Rising Tour Rookie Takes ‘Homecoming’ to New Level This Week at Valero Texas Open

Johnny Keefer, 25, is playing in his hometown event, and it involves a comfortable stay in his childhood home.

Johnny Keefer is 60th in the FedEx standings entering the Valero Texas Open. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO – A rising Tour rookie is enjoying a special homecoming this week.

And it’s a bit more “homey” than most.

PGA Tour rookie and San Antonio native Johnny Keefer is fresh off his personal-best T3 at last week’s Houston Open, and he’s taken that momentum to his hometown San Antonio … and to his childhood bedroom.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but I still live with my parents. My fiancée’s still in med school, she’s kind of traveling around, I’m traveling around, and right now we haven’t settled on one spot that we’re going to move to,” he said at his Tuesday press conference. “Yeah, as of right now I’m sleeping in my own bed in my parents’ house. I really enjoy it, save up the money and we’ll see and go from there.”

Keefer, 25, earned his spot on Tour via Korn Ferry promotion after winning two Korn Ferry events last year. His spot in the Masters field next week is secure following his rise into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking late last year (he’s currently 60th), so this week is about Masters prep and enjoying the friendly fan support.

“I’m going to have a lot of people out here, friends, family, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve still got to come out here and play, do my job and have some fun,” he said.

Keefer led the Korn Ferry Tour in points last year, in his first season on that tour. He became the third player to win the tour’s Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards in the same season, joining Scottie Scheffler (2019) and Sungjae Im (2018). Lofty company, and he seems to be settling right in on that PGA Tour. He’s cited weekend rounds with Adam Scott as a calming influence, and he recently took an Augusta scouting trip with fellow Texan Jimmy Walker.

This week he’ll give it his best shot at an event he attended several times as a kid, on a golf course he knows well. And his stay at home this week comes with fewer distractions than it did in his childhood.

“It’s nice not having to worry about when I come home, going to get groceries, going to take out the trash as much,” he said.

Collin Morikawa’s ominous WD

Collin Morikawa entered this week as one of the favorites at the Valero. But his week ended early, and without an appearance on site.

Morikawa withdrew from the Valero and still has not played since withdrawing from first round of the Players Championship three weeks ago. He was in clear discomfort after taking a practice swing on his second hole of his opening round, and he was driven off the course in a golf cart. “Took one practice swing, and I just knew it was gone,” he said afterward.

Morikawa’s absence leaves a hole in the field this week in San Antonio, as the 8th-ranked player in the world was one of three top-10 players set to play. But beyond Texas, he will enter Augusta next week as a bit of a wild card, which must be disappointing given that he’s already won an event this year and appeared to be in top form before his injury. He also has a strong Masters track record that includes a tie for third in 2024.

Valero Texas Open numbers and stats

61 (or 62): Keefer’s estimated lifetime low score here at the Oaks Course, which he will play Thursday for the first time in PGA Tour competition.

88: Projected high temperature along with clear skies, according to my iPhone weather app, for Thursday’s opening round.

71: Projected high temperature for Sunday’s closing round, along with an 80% chance of rain. Wind and weather are often a defining feature of the Valero and it appears this year will be no exception.

23: Number of players in the field who have spot in next week’s Masters, headlined by Fleetwood, ranked No. 4 in the current OWGR, Russell Henley (10) and Bobby MacIntyre (11). If this week’s winner isn’t already in the Masters field, they will punch a ticket to Augusta.

11 and 8: Number of Masters in which Rickie Fowler (11) and Tony Finau (8) have played. Neither player has a spot at Augusta next week, and so they need to win on Sunday to get there.

200: Number of PGA Tour victories accumulated by this week’s field, led by Jordan Spieth (13) and Hideki Matsuyama (11).

5: Past Valero champions in the field. Last year’s winner Brian Harman is joined by J.J. Spaun (2022) Jordan Spieth (2021), Charley Hoffman (2016) and Jimmy Walker (2015).

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