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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2023
First Round Notes
Thursday: Cloudy. High of 79. Wind SE 12-22 mph. The first round was delayed due to fog for 48 minutes, with the round beginning at 8:18 a.m. Play was suspended due to fog at 8:42 a.m. for 2 hours, 38 minutes, resuming at 11:20 a.m. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:23 p.m. with the entire afternoon wave yet to complete the round. Friday: The first round resumed at 7:45 a.m. and was completed at 11:29 a.m. Cloudy. High of 71. Wind S 10-20 mph.
Partial First-Round Leaderboard
| Corey Conners | 64 | (-8) |
| Patrick Rodgers | 66 | (-6) |
| Chris Kirk | 67 | (-5) |
| Hayden Buckley | 67 | (-5) |
| Peter Malnati | 67 | (-5) |
Things To Know
- 2019 Valero Texas Open champion Corey Conners leads the Valero Texas Open by two strokes in bid to become the ninth multiple winner of the event and the first player since K.H. Lee (2021, 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson) to record his first two PGA TOUR victories at the same event
- Conners holds the first-round lead/co-lead for the fourth time on the PGA TOUR (0-for-3 to date)
- 51-year-old Padraig Harrington seeks to become the third-oldest winner in PGA TOUR history
- Coming off a victory at last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship, Matt Wallace posts an opening-round 69
- Thursday’s weather delay is the first at the Valero Texas Open since 2021, when the start of the third round was delayed by two hours, 30 minutes
First-Round Lead Notes
- 0 First-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Valero Texas Open since it moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010
- 2 First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2022-23 (most recent: Jon Rahm/Sentry Tournament of Champions)
Corey Conners (1st/-8)
| Category | Entering the week |
|---|---|
| Age | 31 (January 6, 1992) |
| FedExCup | No. 82 |
| OWGR | No. 40 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s in TOUR career | 152-1-18 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s in 2021-22 | 10-0-0 |
| Starts – wins – top-10s at Valero | 4-1-1 |
- Posts a bogey-free 8-under 64, his best score in 17 rounds at TPC San Antonio; previous low round was 66 during the third- and final-rounds en route to victory in 2019
- 0-for-3 to date with the first-round lead/co-lead, most recently finishing T17 at the 2021 PGA Championship
- Would become the first player since K.H. Lee (2021, 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson) to record first two PGA TOUR victories at the same event
- Would become the ninth multiple winner of the Valero Texas Open (first since Zach Johnson/2008, 2009)
Additional Player Notes
- In four prior starts at the Valero Texas Open, Patrick Rodgers (2nd/-6) has made the cut once (T58/2022); opening- round 66 is his first round in the 60s in 11 rounds at TPC San Antonio
- 2023 Honda Classic champion Chris Kirk (T3/-5) would join Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa as multiple winners this season
- A victory on Sunday for Padraig Harrington (T6/-4) would come at the age of 51 years, 7 months and 2 days, which would make him the third-oldest winner in TOUR history:
- Sam Snead – 52 years, 10 months, 8 days (1965 Wyndham Championship)
- Art Wall – 51 years, 7 months, 10 days (1975 Greater Milwaukee Open)
- Harrington and Roberto Diaz, both T6 following matching 4-under 68s, are seeking to become the first Sponsor Exemption to win on TOUR since Martin Laird at the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open
- 2001 and 2022 Valero Texas Open runner-up Matt Kuchar (T6/-4) most recently advanced out of group play at last week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play before falling to Jason Day, 1-up, in the Round of 16; week included two match victories, which pulled him into a tie with Tiger Woods for most match victories (36) at the event
- Coming off a victory at last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship, Matt Wallace (T12/-3) is attempting to become the first player to win in back-to-back tournaments since Tony Finau (2022 3M Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic) and in back-to-back starts since Jon Rahm (2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express)
- J.J. Spaun (T25/-2) opens with a 2-under 70 in bid to become the first player since Zach Johnson (2009) to successfully defend his title at the Valero Texas Open
- Making his 500th PGA TOUR start, four-time PGA TOUR winner Lucas Glover (T113/+3) cards a 3-over 75; first-career TOUR start came at this event in 2001 (T66)
- Brandon Matthews withdrew during the round with a back injury
- Davis Love III withdrew following the first round with a wrist and thumb injury
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
