be around for the weekend, neither will Bryson DeChambeau, then there is Hideki Matsuyama who wasn’t even able to complete his second round before having to withdraw, presumably due to the same neck injury that forced him to pull of the Players Championship a few weeks ago.

The 2021 Masters champion will be aiming to defend at Augusta National next week, although whether he is able to play or not is very much in question now. Meanwhile, Charley Hoffman, who has a stellar record around TPC San Antonio, will be heading home early for the first time in over ten years. In his last ten starts at the Valero Texas Open Hoffman had finished worse than 13th just twice.

It was also another miserable outing for Rickie Fowler who will miss the weekend after a 74 on Friday. Rickie continues to struggle while attempting to get back to his best, he hasn’t finished inside of the top 40 in any event in 2022 so far. He will miss out on the Masters for a second consecutive year now.

What next for McIlroy after missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open?

Rory McIlroy missing the cut this week in Texas was probably the biggest surprise, it was the Northern Irishman’s first missed cut since the Scottish Open in 2021 and his first missed cut since last year’s Masters on the PGA Tour. McIlroy had previously made fourteen cuts in a row up until this week.

Rory will need to turn things around in a hurry if he is to win his first major championship since 2014 next week at Augusta, he is certainly more than capable of doing just that. He has been excellent despite not winning yet in 2022, McIlroy had four top 15 finishes in five starts up until this week’s Valero Texas Open.

The 2019 Players Champion battled to find much of anything with his game this week in Texas losing strokes in every area apart from around the green. The iron play will need to be better if he hopes to mount a challenge at the Masters next week, Rory lost 0.57 strokes with his approach play in San Antonio.

Then there is Bryson DeChambeau, who really did not have a good week at all, particularly on Friday. A triple bogey on his opening hole of the day essentially ended any hopes of mounting a charge to make the cut. DeChambeau followed up a 73 on Thursday with a four-over-par, 76, to end his time at the Valero Texas Open.

The state of his game is very much up in the air now as he makes his way to Augusta National, Bryson has only made two starts since returning from injury and he has not looked sharp in either. It isn’t a great sign as he aims to improve upon a pretty lackluster track record at the Masters, at least by his incredibly high standards. The 2020 U.S. Open winner has finished no higher than 21st at Augusta in his last five appearances.

Somebody will have a big opportunity to win this week with so many of the bigger names in the field not sticking around for the weekend, for Bryson and Rory the focus will now be on getting right for the 2022 Masters.