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March 28, 2014
First-Round Notes – Friday, March 28
Weather: Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. High of 87 degrees, with winds W/NW 6-12 mph.
Forty-five players were back in position to complete their first round at 8 a.m. (7:57 a.m. actual start). The second round began at 8:30 a.m.
First-Round Leaderboard
| Andrew Loupe | -5 | (67) |
|---|---|---|
| Pat Perez | -4 | (68) |
| Danny Lee | -4 | (68) |
Andrew Loupe
PGA TOUR rookie Andrew Loupe (pronounced: Loop) is making his eighth professional start on the PGA TOUR. Prior to the 2013-‘14 PGA TOUR Season, Loupe’s only other start on TOUR came as an amateur in 2011 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (MC).
After missing the cut in his first five starts this season, Loupe has since finished T27 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and T12 at the Puerto Rico Open. On the Monterey Peninsula, Loupe opened with a career-low, 8-under 63 to take the 18-hole lead by two strokes.
Loupe made his way to the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his 32nd-place finish on the 2013 Web.com Tour priority list. The 2011 LSU grad garnered a pair of top-10 finishes in 25 starts on that Tour last season.
When darkness forced the suspension of the first round Thursday evening, Loupe returned Friday morning to finish his round, beginning on the third tee.
First-Round Leader Notes
Since 2000, there have been only two first-round leaders of the Valero Texas Open to hang on for the win. Justin Leonard claimed his fifth PGA TOUR win in 2000 after holding a share of the opening-round lead at LaCantera, and Robert Gamez achieved the feat in 2005.
This year, four of 18 first-round leaders/co-leaders have held on for the win, most recently Patrick Reed at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
Pat Perez
Interestingly, it was a pair of negatives for Pat Perez which led him towards the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the Valero Texas Open. It wasn’t until after he shot an 11-over 83 in the final round of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational that he got motivated to play in San Antonio. Then, in round one today, a self-proclaimed, eye-opening bogey at the par-4 15th hole gave him the focus he needed to birdie his final three holes and post a 4-under 68.
Perez is making his eighth start in the Valero Texas Open. In two previous starts at TPC San Antonio, Perez finished T5 in 2011 and T22 in 2010.
Having collected three top-10 finishes in his first nine starts of the 2013-’14 PGA TOUR Season, Perez continues to enjoy his best season on the PGA TOUR since 2009 when he claimed his only TOUR title, the Humana Challenge. In 12 events this year, Perez’ only missed cut came in his second start last October at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
In January, Perez claimed T8 honors at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Two starts later, he claimed his second career runner-up finish with T2 honors at the Farmers Insurance Open in front of a hometown crowd. His third top-10 finish of the season came at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T7).
Perez, whose father Tony was born in San Antonio, has “hundreds” of relatives still living in the area.
Danny Lee
Irving, Texas resident Danny Lee birdied four of his last five holes in round one to post a 4-under 68 and tie his low opening-round score for the season (12 previous starts). Lee opened with a 4-under 68 two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship to take a share of the lead, but missed the cut following a second-round, 7-over 79.
Lee was unable to break par in the opening round of his first eight starts this season. His last five, including the Valero Texas Open, have all been sub-par scores. Lee earned a return to the PGA TOUR for the 2013-’14 Season by virtue of his 27th-place finish on last year’s Web.com priority list.
In his 56th career start on the PGA TOUR, Lee remains in search of his first TOUR title. Following six straight missed cuts earlier this season, Lee claimed his career-best finish with runner-up honors at the Puerto Rico Open.
In his only other start at the Valero Texas Open, Lee finished T63 in 2012.
Will MacKenzie
Of Will MacKenzie’s four top-10 finishes in 12 starts this year, two have come in his last three starts. A week after his T6 at The Honda Classic, MacKenzie improved to T4 at the Valspar Championship. He is coming off a T43 at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
MacKenzie is angling for his fifth top-10 finish of the season this week. His four so far surpassed his previous best of three top-10s in a season (2007).
MacKenzie earned a return to the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his 7th place finish on the 2013 Web.com Tour priority list.
In his 185th career start on the PGA TOUR this week, MacKenzie is in search of his third title, and first since the 2008 Sanderson Farms Championship. His first victory came at the 206 Reno-Tahoe Open.
Cameron Beckman
San Antonio resident Cameron Beckman, a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, drained a 42-foot birdie putt on his last hole of the day, No. 9, to post a 3-under 69.
Playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption and out of the Past Champion category, Beckman is making his 19th start in the event and 18th consecutive. His best finish is T12 in 2006. Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, Beckman has missed the cut three times. He finished T63 in 2012.
Zach Johnson
2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson has claimed four of his 11 wins in the state of Texas – more than any other state. In addition to his wins at LaCantera GC in 2008 and 2009, Johnson also won the 2010 and 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
In his only other start in the Valero Texas Open, Johnson missed the cut at TPC San Antonio in 2010.
Phil Mickelson
Making his first start in the Valero Texas Open since 1992 (T47), Phil Mickelson struggled in round one with a 5-over 77. Today’s 77 is his highest opening-round score since a 79 at the 2012 Memorial Tournament, an event he withdrew from before the second round.
Among Mickelson’s 42 PGA TOUR wins are four from the state of Texas (1996 HP Byron Nelson Championship, 2000/2008 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and 2011 Shell Houston Open).
Jordan Spieth
2013 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Jordan Spieth bogeyed his first four holes (Nos. 10-13) and six of his first seven en route to a 3-over 75. Spieth stopped the bleeding on his inward nine with birdies at Nos. 1, 5, 8 and 9.
Spieth is making his third consecutive start in this week’s Valero Texas Open. The former Texas Longhorn missed last year’s cut and in 2012, as an amateur, finished T41.
In seven rounds now at TPC San Antonio, Spieth has been unable to break 70.
Jimmy Walker
San Antonio’s Jimmy Walker opened with a 4-over 76. Walker was 2-under through seven holes before playing his final 11 holes at 6-over-par.
Walker, the 2013-’14 PGA TOUR Season’s only three-time winner, is making his ninth start in the event, with a best finish of T3 in 2010.
When Walker won the season’s first event in October, the Frys.com Open, he became the first leader of the FedExCup. Through 20 events after this week, Walker will continue to hold that top spot by 529 points over Patrick Reed.
Miscellaneous Notes
Interestingly, Nos. one and two in the current FedExCup standings have San Antonio ties. San Antonio is now home to Jimmy Walker (No. 1) and Patrick Reed (No. 2) was born in San Antonio.
Defending Valero Texas Open champion Martin Laird opened with an even-par 72.
There are 15 players in this week’s field also competing at the 2014 Masters Tournament; K.J. Choi, Brendon de Jonge, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Brandon Grace, Billy Horschel, John Huh, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, John Senden, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Mike Weir.
Bogey-free Rounds
| R1: | Justin Hicks (69), Ben Curtis (70), Scott Brown (70) |
|---|
Scoring Averages at TPC San Antonio
| Round | Front 9 | Back 9 | Total | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 36.736 | 36.264 | 73.000 | -- |
The par-4, 4th hole played the most difficult in round one at 4.431. The par-5 14th played the easiest at 4.771.
ABOUT VALERO
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland and Latin America. Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day. Valero is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, which owns two renewable diesel plants located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, and Valero owns 12 ethanol plants located in the U.S. Mid-Continent region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. Valero manages its operations through its Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. Please visit investorvalero.com for more information.
ABOUT VALERO IN THE COMMUNITY
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where Valero has major operations. In 2023, Valero, its employees and the foundation collectively generated more than $77 million in charitable support through direct/in-kind donations, fundraising and volunteerism. Valero employees logged more than 127,000 volunteer hours in 2023 for hundreds of projects in their communities. Valero provides funding to a variety of nonprofit agencies for programs and services supporting education, basic needs, health care and civic initiatives. Through the overwhelming support of sponsors, the foundation’s signature programs, the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children, generated more than $23 million raised in 2023 for charities across the United States.
ABOUT THE VALERO TEXAS OPEN
The Valero Texas Open is the sixth-oldest professional tournament in golf worldwide, the third-oldest on the PGA TOUR and the longest held in the same city. In 2022, the tournament celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Its list of champions includes some of the greatest names in golf history: Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and 2019, 2023 champion Corey Conners to name a few.
Since Valero became title sponsor in 2002, the tournament has become a leader in charitable fundraising among PGA TOUR events. The Valero Texas Open, together with its Benefit for Children and Champions fore Charity initiatives, has contributed more than $232 million to hundreds of worthy charities since inception. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for more information.
Media Contacts
Stephanie Sage
Valero Texas Open
Director, Marketing & Community Relations
210.345.3839 office
Lee Patterson
Valero Texas Open
Director, Media Relations
704.913.1088 mobile
