DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Valero Texas Open Cash and GPP Strategy

This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.

VALERO TEXAS OPEN

Purse: $9.5M
Winner's Share: $1.71M
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Course: TPC San Antonio (The Oaks Course)
Yardage: 7,438
Par: 72
2024 champion: Akshay Bhatia

Tournament Preview

The Valero Texas Open does not have what its intrastate cousin, the Houston Open, had last week. That would be the two best players in the world in Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. But what it does have is a deeper field, plus the building excitement and urgency with the Masters just a week away.

Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama and Tommy Fleetwood are the top-ranked golfers in the 147-man field, 27 of whom will make their way to Augusta, Ga., come Sunday night for the biggest tournament of the year. They'll be joined by other highly-ranked guys in Keegan Bradley, Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, defending champion Akshay Bhatia and two-time winner Corey Conners.

But the biggest name down around San Antone this week is Texas native son Jordan Spieth, the 2021 Valero winner. Other names of note include Tony Finau, Tom Kim, Sam Burns, Daniel Berger, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and, for the time being, Max Homa.

Every guy mentioned in this story so far already is in the Masters field. The only way for anyone to crash the Augusta party now is to win the Valero. As J.J. Spaun will tell you, it's possible. He did it here three years ago.

The biggest names on the outside of Augusta looking and trying to pull off that last-minute invite are Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler and Si Woo Kim. Also, Ben Griffin, who last week agonizingly missed climbing into the top 50 of the OWGR by mere fractions of an OWGR percentage point, will make a final attempt to get in.

The Texas Open has had quite a history. It began way back in 1922 and, as you'll recall, Bob McDonald edged Cyril Walker by a stroke to pocket a cool 1,500 bucks. This is the seventh oldest pro tournament in the world, behind only the Open Championship, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and the South African, Canadian and Western (now the BMW) Opens. The Valero is the only one of the seven to be played in the same city the entire time.

And there entire time has been so long that Walter Hagen once won it. So has Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. And Arnold Palmer -- three times. It had been moved around a great deal before being given the coveted slot before the Masters six years ago. (To be honest, that would not have happened without Valero Energy Corporation, the title sponsor since 2002, re-upping for 10 years through 2028.) It's been played winter, spring, summer and fall. That's right -- January, February, March, April, May, September, October and even November.

The Oaks Course is -- and Jay Monahan must love this -- a 2010 Greg Norman design with consulting by Sergio Garcia. There's also another course at TPC San Antonio built by Pete Dye, so it's interesting that Norman's is the championship 18. The course is long and has some very long holes, including two 600-yarders and another par-5 at 591. There are five par-4s at about 450-plus. Two of the par-3s exceed 200 yards, one of them a mammoth 241. However, another par-3, the 213-yard 3rd hole, was reduced a few years ago to 171 yards on the scorecard. No matter, this course still sounds like it would suit Norman just fine back in his hey day -- you know, when the PGA Tour was his first choice of tours.

There are towering oak trees that line the narrow fairways (spanning 25-30 yards), water on three holes and some of the 64 bunkers are enormous, including two  bigger than many PGA Tour greens. There is a lot of native land that can lead to very crooked numbers. Kevin Na famously found a native area on the par-4, 474-yard 9th hole in 2011, and he eventually walked off with a 16.

Despite all those pitfalls, the week could very well tip on the wind. These are some of the toughest greens to hit in regulation, even though they are medium-sized at an average of 6,400 square feet. The bermudagrass-with-poa-overseed putting surfaces run a so-so 11 on the Stimpmeter, but many have undulations and multiple levels leading to run-offs.

They did make things a bit easier in 2019, however, cutting the rough (now 2.25 inches), perhaps to better mimic Augusta. Whatever the reason, Conners shot 20-under in winning here for the first time that year, the highest winning score at The Oaks in a decade -- by three shots. Bhatia and Denny McCarthy matched that last year, but they ran away nine clear of solo third McIlroy. Bhatia won on the first playoff hole.

