Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: Valero Texas Open

Valero Texas Open

TPC San Antonio Oaks Course
San Antonio, TX

The PGA Tour heads to San Antonio for another edition of the long-running Valero Texas Open.

I'm a golf fan, but a fantasy golf writer, so most often I view golf through the lens of fantasy golf. Every now and then however, I'm able to push the fantasy part to the side and just enjoy a good golf moment. It happened a couple times this past year when Rory McIlroy completed the career grand slam and when Tommy Fleetwood finally found his first PGA Tour win, but when we're thinking about life and how golf fits into it, those two don't really have anything on Gary Woodland's story.

Woodland was once one of the best golfers in the world. Throughout the 2010's, Woodland found himself inside the top-30 on the PGA Tour at year's end more often than not. He picked up four wins, including a major in 2019 and everything was looking up for Woodland as he entered the '20s. The next decade however, would not start as well.

Woodland's life would be turned upside down in 2023 when symptoms of a brain lesion essentially accelerated all his fears. Woodland has mentioned that his fear of dying overwhelmed him and panic attacks became more frequent. The lesion as it turned out, was pressing on a part of his brain which caused these symptoms. Woodland would undergo brain surgery later that year to remove the lesion, but the scars remained.

Fast forward to 2026 and Woodland had yet to shake the symptoms. He mentioned this past weekend that there was an episode this past week where fans got a little too close and it triggered those fears again.

With all of that to deal with, Woodland somehow managed not only to win this past week in Houston, but to win going away. Not only did he succeed where so many before him have failed this season, and yes, I'm referring to the many blown leads this season, but he managed to win without any drama.

I can't imagine what it's been like for Woodland to simply live his life over the past few years, let alone to do so while under the spotlight.

There will be stories that capture more attention in the years to come, but I doubt we'll see anything like this for a long while. Woodland not only came back from brain surgery, he came back from a battle within that most can't imagine. This win doesn't solve all of his problems, but maybe it shows a path to full recovery. After all, if he can win on the PGA Tour, after all he's been through, then maybe he can get back to a spot in his life where he's at ease. At least we can all hope for that.

Okay, there's no easy segue from that, so let's just move onto this week's event. We're staying in Texas and we've got some big names in the field as they get ready for the Masters next week. Oh, did I forget to mention that the Masters is next week?

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LAST YEAR

Brian Harman shot a final round 75 on his way to a three-stroke victory over Ryan Gerard.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 4:00 PM ET Tuesday.

Tommy Fleetwood (15-1)

Fleetwood has only played this event twice and has won top-10 to show for it. Fleetwood's form this season on the PGA Tour has been pretty solid. He's finished inside the top-10 in three of four starts and posted a T4 at Pebble Beach. Fleetwood will undoubtedly be looking ahead to next week as his next hurdle is a major, but something tells me he's going to give it his best this week as well. There's isn't a ton of value here, but Fleetwood certainly has a chance to win if he's locked in.

Ludvig Aberg (16-1) 

Just like this past week, I'm a little surprised with how the odds played out to start the week, but you can certainly make a case for Aberg as the favorite. Basically, the case is, he's Ludvig Aberg. I didn't say it was a strong case. There are some big names in the field this week, but most of a top players in the world are absent, leaving the door open for a big name like Aberg to step in. When we last saw Aberg, he was falling apart in the final round of The PLAYERS, so we can say that his form is poor because of the finish, or we can say his form is strong because he's finished inside the top-5 in both of his past two starts.

Russell Henley (16-1)

Just like the other two favorites, Henley is here mostly because of his overall resume and not what he's done at this event. Henley has only played this event three times over the years and while he did post a solo-4th in 2024, that was his only good showing here. Henley is coming off an amazing 2025 season and while he hasn't come back to Earth necessarily, he hasn't really built upon that season either. He's playing much like he had in the years leading up to his 2025 season, which is good, but not outstanding. I think his odds this week are a reflection of how he played last year and not necessarily how he's played this year to this point.

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Jordan Spieth (18-1)

The first player on the list because of his track record, Spieth has played this event nine times and finished inside the top-10 in four of those starts. Spieth won this event in 2021 and was runner-up in 2015. He's certainly not the same guy he was in 2015 or 2021 for that matter, but he's working his way back and he will win again on the PGA Tour. It would make sense that his next win would come in Texas, but we'll have to see how he looks out of the gate. As far as his form, Spieth has been pretty good this year, but he's failed to find that extra gear. He's finished outside the top-30 just twice in seven starts, but he also has zero top-10s. It would be quite the jump up to win this week, but really, he just needs to put four rounds together instead of three, which he's done several times this season.

