The stars who need victory at the Valero Texas Open to secure the last Masters spot?
It’s the last PGA Tour event before The Masters, with several leading stars battling it out for the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio.
Competition on the course will be fierce with 500 FedEx Cup points available to the champion as well as $1.71 million of the event’s $9.5 million purse.
But for a few players, there is more on the line than a financial incentive and valuable points.
Victory at the event will be the only way a select few can secure entry into the Masters at Augusta National next weekend.
Who needs victory in San Antonio to secure the final Masters spot?
Rickie Fowler
Fowler was once one of golf’s biggest stars having reached a ranking of fourth in the world and come so close to winning at Augusta when he was runner-up at The Masters in 2018.
He’s a six-time PGA Tour winner with a Players Championship win at TPC Sawgrass in 2015 and has long been a fan favourite with some famous clutch performances.
Between 2011 and 2020 he made 10 straight appearances at Augusta National but has been in and out of the entry list with his struggle for consistency in recent years.
He needs to find his form of yesteryear and win this weekend to make it to Georgia on Monday morning.
Gary Woodland
Having won the 2019 US Open at Pebble Beach, fending off Brooks Koepka, we all know that Woodland can get it done in Majors.
He’s a four-time PGA Tour winner and has played in 10 Masters tournaments.
Injuries, including a brain surgery in 2023, make it admirable that he’s playing at such a level with a T2 finish in Houston last weekend agonisingly close to securing his Masters berth.
Victory is needed in San Antonio and with a positive result last weekend, who knows? Maybe he can go one better…
Jake Knapp
Many are surprised to see that Knapp hasn’t secured his Augusta spot since his debut at the Major last year.
He shot a 59 at the 2025 Cognizant Classic in February but failed to convert it to a win, something he will be rueing this April.
However, he will have to put this behind him knowing that only a second PGA Tour victory after his 2024 Mexico Open triumph will be enough.
Matt Kuchar
Kuchar is a staple of Major tournaments with the American finishing T3 at the Masters in 2012.
His resume speaks for itself as a nine-time PGA Tour winner, 2012 Players Championship champion and an Olympic Bronze medalist.
The American has been one of the most consistent players of his generation and missing out on Augusta would suggest he’s nearing the later stages of his sparkling career – he needs a win in Texas to keep the dream alive.
Charley Hoffman
Hoffman is a fan-favourite at Augusta National where he always seems to show up with multiple top 15 finishes.
He won the Valero Texas Open in 2016 and will need to win his first PGA Tour event in nine years at the same venue if he wants to make another run at The Masters, a course he knows so well.
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