Pre-Tournament Information – 2025 Valero Texas Open

Player Interviews (all times local)

Tuesday, April 1
1 p.m. – Mac Meissner

2:30 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia

Wednesday, April 2
1 p.m. – Gary Woodland

After 12:30 p.m. 9-hole Pro-Am – Ludvig Åberg

To Be Determined

Ben James

*Visit pgatourmedia.com for the latest interview schedule

Ludvig Åberg

• Two-time PGA TOUR winner making his 43^rd career start
• Highest-ranked player in the field at No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Making third appearance in the Valero Texas Open (2024/T14, 2022/MC as an amateur)
• Claimed his second career victory on TOUR earlier this season at The Genesis Invitational (held at Torrey Pines)
• In six starts this season, has two top-10 finishes (T5/The Sentry, 1^st/The Genesis Invitational) and enters the week No. 6 in the FedExCup standings
• Will make second start in the Masters Tournament, following a runner-up in 2024 in his major championship debut

Akshay Bhatia

• Defending champion making his fourth start at the Valero Texas Open (2024/1^st, 2023/T46, 2021/MC)
• Solo leader after each of the first three rounds last year before defeating Denny McCarthy in a playoff; won with a birdie-4 on the first playoff hole (No. 18) to mark his second TOUR title (2023 Barracuda Championship)
• Recorded a 72-hole total score of 268, tying the lowest score in the event since it moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 (Corey Conners/2019/Won, Denny McCarthy/2024/2nd)
• Last year, led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (18.780) and Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (8.225)
• Seeking to become the fifth player to win back-to-back years at the Valero Texas Open and the first since Zach Johnson (2008 and 2009)
• Finished No. 26 in the 2024 FedExCup standings, his first career appearance in the FedExCup Playoffs
• In seven starts this season, has three top-10 finishes (T9/The Genesis Invitational, 9^th/Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, T3/THE PLAYERS Championship)
• Enters the week No. 18 in the FedExCup standings

Mac Meissner

• Second-year member making his 39^th career TOUR start and third in the Valero Texas Open
• In two previous starts at TPC San Antonio, finished T10 (2024) and missed the cut as an amateur (2021)
• Enters the week No. 125 in the FedExCup standings
• In nine starts this season, has one top-25 finish (T21/Sony Open in Hawaii)
• Finished No. 106 in the 2024 FedExCup Fall standings, recording three top-10s and 16 made cuts in 25 starts in his rookie season
• Played collegiately at Southern Methodist University (2017-21), where he won two individual titles and ranked No. 8 in the PGA TOUR University Inaugural Class of 2021
• Attended nearby Alamo Heights and was named the 2017 San Antonio Express-News Boys Golf Player of the Year

Gary Woodland

• Making 375^th career start and his seventh appearance in the Valero Texas Open; first start in the event since back-to-back top-10s (2022/T8, 2021/T6)
• Finished T2 at last week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, best finish on TOUR since winning the 2019 U.S. Open
• With the runner-up finish, moved to No. 2 in the Aon Swing 5 standings; Valero Texas Open is the final event for players to earn their way into the next Signature Event, the RBC Heritage (April 17-20)
• Currently No. 46 in the FedExCup standings after recording four top-25 finishes and one top-10 in eight starts this season
• Four-time PGA TOUR winner playing on the final year of his 2019 U.S. Open exemption
• Finished No. 140 in the 2024 FedExCup Fall standings, with a T9 at the Shriners Children’s Open his lone top-10 in 26 starts
• Underwent surgery to remove a brain lesion in September 2023 and returned to competition at the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii; in February 2025, named the recipient of the PGA TOUR Courage Award, presented to a person who, through courage and perseverance, has overcome extraordinary adversity to make a significant and meaningful contribution to the game of golf

Ben James (a)

