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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2024
McIlroy, Homa and Morikawa Headline Early Valero Texas Open Player Commitments
Two-time Champion Corey Conners Set to Defend Title
SAN ANTONIO, TX — The 102nd edition of the Valero Texas Open returns to San Antonio this spring and today tournament officials announced an attractive collection of early player commitments for the 144-man field scheduled to compete. The historical PGA TOUR stop returns to TPC San Antonio’s The Oaks course for the 14th year, April 1-7, a week preceding the Masters Tournament.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is scheduled to make his third start in the TPC San Antonio era of the tournament with his best finish coming in 2013 when he finished runner-up. Since his last Valero Texas Open start in 2022, the 24-time PGA TOUR winner has won six times worldwide, including the 2022 TOUR Championship and his third FedExCup title. His most-recent win came this past Sunday at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.
Max Homa will be making his first start in San Antonio since 2019. He’s gone on to win six times since then en route to becoming the 7th ranked player in the world. Homa is defending his most recent PGA TOUR title this week at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California.
Collin Morikawa, ranked 12th in the world, will be playing here for the first time in his career. The two-time major champion has won six PGA TOUR titles since turning pro in 2019.
2019 and 2023 champion, Corey Conners is the 10th multiple winner of the Valero Texas Open and the first since Zach Johnson (2008 & 2009). The Canadian also became the fourteenth player in history to record his first two TOUR victories at the same event. After opening with an 8-under 64 last year, the 32-year-old became the first player to carry the first-round lead/co-lead on to victory since the Valero Texas Open moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010.
Joining Conners on the past champions list include J.J. Spaun (2022), Charley Hoffman (2016), Jimmy Walker (2015) and Martin Laird (2013).
Lucas Glover, two-time TOUR winner in 2023 and world number 31, will be making his fifth consecutive Valero Texas Open start and is among the Masters Invitees that will be competing in this year’s tournament. In addition to Glover, recent winners including New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, who won the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour in September and is currently ranked 32nd in the world, Sony Open in Hawaii winner and world number 50 Grayson Murray and, World Wide Technology Championship winner Erik Van Rooyen, have all committed to compete in the Valero Texas Open prior to playing in the year’s first major championship.PGA TOUR players have until Friday, March 29 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time to commit and can withdraw at any time.
Additional News and Notes:
- Tickets On Sale Starting Wednesday, January 24: Tickets to the Valero Texas Open are on sale tomorrow via Ticketmaster and ValeroTexasOpen.com. As is customary, all net proceeds from the event will go to support hundreds of charity organizations throughout South Texas and well beyond.
- Night to Honor Our Heroes presented by Boeing: The Valero Texas Open’s long-standing tradition of celebrating “Military City, USA continues this year as active military, wounded warriors and corporate supporters gather Friday night of tournament week on April 5.
- Champions fore Charity: Champions fore Charity is a fundraising program that provides participating charities and schools the opportunity to generate contributions through the Valero Texas Open. The Champions fore Charity program distributed over $14.88M to charities, a part of the record-breaking $23 million raised by the tournament in 2023, bringing the grand total to $232 million in charitable giving from Valero Texas Open tournament proceeds.
The 2024 fundraising campaign is presently underway and will conclude April 15. Over 190 participating charities and school programs have already raised over $5 million to date. At the conclusion of the fundraiser, the charities will also receive several financial incentives including a 7% matching gift provided by the Valero Texas Open. To learn more and donate to your favorite charity and/or school visit, www.championsforecharity.com.
- Volunteer Opportunities: Opportunities are still available for individuals looking to support our charitable mission or interested in a behind-the-scenes look at conducting a PGA TOUR tournament. The Valero Texas Open utilizes approximately 2,100 volunteers across twenty-six committees to assist in staging and managing the tournament. Nearly 800 Valero employees are part of this volunteer effort.
Visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for all tournament news, updates, information and to purchase tickets.
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
