The Masters is just one week away and the Texas Open is the last chance for those not already qualified to punch their ticket for the first Major of the year.
Victory at TPC San Antonio will be enough for the final Augusta spot and while this week’s favourites Ludvig Aberg and Corey Conners are already guaranteed a spot, the competition to join the elite field should still be fierce.
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Texas Open betting tips
Corey Conners to win @ 12/1
Canadian Conners knows just what is needed to win in San Antonio and he has been in the sort of form that suggests a third-course victory could be claimed on Sunday.
Conners is set to go off joint-favourite with Aberg this week, but his victories at the desert venue in 2019 and 2023 tip the balance in his favour.
Top-quality tee-to-green play tends to be rewarded here as players wrestle with the demands of tricky winds, but Conners has the ability in his approach play to make a strong pre-Masters statement.
He has finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, sixth at the Players Championship and eighth at the Valspar Championship recently, so his game is in tip-top shape and he would love to go to Augusta, where he has three top-ten finishes, at the top of his game.
Sam Stevens to win @ 50/1
Sam Stevens is one of a host of players who go into battle this week without a guaranteed Masters spot, but he can perform well in his home state to give himself a great chance of making the field.
The man from Fort Worth went off the boil a bit after finishing second to Harris English at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, but he will have been boosted by the 18th spot he earned at last week’s Houston Open, which included two rounds of 65.
Stevens was second to Conners two years ago on his course debut, having given up eight shots to the winner on the first day, and only two players bettered his closing 66 on that Sunday.
Last year’s tie for 14th was another solid effort and he could prove to be a factor.
Lee Hodges to win @ 55/1
Lee Hodges has been nursing a rib injury which meant he missed six weeks of action, but he returned with an encouraging 11th in Houston last week and can perform even better this week.
He played well in the autumn with top-ten finishes at the Black Desert Championship and the RSM Classic and he took that form into the new year with tenth at the Sony Open and ninth at the Farmers.
Injury then struck, but he impressed last week, going nine under par for his final two rounds, and he could come on for the run at a venue where he was sixth two years ago, recovering from an opening 74.
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