Valero Texas Open Again A Masters ‘Last Chance Saloon’ But Not In The Manner Akshay Bhatia Did Two Years Ago.

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This week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio once again presents not only the opportunity for the PGA Tour’s best to capture this prize Texas event along with a smart pair of Texas cowboy boots but it’s a ‘Last Chance Saloon’ into the Masters.

An invitation to tee-up at Augusta National is that added bonus to this week’s winner but only for those players currently not exempt.

At present, the Masters Invitee No. 1 category boast 27 Masters champions expected to tee-up on April 9th including Tiger Woods.  Yes, Augusta National has Woods listed to tee-up despite plenty of speculation Woods may now only be in attendance for Tuesday’s annual Champions Dinner.

Fifteen othes will be in attendance for the dinner’ this year being hosted by Rory McIlroy.

Then there’s category 17 and the only catergory affecting any player teeing-up in this week’s Valero Texas Open, who can still qualify for the Masters.

Category 17 states: 17. Winners of tournaments on the PGATour between the 2025 Masters Tournament and the 2026 Masters Tournament

Currently there is a dozen players into the Masters thanks to this category including 24-year-old Akshay Bhatia, winner of the recent Arnold Palmer Invitional as well as Gary Woodland, emotional champion in last Sunday’s Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Incidentially, the last to player to qualify for the Masters via category 17  this was Bhatia in 2024 but in the most bizarre manner in the history of the Masters after injuring his shoulder in over-celebrating making it into play-off for the Valero Texas title against Denny McCarthy after both finished tied post regulation play on the host TPC San Antonio course.

The duo headed back to the 18th for the first extra play-off hole though as Bhatia walked up to his third shot, his trainer pulled him away from cameras to tend to the shoulder, which Bhatia said had “popped out” during his 72nd-green celebration.

The left-handed Bhatia had already left himself 85 yards for his third on the par-5, but McCarthy was about to open the door.
 
The only mistake the 10th-year pro McCarthy made all day was when he dunked his third on the playoff hole from just 100 yards in the creek short of the green.
 
When Bhatia emerged from working with his trainer to care for the injured shoulder, he finally hit his third shot.
 
“Thankfully my trainer was still around and taped it up good and it felt good hitting that wedge shot,” he said. “I appreciate him very much.”
 
Bhatia then brilliantly landed his third to just six feet to seal his second Tour win. The win got Bhatia into the Masters as the last qualifier, becoming the sixth player in the last seven years to win in his final start before the year’s first major to qualify.
 
“It’s a dream come true,” Bhatia said at the time. “I didn’t know what to expect this week. This is just kind of a week where I played a couple times and I was a little more comfortable.
 
“Every kid dreams about going to Augusta National whether you’re a patron, whether you’re a player, caddie, whatever it may be. Just being able to go there and feel the aura of the place at such a young age was awesome.”

Valero Texas Open Notes Relating to the Masters ….

  • There are currently 24 players in the field that are exempt for the Masters Tournament, with the majority of the field having a chance to earn the final spot in the Masters Tournament field.
    • Three of the last six winners of the Valero Texas Open qualified for the Masters Tournament with their victory (2019/Corey Conners, 2022/J.J. Spaun, 2024/Akshay Bhatia)
  • Among the players who will need to win to qualify for the Masters Tournament include six-time PGA TOUR winners Tony Finau and Rickie Fowler. Fowler seeks his 12th career appearance in the Masters Tournament while Finau is bidding for his ninth appearance.
  • Players in the field already invited to the Masters: Ludvig Åberg, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Max Homa, Johnny Keefer, Michael Kim, Si Woo Kim, Haotong Li, Robert MacIntyre, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt McCarty, Maverick McNealy, Collin Morikawa, Alex Noren, Andrew Novak, Marco Penge, Kristoffer Reitan, J.J. Spaun, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Nick Taylor and Sami Valimaki.


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