• Makes tournament debut as sponsor exemption by virtue of winning the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate at TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course)
• University of Virginia junior currently ranked No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking
• In six career starts on the PGA TOUR, has one made cut (T44/2024 Rocket Classic)
• Qualified for the 2024 U.S. Open but missed the cut by one stroke after opening rounds of 75-71

Valero Texas Open notes:

• The Valero Texas Open was first held in 1922, making it the third-oldest PGA TOUR co-sponsored tournament and the longest-running PGA TOUR event to be held in the same city its entire existence
• The last spot in the Masters Tournament, the first men’s major of the year, is available to the winner of the Valero Texas Open if not already exempt; there are currently 27 players in the field that are exempt for the Masters Tournament: Ludvig Åberg, Daniel Berger, Akshay Bhatia, Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Rafael Campos, Patrick Cantlay, Corey Conners, Tony Finau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge, Max Homa, Zach Johnson, Tom Kim, Chris Kirk, Patton Kizzire, Thriston Lawrence, Hideki Matsuyama, Denny McCarthy, Maverick McNealy, J.T. Poston, Justin Rose, Adam Schenk, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young
• The field features seven past champions: Akshay Bhatia (2024), Corey Conners (2023, 2019), Jordan Spieth (2021), Charley Hoffman (2016), Jimmy Walker (2015), Martin Laird (2013), Zach Johnson (2009, 2008)
• Four of the last seven winners of the Valero Texas Open claimed their first career PGA TOUR title at the event (J.J. Spaun/2022, Corey Conners/2019, Andrew Landry/2018, Kevin Chappell/2017)
• Nine of the 13 players who finished T10 or better last year are in the field this week: Akshay Bhatia (Winner), Denny McCarthy (2^nd), Adam Schenk (T5), Tommy Fleetwood (T7), Ben Martin (T7), Hideki Matsuyama (T7), Matt Fitzpatrick (T10), Mac Meissner (T10), Jordan Spieth (T10)

• Corey Conners, two-time winner of the Valero Texas Open (2019, 2023), enters the week with top-10 finishes in each of his last three starts (T8/Valspar Championship, T6/THE PLAYERS Championship, 3^rd/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard); has made the cut in all six career starts in the Valero Texas Open and is the last Open Qualifier to win on TOUR (2019 Valero Texas Open)
• Zach Johnson, a 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, is the most recent player to win back-to-back years at the Valero Texas Open (2008 and 2009); in 11 career starts in the Valero Texas Open, Johnson has four top-10 finishes (2018/5^th, 2014/T6, 2009/Won, 2008/Won)
• Sam Burns, who made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2015 Valero Texas Open as an 18-year-old amateur, is making his fourth career start in the event (2021/MC, 2019/T23, 2015/MC)
• Amarillo, Texas native Ryan Palmer is making his 22^nd start at the Valero Texas Open, the most by any player in the field; in 21 previous appearances, Palmer has four top-10 finishes (2017/T6, 2016/T4, 2015/T6, 2010/T9)

PGA TOUR season notes

• Five first-time winners in 2025: Thomas Detry (WM Phoenix Open), Brian Campbell (Mexico Open at VidantaWorld), Joe Highsmith (Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches), Karl Vilips (Puerto Rico Open), Min Woo Lee (Texas Children’s Houston Open)
• International players have won 10 of the first 14 events this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria, Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland/2, Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden, Karl Vilips/Australia, Viktor Hovland/Norway, Min Woo Lee/Australia
• Aon Next 10: The top 10 players in the FedExCup standings not otherwise exempt following the Masters Tournament will qualify for the RBC Heritage through the Aon Next 10.

Aon Next 10 entering the Valero Texas Open (bold = in the field):

• The Valero Texas Open is the final tournament that counts toward the Aon Swing 5 for the RBC Heritage. The top five players who earn the most FedExCup points at the Puerto Rico Open, Valspar Championship, Texas Children’s Houston Open and Valero Texas Open will qualify for the RBC Heritage.