Maverick McNealy (25-1)

I used to play my hunches all the time, but I got away from that in recent years. Well, consider this an ode to my past self because I'm going with a hunch here. McNealy's situation is much like Henley's this week. Both coming off career seasons, and both yet to back up those seasons. Neither has played poorly, but the juice we saw from both this past year has been missing. I'm expecting that to change this week for McNealy. He's not necessarily trending in the right direction, but he was T3 here this past year and think with the WDs from a lot of the top players, he'll see this as an opportunity to get back on the 2025 track.

Michael Thorbjornsen (27-1)

Has anybody looked better in the first three rounds this year than Thorbjornsen? As our Rotowire notes department pointed out again this past week, Thorbjornsen is making a habit out of staring well, only to fade in the final round. He did it Pebble Beach, the API, The PLAYERS and most recently in Houston. It's one thing to open well week after week and stumble prior to the weekend, the tour has plenty of those guys, but to put in three good rounds each week and then lose it on Sunday, well, that's a sign that good things are around the corner. Thorbjornsen missed the cut in his only appearance here, so he never had a chance to fade on Sunday, but his game is in a better state now and I think he'll get this final round fade figured out sooner than later.

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LONG SHOTS

Marco Penge (50-1)      

A bit of a zig when they're zagging theory here. Penge is coming off a missed cut in Houston, which would lead most to believe that his form is too far off to take a chance on him this week, but we've seen it many times before, a guy comes off a missed cut to win a PGA Tour event. It's not likely of course, but that's why we're getting long odds here. Penge has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but he's no stranger to winning at a high level as he won several times on the DP World tour in 2025. Previous to his MC this past week, Penge finished T4 at the Valspar, an event where he had a real chance to win before fading on Sunday, so perhaps this past week was just a hangover from getting close and falling short the week prior.  

Brian Harman (65-1)    

There's no debating that Harman's 2023 season was an anomaly. During that season he picked up his first major and doubled his previous best in earnings. He was always thought of as a solid player, but I don't think many had him pegged for a major winner. Though he hasn't kept up that level of play over the past two years, he has improved from his pre-major level. It's with that in mind that I'm wondering why he's such a longshot this week. He's the defending champ, which we know is tough, but he finished just outside the top-10 in his most recent start and he know he's nails when he's on, so why 60-1?   

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Jordan Spieth – This is a tough one because with so many WDs this week and some real high-end talent at the top of the odds chart, there doesn't seem to be a clear pick this week, but I think a lot of OAD players will be on Spieth. Aberg and Fleetwood are definitely out as they should be saved for bigger purses. Henley is borderline however, if he's not going to be at last year's level, then you need not save him for a signature event, but even with that said, Spieth seems like a better option this week.  

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Michael Thorbjornsen – I thought about putting McNealy in this spot, but with limited options at the top now, I think he'll end up being close to Spieth in ownership this week. Thorbjornsen however should fly somewhat under the radar because of his inability to close in recent weeks. As I mentioned earlier, I don't think that trend will continue, so I'm fine using him in this spot.    

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Marco Penge – Guys off of missed cuts are always good options when you are looking for a lightly-owned player. Penge should fly under the radar this week because his MC in Houston, but as mentioned earlier, he's only one start removed from a top-5. A start where he was legitimately in the mix on the weekend. Penge is going to get if figured out over here pretty soon, and it could be this week.  

Buyer Beware: Si Woo Kim – I generally don't like to go below the top-10 on the odds chart when finding a player to avoid and most weeks, it's not that hard to find one, but this week it was more difficult. I landed on Kim, not because I think he'll play poorly this week, but because he's definitely lost some momentum from his early season play. Kim finished inside the top-6 in three straight events in late-January and early-February, but he hasn't quite found that form since then. He did have a top-15 at the API, but his most recent start at The PLAYERS, resulted in a T50. Again, I don't see Kim missing the cut this week, but I also don't see a top-5 finish.     

My Pick: Maverick McNealy – I wanted to use Michael Thorbjornsen in this spot because I don't think he'll be a popular play this week, but I'm fine with McNealy. With the top players likely out of the mix because they're too big to use in this spot and several others pulling out, there aren't that many great option this week. McNealy doesn't look like the best option on paper, but I'm going with my gut this week, something I haven't done much lately, so maybe it's the catalyst I need. McNealy doesn't have a lot of experience here, just three starts, but he's never missed a cut at this event and he finished T3 here this past year.

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Jordan Spieth ($11,600)
Middle Range: Michael Thorbjornsen ($10,600)
Lower Range: Adrien Dumont de Chassart ($8,700)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Jordan Spieth – My previous streak came to a crashing halt thanks to Brooks Koepka's no show this past week. I'm going to stick with the big names however and go with Spieth this week, who has missed the cut here just one time in nine starts. His form looks pretty good right now, so I'd be surprised to see him miss this cut in his home state.

Previous Results