Valero Texas Open

[mcfc_nick]

Another week, another tournament. the players is over and now its on to San Antonio and LaCantera golf club for the Valero Texas Open! the notables in the field this week are justin leonard, zach johnson, AK, tim clark, aaron baddeley, chad campbell, daniel chopra, brian gay and brian davis! i fancy AK (mind you i always like his chances) to bounce back from his 82 of last week as plenty of birdies are needed at this course with very low scores available with the winning score usually around -18! who do you think will come out on top of the leaderboard come sunday!

[wedge player]

Another week, another tournament. the players is over and now its on to San Antonio and LaCantera golf club for the Valero Texas Open! the notables in the field this week are justin leonard, zach johnson, AK, tim clark, aaron baddeley, chad campbell, daniel chopra, brian gay and brian davis! i fancy AK (mind you i always like his chances) to bounce back from his 82 of last week as plenty of birdies are needed at this course with very low scores available with the winning score usually around -18! who do you think will come out on top of the leaderboard come sunday!

the guy with the lowest score

i like j.b he is gonna be there aint he

[Chilli Dipper]

The Texas Open is a crappy tournament played on a goat track next to an amusement park where some guy you couldn't pick out of a lineup of one manages to shoot 25-under and win. It belonged at its old date, where it didn't matter.

And yes, my opinion may be clouded a little bit because it's taking the place of the Atlanta tour stop (the one a regular joe like me can afford to attend, at least).

[RobotDoctor]

The Texas Open is a crappy tournament played on a goat track next to an amusement park where some guy you couldn't pick out of a lineup of one manages to shoot 25-under and win. It belonged at its old date, where it didn't matter.

I agree that this tournament does not have quite the heritage of other courses and tournaments but I would hardly call LaCantera a goat track. I have played it and it is a pretty good course. It is not on par with many of the PGA Tour courses but it is a good course. I have attended the former tour stop in Colorado (The International) a few times and Castle Pines Golf Club is a great track, much better than LaCantera.

I like the tour stop in Atlanta and the course a lot and would rather see this tournament the week before The Masters.

[Chilli Dipper]

I agree that this tournament does not have quite the heritage of other courses and tournaments but I would hardly call LaCantera a goat track. I have played it and it is a pretty good course. It is not on par with many of the PGA Tour courses but it is a good course. I have attended the former tour stop in Colorado (The International) a few times and Castle Pines Golf Club is a great track, much better than LaCantera.

The Atlanta Classic was a victim of circumstance. Its longtime sponsor, BellSouth, was bought out by AT&T.; Soon after the merger, AT&T; agreed to be the sponsor Tiger's tournament, decided they didn't want to be like Buick and sponsor every other tour stop, and dropped Atlanta just as the economy started to go south. The recession, plus the presence of the Tour Championship at East Lake nearby, meant the Classic couldn't find a new sponsor before the finalization of the 2009 schedule. Since the Tour Championship appears to have a permanent home at East Lake, and because the PGA Championship is going to be at Atlanta Athletic Club in 2011, I doubt the Classic is coming back anytime soon.

It's a shame, because early May is the perfect time of year for golf here. Holding the Classic the week before the Masters never worked out, because the difference between one week and 1,000 feet in elevation was cold and rainy conditions in Atlanta against perfect weather in Augusta. I was never a big fan of the course at Sugarloaf—it's so much of a disaster to walk, the caddies despised it—but it was easily accessible, and always had plenty of parking nearby. Compare that to the Tour Championship, where every spectator has to drive to the Turner Field parking lot and take a 20-minute shuttle ride to East Lake. I'm looking forward to the PGA when it comes to the AAC: the club has a tract of land across the main expressway from the clubhouse large enough to build at least another 9-hole course that they keep empty just for overflow parking on the rare occasions they host major tournaments. Plus, it's literally just down the road from where my family lives.

[Mathlete1123]

I like the Texas Open, its the only PGA event I've ever been able to attend. Now that I've looked at its history I like it even more, its actually got a great list of champions that include Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer. I think its awesome that today I almost played on a course (Willow Springs GC) where Ben Hogan and Sam Snead won. Instead I played Woodlake GC where Ben Crenshaw got his first PGA tour win (1973 Texas Open) I really want to go play Willow Springs now, I'm gonna try and get out there thursday or friday.

Back to the topic, I'm looking forward to watching this weekend since I've been able to play on La Cantera. Its cool to see the pros tear it up where I've hacked it around. I might go, I saw some tickets on craigslist for 12$ a piece. I'd really like to see AK play in person since I've watched his swing vision videos on youtube so much.

[MiniMoe]

I think this is the last year at LaCantera. Next year they move to a new course. La cantera seems easy because they move tees up to make par 5's into par 4's for hospitality tents, but it is a course that can eat your lunch if you miss a shot by 5 yards. I watched a few years ago and noticed some of the pin locations. They are not easy, but the guys used to putting on greens like that eat it up.

[BallStriker]

The "non-high profile" PGA events certainly aren't for everyone...that said, I absolutely love them, as they provide a chance for the middle of the road tour players to step up and make a statement....and maybe a career.

Of course, I love the Nationwide and Euro tour events as well...

[Shindig]

Is this the one that AK darn near won back in '06?

And yes, my opinion may be clouded a little bit because it's taking the place of the Atlanta tour stop (the one a regular joe like me can afford to attend, at least).

I loved that event, too. I never had a chance to go (for obvious reasons), but the last two year's finales were fantastic.

[Neco]

I'll be there! Sat and Sunday

[golf1234]

Great chance for Tim Clark to have his first PGA tour victory here with a weaker field. I think Jason Day can have a very good week too.

[BASHERBAKER69]

I was thinkin that there arent many spectators at the Valero!

[Shindig]

Great stories this week.

A caddy gets called up to play.

And J.P. Hayes shoots a bogey-free 62 - hopefully with a legal ball this time

[chipper2]

I like the Texas open for a number of reasons. I have played La Cantera the current course. I also played Brackenridge Park Golf Course in San Antonio where the Texas Open was played for the first few years when it was started. Brackenridge is a muni course. The plyers over the years is the who who of golf. Next year a new course. I guess I'll have to get down to Texas to play it.