Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open and leads 13 of the top 40 players in the world ... More rankings for the 2025 event at the Oaks Course in San Antonio April 3-6. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images) Getty Images The Masters is just one week away, but some top PGA Tour pros are tuning up for the first major of the year by playing in this week’s Valero Texas Open. A total of 13 of the top 40 players in the Official World Golf Rankings will tee it up at the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio starting April 3. The golf tournament also runs alongside the NCAA Tournament Final Four starting Saturday, April 5 in San Antonio where all four No. 1 seeds won Elite Eight games to advance to college basketball’s pinnacle at the Final Four. Valero Texas Open defending champion Akshay Bhatia is a top-25 player and has finished top-10 in three of his last four starts on Tour. He won the event in a playoff last year over Denny McCarthy, who is currently ranked No. 40 in the world and still shooting for his first PGA Tour victory with his 200th career start approaching in April. Also in the field is Corey Conners, who has won two of the last five editions of the Valero Texas Open. Dallas native, University of Texas golfer and 2021 Valero Texas Open champion Jordan Spieth plays this week as the only Masters champion in the field. Spieth has four top 10’s in eight starts at TPC San Antonio and two top 10’s so far this season as the former world No. 1 (2015-16) tries to move up from No. 66 in the current world golf rankings. There are more than 20 golfers who are set to play the Masters tourmament and are using the Valero Texas Open as a warm-up. Only three of the last 13 Masters winners played the week prior - Spieth (2015), Dustin Johnson (2020) and Matsuyama (2021). Currently 94 players are on The Masters invitation list, and the winner of the Valero Texas Open not already qualified will also play at Augusta National next week with three of the last five Texas Open winners earning their way to The Masters. MORE FOR YOU South Korean Actor Kim Soo-hyun Denies Underage Dating Allegations NYT Mini Today: Hints, Clues And Answers For Tuesday, April 1 Women’s Final Four In Tampa Set, AT&T Brings The Energy Other notable players in the Valero Texas Open include the top ranked player in the field Ludvig Aberg, who is also top-10 in the FedExCup Standings with Conners and Hideki Matsuyama. World No. 1 and defending Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy both finished top-5 in last week’s Houston Open and are off this week in preparation for The Masters. Conners, Bhatia, Bradley, Matsuyama, McCarthy, Fleetwood and Aberg top this week’s PGA Tour power rankings for the Valero Texas Open. Ludvig Aberg (5) Hideki Matsuyama (6) Tommy Fleetwood (11) Keegan Bradley (14) Patrick Cantlay (15) Maverick McNealy (16) Corey Conners (21) Akshay Bhatia (23) Tom Kim (31) Tony Finau (33) Sam Burns (35) Justin Rose (38) Denny McCarthy (40) Masters Tournament Odds Masters odds are drawing more interest as the the top golfers practice and prepare for the speed and slopes at Augusta National. Following last week’s Houston Open with Min Woo Lee winning on Tour for the first time, the Valero Texas Open will offer one last chance for the tournament winner to qualify for a spot in next week’s Masters field. Lee moved up from No. 55 to No. 22. Ben Griffin now sits at No. 51 in the world rankings and just outside of top-50 for the invitation. He’ll need to win this week in Texas to find his way down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National. Golf Odds To Win Houston Open Golf odds from BetOnline and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on futures, props and live betting. Top finishing position odds and tournament matchups are other popular bets with top-10 odds in ( ). +1200: Aberg +1400: Conners +1600: Fleetwood +2000: Cantlay, Spieth, Bradley, Bhatia +2200: Matsuyama +2800: McCarthy, Berger +3300: Tom Kim +3500: Si Woo Kim +4000: Finau, Cauley, Bridgeman +4500: Mitchell, Woodland, McNealy, Stevens +5000: Griffin, Hodges +5500: Burns, Poston +6000: Knapp, Hoey, Gerard +6500: Fowler, Novak +7000: Fitzpatrick, Kitayama, Hall +7500: B. Harman, R. Fox, Kirk, Smalley, Hoge +8000: T. Moore, Hoffman, Rodgers +9000: Rose, Hossler, Cole, Salinda 