2024 Valero Texas Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC San Antonio

There are a handful of big names who are making an appearance at the Valero Texas Open for the first time in either a long time or for the first time ever.

Collin Morikawa falls in the second camp. His lack of an appearance may not necessarily be because of any qualms with the tournament or course itself, but rather for the preference of resting the week before the Masters.

He’ll get a good look at a few of the favorites for Augusta National a week early at TPC San Antonio.

Morikawa might feel like he needs to find something before heading to Georgia. His performance in the two Florida Signature Events a few weeks back resulted in a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T-45th at the Players Championship.

Morikawa is hoping to recapture the form he flashed in Hawaii and on the West Coast swing early in 2024. He posted T-5th at The Sentry and recorded three top-20s in four starts.

The former Cal Golden Bear hopes a putter switch will bear fruit. Golf WRX reported Morikawa put a Logan Olson putter into play at Bay Hill.

He lost more than 3.5 strokes putting for those two weeks combined, but it’s a little too hasty to declare the equipment change a failure just yet.

Morikawa’s other stats are hanging in there much better. He’s 30th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (.623). He’s a sharpshooter with the mid irons, as evidenced by a ranking of fourth in average approach proximity from 175-200 yards (27’3”).