Dr. Seuss said it best in a favorite childhood book, Oh the Places You’ll Go!, “You’re off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!” As we near school starting later this month, we want to wish all of the administrators, parents, teachers and students the best of luck. May the new school year kick-start fun educational adventures and inspire young minds to new heights!

The FedExCup Playoffs begin this week and five champions of the Valero Texas Open have qualified for the 125-player field.

2019 champion Corey Conners is 31st on the FedExCup list and will be making his first appearance in the playoffs. Adam Scott, the 2010 VTO champion is the highest ranked player among our champions at 21st. Charley Hoffman returns to the playoffs after missing last year. Hoffman, the 2016 VTO champion, will be competing in the playoffs for the 12th time since the playoffs began in 2007. Andrew Landry, winner here in 2018, made his way into the playoffs in the last month on the strength of a third place at John Deere and top-20 finish at Wyndham. Prior that run he was 171 on the FedExCup list and is 123 this week. Martin Laird also went on a run late to make the playoffs with a pair of top-10 finishes in July. He won the Valero Texas Open in 2013 and is ranked 121 this week.

The 7th annual Valero Texas Open Women’s Day provided San Antonio-area women the opportunity to create social and business relationships through an exclusive and advanced forum of more than 240 women. The day-long event on Tuesday, April 2 embraced the theme of “What Brings Us Together: Food, Friendship, & Fun.”

Insights and anecdotes were shared by keynote speaker, Tanji Patton, Emmy award winning journalist and Host/Executive Producer of the television series, “Good Taste with Tanji”. Tanji shared her passion for food and wines as she led guests through an interactive lunch filled with wine pairings for each course.

Attendees also enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the Valero Texas Open in the afternoon. The ever-popular Networking Mixer concluded the program with appetizers and sweet delights prepared by high school students from the culinary program at Lanier HS which was paired with Dripping Springs beverages, and a trunk show from Kendra Scott and Jon Hart.

Proceeds from Women’s Day supported the Culinary Program at Lanier High School led by Chef Jenny Placette.

Our volunteers play an important role in the tournament's charitable mission to raise funds and awareness for hundreds of worthy causes throughout San Antonio and the South Texas region. In an effort to get to know the various committees and volunteers better, we’d like to feature two of our hardworking invaluable volunteers:

John Andersen 19 years with Valero Texas Open Committee: Walking Scorers In his early years with Valero Texas Open, John assisted staff and the Media Services committee to operate the badge machine for tournament credentials. He would come into the office after his full-time job to get all the badges ready for the upcoming tournament. He was instrumental in creating an instruction book for operating the machine for new volunteers. He would also volunteer during the week as a Walking Scorer, far-exceeding the typical number of volunteer hours. This year, John performed his daily duties as a Walking Scorer which included walking 5 to 7 miles while scoring for three PGA TOUR golfers. He worked every day of the tournament and when available, consistently volunteered for additional tasks that needed to be done. In fact, he went above and beyond by completing full-day double shifts on Wednesday (Pro-Am day) and Friday. John was the first committee volunteer to arrive at the course on Sunday during the thunderstorm, ready to work whenever he was needed.

Paul Dockery 2 years with Valero Texas Open Committee: Exhibitor Services Paul is a go getter and didn’t have to be asked twice to do something. He jumped right in on the task at-hand and got it done quickly. By showing up early and staying late, Paul showed that he enjoyed what he did when volunteering with enthusiasm. He was reliable and completed each task with passion, integrity, character and dedication.