As for the weather, there will be wind, among other difficult conditions. It could be like two different tournaments. Temperatures will come close to 90 on Thursday and Friday before dipping to 80ish on Saturday and 70ish on Sunday. Morning thunderstorms are forecast for the middle two days. Thursday will have the mildest wind before it starts blowing the rest of the weekend. 

Key Stats to Winning at TPC San Antonio

The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
• Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation/Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Par-3 Scoring 200-225 yards
• Par-4 Scoring 450-500 yards
• Par-5 Scoring 550-600 yards

Past Champions

2024 - Akshay Bhatia
2023 - Corey Conners
2022 - J.J. Spaun
2021 - Jordan Spieth
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Corey Conners
2018 - Andrew Landry
2017 - Kevin Chappell
2016 - Charley Hoffman
2015 - Jimmy Walker

Champion's Profile

If we ever need proof that there's more than one way to win a golf tournament, look no further than last year's Valero, where Bhatia and McCarthy tied at 20-under before Bhatia won the playoff. Bhatia ranked eighth in driving distance to McCarthy's 73rd, first in greens in regulation vs. 34th, sixth in SG: Off-the-Tee vs. 42nd and 24th in SG: Putting vs. third. Yes, McCarthy putted great, as he usually does.

There were key similarities, however: Bhatia ranked first in SG: Approach and Tee-to-Green and second in Around-the-Green. McCarthy was seventh, second and first.

The top four guys on the leaderboard ranked first, second, third and seventh in SG: Approach and first, second, fifth and sixth in SG: Tee-to-Green.

In other words, strong ball striking/tee-to-green games is what to focus on most.

In the prior two years, neither Spaun nor Conners was long with his driver, but they were accurate and ranked 10th and 8th in SG: Off-the-Tee, respectively. Conners ranked second in fairways hit, first in greens in regulation, first in SG: Approach and first in SG: Tee-to-Green, while 41st in SG: Putting. The top three in Tee-to-Green all finished in the top-5 on the leaderboard.

The over/under on the winning score on golfodds.com was set at 270.5 -- 17.5 under par.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

$10,000 and up

Tommy Fleetwood - $10,700 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +1400) 
Ever since the Valero moved to the week before the Masters, the shortest odds for the winner was +1600, with a few significantly longer. This year, Fleetwood is shorter, as is Aberg at +1200. Maybe it's because the very top guys have one eye looking ahead. Fleetwood certainly is one of the very top guys this week. But having never won a PGA Tour event, he's in no position to overlook this opportunity. Fleetwood has been quite good so far in 2025. He has four finishes of top-16 or better in five starts. He ranks 12th on Tour in SG: Approach and eighth in Tee-to-Green. Fleetwood made his Valero debut a year ago and tied for seventh.

Corey Conners - $10,100 (+1600) 
Conners of course will be a popular pick across all formats, nowhere more than in OAD pools. He's not only won here twice, he's had a great season to date with four top-10s, including T3 at Bay Hill and T6 at THE PLAYERS. Further, Conners is putting far better now, currently ranked 60th on Tour.

$9,000-$9,900

Keegan Bradley - $9,500 (+2500) 
Who could have seen this season coming with Bradley having the weight of the Ryder Cup captaincy on his shoulders? Seven starts, five top-25s, two top-10s, zero missed cuts. Bradley is inside the top-25 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, Approach, Tee-to-Green and Total. He's putting decently (for him, 86th). Bradley hasn't played TPC San Antonio since 2022, but back then he tied for eighth.

Daniel Berger - $9,200 (+3000) 
Berger has not won so far in 2025, but he surely is one of the top stories of the first three months. He missed 18 months across. He returned last year but was awful -- until a runner-up at the season-ending RSM. In 2025, Berger has been outstanding, with another runner-up and five top-25s. He's ranked top-50 in every strokes-gained stat, and not many guys can say that.