72-Hole Winning Score: Over/Under TBD (Par 72) Types Of Bets And Wagering Terms Steve Bamford provides a preview of the golf event noting that six of the last seven winners ranked top-5 in Strokes Gained Approach. “For me on a course that traditionally ranks as one of the hardest for Greens in Regulation when the wind blows, and also in the bottom 5 on Tour for par-5 Birdie or Better Conversion, we need to look for players who are at the top of their game iron- and approach-wise.” Ball striking (shots off the tee + approach play) has been key in this event. The last 10 winners have gained about 64% of strokes versus the field with Ball Striking. The Tour average is about 54%. Golf Picks, Props and Stats Golf picks are updated weekly Tuesday and Wednesday as selected golf analysts, handicappers and noted golf media provide contributors picks to win, props and additional information you can bet on. Bamford Golf: Conners, Berger, Tom Kim, Griffin, Gerard Coley/Sporting Life: Aberg, McNealy, Stevens, Hodges, Kirk Golf Digest: Min Woo Lee’s victory last week in the Houston Open was picked by two Golf Digest analysts along with one at Golf Bet and Sporting Life Tournament Matchups PGA tournament matchup offerings and moneyline odds below are from BetOnline, and odds vary from top online sportsbooks. BetOnline also offers bettors to lay or take 1.5 strokes with adjusted odds on matchups, which we did with a pick and winning bet on Tommy Fleetwood in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Check back Wednesday for matchup picks as additional golf stats and player profiles are evaluated. Aberg (-110) vs. Fleetwod (-110) Conners (-120) vs. Cantlay Matsuyama (-132) vs. Bhatia (+110) Bradley (-120) vs. Spieth (+100) McCarthy (-129) vs. Berger (+108) Si Woo Kim (-115) vs. Finau (-105) Tom Kim (-120) vs. Burns (+100) Poston (-110) vs. Cauley (-110) Mitchell (-115) vs. Stevens (-105) Bridgeman (-115) vs .McNealy (-105) Fitzpatrick (-129) vs. Woodland (+108) Fowler (-110) vs. Knapp (-110) Griffin (-115) vs. Hall (-105) Hodges (-117) vs. Kitayama (-103) Rico Hoey (-110) vs. Ryan Fox (-110) Novak (-113) vs. Smalley (-107) Rodgers (-129) vs. Harman (-108) Kirk (-125) vs. Rose (+105) Additional tournament matchup picks and winners include 2-0 in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with tournament winner Rory McIlroy over Scottie Scheffler. Phoenix Open followers of FairwayJay and Forbes went 1-0 with Justin Thomas (T6) over Hideki Matsuyama plus Justin Thomas over Xander Schauffele in The Players Championship, 1-0 in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld and Houston Open winner Min Woo Lee also a tournament matchup winner. How To Watch The Valero Texas Open Valero Texas Open tee times, featured groups and TV schedule updated as provided by the PGA Tour Tuesday and Wednesday. All times Eastern (ET). Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App) Saturday: 1-3:30 (Golf Channel), 3-6, (NBC/Peacock) Sunday: 1-2:30 (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 (NBC/Peacock) Also, SiriusXM Radio Channel 92 from 1-7 Thurs/Fri and 1-6 Sat/Sun. Featured Groups PGA Tour Live exclusively on ESPN+ from 8am-7pm Thur/Fri and 10am-6pm Sat/Sun. Featured Holes: Updated Tuesday/Wednesday Learn more about golf rules, match-ups, futures and dead heats while also evaluating golf odds and adjustments including live betting during events. Whether you’re watching and wagering at the top online sportsbooks or the best sportsbooks in Las Vegas, follow coverage of the Valero Texas Open and weekly PGA Tour events and research additional golf stats to assist in your pursuit of profit and picking golf winners. Betting on golf continues to be most popular with fans firing for more fairways and green when watching, wagering and live betting on their favorite players and events. You can bet on it. MORE FROM FORBES ForbesPGA Tour 2025 Signature Events And Top Players Performances And OddsBy Jay GinsbachForbesHouston Open 2025 Golf Betting Preview, Odds, Picks And PropsBy Jay GinsbachForbesThe Players Championship 2025 Top Trends And 12 Golfers To BetBy Jay GinsbachForbesMarch Madness Elite Eight: High-Scoring Alabama Vs. Duke Headlines Top Teams Shooting For 2025 Final FourBy Jay Ginsbach Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website. Editorial StandardsForbes Accolades