Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - 2025 Valero Texas Open

March 31, 2025

Todd McGill's DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2025 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. Picks for daily fantasy golf based on course history

Min Woo Lee finally captured his first career victory this past week in Houston, as the young Austrailian held off charging players in Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland to win by one stroke at -20 under par. Heading into the final round, it was always Lee's tournament to win or lose, although having guys posting 63 and 62 behind you is certainly a hotter tail than he would have wanted down the stretch. However, the looming takeaway is still the same as it has been the last few weeks: many of the top players are rounding into form ahead of next week's Masters tournament.

Before the trip to Augusta, the PGA Tour makes one final stop in the Lonestar State this week for the Valero Texas Open. Ludvig Aberg and Hideki Matsuyama are headlining a decent field in San Antonio as players look to finish the last bit of prep before the year's first major. This championship dates back to 1922, making it one of the longest-running events on the schedule (third oldest event on the PGA Tour). TPC San Antonio is undoubtedly one of the more favored layouts among PGA Tour players, so finding a smorgasbord of course history isn't hard.

Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week, check out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely, here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using the Promo Code TDG for an extra discount at checkout!

2025 Valero Texas Open

As mentioned, this event is one of the oldest tournaments in existence. But interestingly, it is also the longest tournament to be held in the same city. That level of dedication isn't seen very often in the ever-evolving schedule of the PGA Tour, and while it has shifted in time of the year it's been played through the years, it has weathered all the storms. Now, it has carved out a significant spot in the year-to-year planning given its positioning the week before The Masters.

The grounds crew does an excellent job getting this layout as similar to Augusta as possible, with fast, undulating greens to help players get the feel for what they'll see next week. Looking at the list of guys that have had correlated success both here and at ANGC, this event is worth paying attention to.

Perhaps the most underrated part of this event, is the amount of community impact done each year, especially since Valero became the title sponsor in 2002. It has become the annual leader in charitable fundraising among all PGA Tour events, which hit $256 million in charitable giving after a record-breaking $24 million in 2024. This impact isn't as discussed as the entertainment and drama surrounding what happens inside the ropes, but it's certainly the most important.

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TPC San Antonio (Oakes Course)

Par 72 - 7,438 | Greens: Bermudagrass | Designed By: Greg Norman

Opening in 2010, the Oakes Course at TPC San Antonio is the eighth course to host this event throughout its 100+ years and has statistically become one of the more difficult tests on the PGA Tour. However, Akshay Bhatia's score of -20 under par last year proves that posting low 72-hole totals is possible. It was the second time that score had been reached at this venue, as Corey Conners did it in 2019 as well.

Finding hazards and penalty areas aren't what necessarily spells disaster here, even with Kevin Na's infamous 16 on the ninth hole in 2011. It's simply a difficult test to score on and requires top-notch ball striking to make birdies. The fun part about that equation is that every type of player has a chance to shine here. Even at over 7,400 yards, the distance strategy off the tee is basically null and void, and strokes gained putting doesn't carry the same weight either.

While the Oakes Course doesn't necessarily force guys to take a specific strategy, the largest differentiation between success and failure will come from strokes gained on approach and around the green. This course also plays differently than many of the venues on the PGA Tour, certainly any within the last two months, in the way hole difficulty is laid out. Last season, only three holes on the front nine averaged under par compared to five on the back nine, with four coming in the last five holes. That peculiar layout structure has created some dramatic moments through the years.

Recent Valero Texas Open Winners

• 2024: Akshay Bhatia (-20)
• 2023: Corey Conners (-15)
• 2022: J.J. Spaun (-13)
• 2021: Jordan Spieth (-18)

The Horse

Jordan Spieth

• Notable Finishes: 1st ('21), T10 ('24)

It feels good to be able to put Jordan Spieth's name at the top of this article given all the struggles the last three or four seasons. However, he has shown an ability to perform well at TPC San Antonio during that time with a win in 2021, and other top finishes before and after that.

His success has been heavily focused on his approach play, as he is second in the field in strokes gained on approach (+1.474) around the Oakes Course. The surprising stat is the -0.031 strokes gained putting average, but he's only lost strokes in this area in one start since 2019, so look for that to improve.

The Ponies

Sam Stevens

• Notable Finishes: 2nd('23), T14 ('24)

Moonshot 😳

Sam Stevens took this one WAY upstairs to set up birdie @USOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/sOP6GruxhU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 17, 2023

Taking the top spot this week in strokes gained total average at this course (+2.523), Sam Stevens will make his third career start at the Valero Open this week and will be looking to post another high finish ahead of his first trip to Augusta. His first two showings at TPC San Antonio have been great, with strokes gained putting (+1.132) and on approach (+0.985) doing most of the work.

Coming off a T18 in Houston last week, Stevens needs to continue building momentum as we enter the middle stretch of the season. He currently sits in 36th place on the FedEx Cup points, but it gets harder to tread water without accumulating solid finishes along the way.

Denny McCarthy

• Notable Finishes: T1 ('24), T18 ('22)

Denny McCarthy tied for 16th at this past weekend's @SonyOpenHawaii!

64-66-71-68 (-11)#GoHoos | #HoosOnTour pic.twitter.com/HXHgmhgyo0

— Virginia Men's Golf (@UVAMensGolf) January 14, 2025

Given how things ended on Sunday at last year's event, it's easy to forget that Denny McCarthy was the only one to chase down Akshay Bhatia at -20 under par to force a playoff. It obviously didn't go in his favor, as the now 32-year-old found the water on his second shot and never put up a fighting chance. That doesn't excuse the history he's amassed here in addition to the near miss, though.

In three starts over the last five seasons, McCarthy has established solid averages in strokes gained putting (+1.153), around the green (+0.508), and on approach (+0.780). Even more exciting is that he's finding great form coming into the week with a top-five and two top-20s in three of his last four starts. Feelings toward him this week should be high.

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Gary Woodland

• Notable Finishes: T6 ('21), T8 ('22)

🚨👀🌀 #MUST WATCH — Gary Woodland PURES an iron from 200 yards to secure a birdie at the 18th, tie the course record with a 62 and finish within one stroke of the lead. An incredible story following his brain surgery. 🙏🏼
pic.twitter.com/H84eeZtdsf

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 30, 2025

Making his first start at TPC San Antonio since 2022, Gary Woodland is an intriguing name this week for two reasons. First is the history he established here before the two-year hiatus in dealing with brain surgery. Second is the amazing tournament he just had this past week in Houston, where he posted a final round, 62 to catapult himself into a T2 finish.

Over his last eight rounds on the Oakes Course, the former Jayhawk has impressive strokes gained on approach numbers (+0.992) and is averaging nearly +0.500 between strokes gained off the tee and around the green. If his strong play continues, look for Woodland to produce another fine week.

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