Denny McCarthy - $9,000 (+2800) 
McCarthy came oh-so-close to his first Tour win here a year ago. We saw how far his putting can carry him. This year, his approach play has been superior, as he's ranked 27th on Tour. McCarthy arrives with five top-25s on the season, including a top-15 at THE PLAYERS.

$8,000-$8,900

Tom Kim - $8,400 (+4000) 
Kim is in the Masters, but he will not be looking too far ahead. He's got too much work on throughout his game. Yes, he's made six of eight cuts this season. However, he has just one top-25, and that was a tie for seventh at Pebble Beach. So what's to like? For one, this is probably the weakest field Kim has played in this season. Second, he's ranked seventh on Tour in SG: Approach, even though the rest of his numbers are pretty bad. But it's helped land him at 34th in SG: Tee-to-Green, plus he's top-50 in greens in regulation. (So, you're saying there's a chance?)

Bud Cauley - $8,300 (+4500) 
With apologies to Griffin, there would be no better last-minute qualifier for the Masters than Cauley (okay, maybe Woodland too). Cauley, whose career was derailed by a serious auto accident more than a decade ago, is coming off a pair of top-6s at THE PLAYERS and the Valspar. He's ranked 20th on Tour in SG: Approach, 13th in Tee-to-Green, 26th in Putting and fifth in SG: Total. Cauley once tied for 10th at Valero long ago (2017) and made the cut last year.

$7,000-$7,900

Ryan Gerard - $7,600 (+7000) 
Full disclosure: We had not paid much attention to Gerard until his top-10 last week at Houston. On closer inspection, he's having a very nice season, now with four top-25s. One of them came on another track that's long and narrow, Torrey Pines (T15). Gerard is ranked 15th on Tour in SG: Approach, 28th in Putting and an eye-opening 23rd in Total. He made the cut  two two years ago in his lone Valero appearance.

Lee Hodges - $7,500 (+6000) 
Amid a terrific start to the season, Hodges was forced to withdraw from THE PLAYERS because of a rib injury. But he returned last week and didn't miss a beat with a tie for 11th in Houston, just missing his second top-10. Hodges tied for sixth here two years ago. He's ranked just outside the top-50 on Tour in both SG: Approach and Tee-to-Green, but he's 33rd in GIR and sixth in SG: Putting.

Victor Perez - $7,100 (+8000) 
Perez has three top-25s on the season, and they've all come in his past three starts, including last week at Houston. He's a top-50 player in greens in regulation, SG: Tee-to-Green and even SG: Total. Perez is also in the upper half of the putting rankings. He played his first Valero a year ago and made the cut.

$6,000-$6,900

Joel Dahmen - $6,900 (+12000) 
Dahmen made four of his past five cuts, including a tie for 18th last week in Houston. He also has two top-10s this season, one of them at long and narrow Torrey Pines in the Farmers. Dahmen is ranked top-40 on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee, Approach and Tee-to-Green, and he's even inside the top 100 in Putting.

Henrik Norlander - $6,600 (+17000) 
In his past seven starts, Norlander has alternated a missed cut with a made cut. If form holds, he'll make the cut this week. Among those cashes, he's had a couple of top-20s, and we caught his T16 at the Valspar. Incredibly, Norlander is ranked fourth on Tour in SG: Approach, which contributes mightily to his top-40 ranking in SG: Tee-to-Green. But please, please don't ask us about his other strokes-gained metrics.

Brice Garnett - $6,500 (+25000) 
When you really look at every guy in a PGA Tour field, 150-something guys, you sometimes wonder how the guys at the bottom are even in the same profession as the guys on top. Garnett is surely one of those bottom guys in your mind. And yet, at $6,500, there are 45 guys priced lower than him, more than a quarter of the field. The 41-year-old made six straight cuts to start the season before missing his last two, one of them at THE PLAYERS. Garnett is ranked fifth on Tour in driving accuracy, seventh in greens in regulation -- two stats of note this week. He's also in the top-100 in SG: Tee-to-Green, Putting and Total. There are many worse guys in this field.

Evaluating your options for the Valero Texas Open? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes!