McIlroy's Texas Tune-Up, More Notes From the Valero Texas Open

The event before Masters week has arrived and Rory McIlroy headlines the field. Here's what we're watching.

SAN ANTONIO — The opening round of the Masters is a shade over a week away, and the Tour has rolled into South Texas, right into your author’s backyard. Here are a few thoughts as Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and solid field take the course at the oldest golf tournament to be staged in the same city since its inception (1922!). 

The Story

McIlroy is the headliner, and while everyone has Masters on the mind, the Oaks Course is a tricky little brute. “It's visually intimidating. If you start missing it off the tee, you can get yourself in some pretty big trouble out here,” McIlroy said Wednesday.

McIlroy is of course here to get sharp for Augusta, but his preparation has included more than just Texas golf, as he recently popped out to Vegas for a lesson with Butch Harmon. But rather than stop with the lesson, McIlroy said he also sees value in playing a Tour event the week before the Masters.

“It's good preparation to get a card in your hand and actually have to step up and make some really committed swings,” he said. “If I realized anything over the last few years, I definitely play my best golf in runs, so this is the first of probably a four-week stretch for me. It's nice to try to play my way into form, especially with next week coming up.”

At No. 2 in the world, McIlroy is the top-ranked player in the field and the betting favorite. Brian Harman (No. 8), Ludvig Aberg (9) and Max Homa (10) round out the top-10 players set to tee off in the Alamo City.

The Champ

Corey Conners enters as the defending champion and he also won here in 2019, which allowed him to punch a ticket to his first Masters. As you might expect, Conners said the Valero is a must-hit on his schedule, but unlike McIlroy he’s more lukewarm on the importance of playing a week before a major. 

“I’m mixed. I think this year I'll be playing before every major just the way that the schedule is set up. I've been on and off in the past,” he said. “Played well at the PGA last year with a week off before. I've had good results at Augusta coming off playing the Valero here in San Antonio as well.” Conners finished in the top 10 at Augusta three straight years before missing the cut last April.

The Weather Forecast

Welcome to springtime in South Texas. No excuses.

Texas spring weather.

Jeff Ritter's iPhone

Community Guys: Ben Silverman, Jimmy Stanger and Alejandro Tosti

It’s common for a few Tour pros to make local appearances early in a tournament week, and on Tuesday evening Tosti, who finished runner-up last week in Houston, along with fellow pros Silverman and Stanger were delivered via chopper from the Oaks Course driving range to the local First Tee chapter near downtown, where the pros did a clinic for a group of about 100 youth golfers (including my 6-year-old). “You guys ask hard questions!” Tosti said with a laugh when one youngster quizzically asked him to describe his toughest loss.

PGA Tour pros visit The First Tee in San Antonio.

Jeff Ritter/Sports Illustrated

The pros hit shots off one foot, from their knees and left-handed, and clearly enjoyed themselves. Stanger was the last man on the range signing autographs, including a John Hancock on my kid’s golf hat, before the chopper whisked them back to TPC. While chasing the weekly news it’s easy to lose sight of community impact as the Tour rolls through. It was a fun evening.