Tournaments held right before the Masters used to have some pretty bad deals.
While some players prefer to play the week before the trip to Augusta, most players take the week off to get fresh for the year’s biggest event.
of pga tour combated this issue by declaring this week’s Valero Texas Open a “signature event.”
The decision paid off, as many of the tour’s best players headed to TPC San Antonio.
Rory McIlroy is a +800 favorite on DraftKings, but with Augusta on the horizon, there’s plenty of star power at the top.
Ludwig Aberg, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa have all made the trip to TPC San Antonio and are under the age of 22/1.
There are a lot of powerhouses in this field, so it will be difficult to upset the odds by a long shot, but it’s no wonder this course surprises the winner (JJ Spawn will be 150/100 when he lifts the trophy in 2022) 1, Corey Connors was 150/1 (he was a triple-digit price the first time he did so in 2019), and this season has been dominated by dark horses.
Ten of this season’s 13 tour winners are listed at 50/1 or better, and eight of them are listed at 100/1 or better.
Here are some darts worth throwing in the Alamo City this week.
2024 Valero Open Longshot Bets
Rickie Fowler (120/1, FanDuel)
Things went quiet for Fowler after his resurgence in 2022-23.
The 31-year-old hasn’t finished inside the top 30 in any of his eight starts, his last start being a mediocre T68 at The Players.
That said, Fowler isn’t far off from being one of the most in-form players on tour. Fowler recorded one win, one runner-up and eight top-10 finishes during the 2022-23 season, missing the cut just twice.
One of those top 10s was at TPC San Antonio, where he finished inside the top 20 in three of his four starts. If Fowler is in any form, he will be one of the favorites to win this weekend.
I’m going to buy a player cheap with a chance to advance and a good course history.
Matt Kuchar (150/1, FanDuel)
It’s been a while since Kuchar won on the PGA Tour, but if he ever returns to the winner’s circle, it could be at TPC San Antonio, arguably one of his favorite tracks. There is enough.
Kuchar has had runner-up and T3 finishes at TPC San Antonio the past two years, and has four top-10 finishes at the course since 2013.
The 45-year-old is in terrible form for 2024, but given the odds of 150/1, these results are too good to ignore.
KH Lee (90/1, Bet Rivers)
Whenever Lee plays on a TPC course, there’s a community of punters who love to root for him and for good reason.
The 32-year-old’s two PGA Tour wins both came at TPC Craig Ranch (another course in Texas), and he also finished runner-up at TPC Scottsdale a few years ago.
Lee also had top-10 finishes at TPC Summerlin and TPC Twin City.
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But it’s not just Lee’s penchant for producing on TPC courses that makes him worthy of a long shot this week.
He has been on a roll with two top-10 finishes in the last four races, and has had several strong finishes at this event in the past. Lee, a Texas resident, finished inside the top 25 in two of his three starts at TPC San Antonio.
