Some players prefer to play the week before one of the four Grand Slam tournaments on the PGA Tour and others prefer not to. That’s where we are this week for the Valero Texas Open. The Masters is next week from Augusta National and the winner of the Texas Open will get the last spot in the Masters field if not already qualified. Rory McIlroy is favored this week.

This is the 100th staging of the Texas Open. It has always been played in the San Antonio area, albeit at different courses, and is the sixth oldest professional golf tournament worldwide, the third oldest on the PGA Tour and the longest held in the same city. TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, a par 72 at about 7,450 yards, has hosted since it opened in 2010.

The Oaks is a long course with treelined fairways that can be hard to hit when the winds blow. Over the past five years, golfers are registering a 56 percent fairways hit in regulation rate, close to 6 percent lower than the TOUR average. The golfers’ approach shots don’t get much easier, with the greens in regulation hit rate close to 7 percent less than the Tour average since 2017.

Featuring just 100 feet of elevation, the Oaks Course boasts a traditional design that balances wider fairways with narrower tree-lined fairways for strategic options to the greens. The downhill holes play into the prevailing wind, while uphill holes play downwind. Ball-strikers should thrive here, especially if they’re able to stay in the fairway throughout the week.

Several legendary players and Hall of Fame members will be on hand during tournament week to help commemorate the 100th anniversary. Deane Beman (1969 Texas Open Champion), Ben Crenshaw (1973 & 1986 Texas Open Champion), Hale Irwin (1977 Texas Open Champion), Lee Trevino (1980 Texas Open Champion) and Tom Watson (1987 Texas Open Champion) are all scheduled to appear.

Most key players are skipping this week, including new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who won the WGC-Match Play on Sunday to take over the No. 1 ranking for Jon Rahm (also taking this week off).

We’ve listed starting golf odds and an odds analysis of the top choices at the Valero Texas Open. Will Jordan Spieth retain the title? Keep reading to find out.

2022 Valero Texas Open Tournament Info

Making just his second appearance @ValeroTXOpen (2nd, 2013), @McIlroyRory leads this week's Power Rankings.

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 29, 2022

• When: Thursday, Mar. 31 – Sunday, Apr. 3
• Where: TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course), San Antonio, TX
• TV: Golf Channel
• Live Stream: GolfChannel.com
• Purse: $8,000,000
• Defending Champ: Jordan Spieth

Odds to Win the 2022 Valero Texas Open

• Rory McIlroy +800
• Jordan Spieth +1100
• Hideki Matsuyama +1600
• Corey Conners +1600
• Abraham Ancer +2000
• Bryson DeChambeau +2500
• Gary Woodland +2800
• Si Woo Kim +2800
• Chris Kirk +2800
• Maverick McNealy +3300
• Keegan Bradley +3300
• Tony Finau +3300
• Adam Hadwin +3300
• Charley Hoffman +4000
• Jason Day +4000
• Kevin Streelman +4000
• Jhonattan Vegas +4000
• Brendan Steele +5000

Who are the favorites to win the 2022 Valero Texas Open?

McIlroy is the +800 favorite and it’s frankly a surprise that he’s playing. It will be the first time in eight years that he will play the week prior to the year’s first major as he seeks to complete the Career Grand Slam at Augusta National. McIlroy’s only other appearance at the Valero Texas Open came in 2013, when the tournament also was held the week prior to the Masters. He shot a final-round 66 to finish two shots back of Martin Laird, then went on to finish T25 at Augusta National. McIlroy’s most recent PGA TOUR victory came during the fall swing of this season when he won The CJ Cup @ Summit.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth is +1100 to repeat. Last year, Spieth shot rounds of 67, 70, 67, then a final-round 66 at TPC San Antonio to win the Valero Texas Open at TPC by two over Charley Hoffman and four over Matt Wallace. It was 12th PGA Tour victory and 14th overall. Spieth had gone 83 events straight without a win until he found victory in his home state.

Which golfers at +1500 to +3000 odds can win the Valero Texas Open’s top prize?

Conners (+1600) set the tournament record three years ago by finishing at 20-under 268. He qualified for the tournament and earned his first PGA Tour win. Conners was the first player to win on the PGA Tour after qualifying on a Monday in nine years.

Bryson DeChambeau is +2500. He has had an injury-riddled season. DeChambeau, known for his towering drives, hasn’t won on Tour in over a year. He’s spent the early part of the 2022 season recovering from a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. DeChambeau will play in the tournament for the first time since 2017 when he missed the cut.

Is there a golfer or two offering +4000 or higher odds that can gain first place?

Hoffman (+4000) chipped in for birdie on the par-3 13th and holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 16th to get within one shot. But he found a bunker off the tee on the short par-4 17th and had to settle for par as Spieth moved two shots ahead, and they both made par on the closing hole. Hoffman now has five top-five finishes in this tournament since 2016, most anyone, but has yet to win. He was also second in 2019 – there was no 2020 tournament – to Canadian Corey Conners.

2022 Valero Texas Open Expert Pick

Chris Kirk at +2800. Kirk has three finishes of 14th or better in his last four starts on Tour and four finishes of 13th or better in his last six Texas Open starts.

Where to Bet on the Golf with Crypto

Golf odds are available all year long here at Nitrobetting. Create a Nitrobetting account now to place your stakes on any of the elite golfers teeing off this weekend.

This is just one of the many sports betting guides that you can read here at Nitrobetting news. Stay tuned for more PGA TOUR tournament previews and articles, and don’t forget to check out the latest golf betting odds on our crypto sportsbook.

*All odds stated are subject to change without prior notice.