Valero Texas Open Recap
The birds are chirping and the smell of fresh, cut grass is in the air. It is the beginning of spring and the golf season is in full bloom.
As the strongest golfers in the world prepare for the Masters Tournament, the Valero Texas Open took center stage last weekend with a strong field itself.
The winner of the tournament was Canada’s very own Corey Conners who finished the tournament with a total score of 15 under par.
Conners played well the entire tournament, posting his best score of 64 strokes on the first day of the tournament.
In the process, Conners was able to earn 500 FedEx Cup points and win his second-ever PGA Tour title. Both titles were the Valero Texas Open, the first one in 2019. The win in 2019 propelled him into playing in the Masters for the second time in his career.
In the past three Masters, Conners finished in the top 10 after tying for 46th in the 2019 tournament.
Conners will play at the Masters for the fifth year in a row this weekend, along with many other players from around the world. It will be interesting to see if Conners can keep up his success at Augusta National.
A former big-time golfer, Rickie Fowler, will miss the cut for the Masters after a rough weekend at the Valero Texas Open.
Fowler came into the weekend needing a huge performance in order to break a top 50 rank in the world and qualify for the Masters.
Sadly, the former top-five golfer in the world finished tied for 10th at the tournament this weekend not allowing him to participate in the Masters in 2023.
Many players had big performances at the tournament this weekend, but they will not be participating in the Masters.
One of those players is Sam Ryder. He had an outstanding weekend on the course. He shot a total score of 13 under par.
He had his best days on Saturday and Sunday where he shot a 68 and a 66. Ryder finished the tournament in third place, just 2 strokes behind Conners.
The player who came in second was Sam Stevens, who without a bad start, would have probably won the tournament.
Stevens shot a 72 on the first day of the tournament and had to look up at the leader, Conners, the entire weekend.
By the end of the tournament, Stevens was just one stroke away from beating Conners. On the 18th hole, Stevens fell short of a birdie on the par-5 hole, which would have sent the tournament to sudden death.
Although he lost, Stevens still got a fantastic payout earning $970,100.
Ethan Bell is a sophomore majoring in public relations. To contact him, email epb5391@psu.edu.
