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Currently 25 Masters Invitees Scheduled to Compete
SAN ANTONIO, TX - Tournament officials announced today the additions of six notable PGA TOUR players to the field for next week's Valero Texas Open.
San Antonio's historical PGA TOUR event returns to TPC San Antonio's The Oaks course for the 16th year, March 31-April 6, a week preceding the Masters Tournament.
Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 69 in the world, has two victories on the PGA TOUR and eight wins internationally, including the 2022 U.S. Open. The Englishman will be making his second consecutive start in San Antonio, finishing T10 last year, and his eleventh start at the Masters Tournament. Fitzpatrick has represented Europe on three Ryder Cup teams, won the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championship and was the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world for 21 weeks.
Cameron Young, No. 59 in the world, will make his Valero Texas Open debut followed by his third consecutive Masters Tournament appearance, finishing T7 and T9 his past two starts. While he has not won on the PGA TOUR yet, he has seven runner-up finishes, was the 2022 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and played on the Presidents Cup that season for Team USA.
Thriston Lawrence, ranked No. 68 in the world, will be making his first appearance at the VTO. The South African earned playing status on the PGA TOUR by finishing third on the 2024 DP World Tour rankings, where he has seven victories.
Brian Campbell, who won this year's Mexico Open for his first TOUR win, will be making his Masters debut following his week in San Antonio. This will be his second appearance here, having missed the cut in 2017.
Adam Schenk and Rafael Campos have a combined ten starts at the VTO. Schenk finished T7 here in 2019 and T5 last year and has accumulated three top 25 finishes on TOUR so far this year. Campos won the Bermuda Championship last year for his lone TOUR win which earned him his first invitation to the Masters Tournament. The Puerto Rican will be making his fourth start here.
Currently, there are seven players among the top 16 in the world who are committed- Collin Morikawa (No. 4), Ludvig Åberg (No. 5), Hideki Matsuyama (No. 6), Tommy Fleetwood (No. 10), Keegan Bradley (No. 14), Patrick Cantlay (No. 15) and Maverick McNealy (No. 16).
Past champions of the Valero Texas Open returning are Akshay Bhatia (2024), Corey Conners (2019, 2023), Jordan Spieth (2021), Charley Hoffman (2016), Jimmy Walker (2015), Martin Laird (2013) and Zach Johnson (2008, 2009).
2018 U.S Open and FedExCup Champion Justin Rose is scheduled to play in the VTO for the first time since 2006 and will be making his first-ever start at TPC San Antonio this spring. Nine-time PGA TOUR winner Matt Kuchar, six-time TOUR winners Max Homa and Rickie Fowler, five-time TOUR winner Sam Burns, four-time TOUR winners Daniel Berger and Gary Woodland will all return to compete in the tournament as well.
Players currently in the VTO field invited to the 2025 Masters (25): Åberg, Bhatia, Bradley, Burns, Campbell, Campos, Cantlay, Conners, Fitzpatrick, Fleetwood, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge, Homa, Johnson, Chris Kirk, Lawrence, Matsuyama, Denny McCarthy, McNealy, Morikawa, Poston, Rose, Schenk, Spieth, Young.
Major Champions in the field (12): Bradley (PGA), Fitzpatrick (U.S. Open), Harman (The Open), Johnson (Masters, The Open), Matsuyama (Masters), Francesco Molinari (The Open), Morikawa (The Open, PGA), Rose (U.S. Open), Webb Simpson (U.S. Open), Spieth (Masters, U.S. Open), Walker (PGA), Woodland (U.S Open).
Amateurs: Ben James, a junior and two-time first-team All-America at the University of Virginia, was medalist in the Valero Texas Collegiate this past fall, earning a spot in the Valero Texas Open. The 21-year-old overcame a five-shot deficit entering the third and final round to win at TPC San Antonio's Oaks Course. He shot a 6-under, 66 and won individual honors with a birdie on the first playoff hole. James is currently the No. 3 ranked amateur in the world and will be playing his seventh PGA TOUR event. His best finish has been a T44 in last year's Rocket Classic.
Preston Summerhays, a senior at Arizona State, is the 10th ranked amateur in the world. He comes from a family with a long history in golf, including his Uncle Daniel, who won on the Korn Ferry Tour and Great Uncle Bruce, a past winner on the PGA TOUR Champions. Summerhays, a two-time All-America, has four starts in both the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR, making one cut.
A handful of players who competed in the Valero Texas Open as amateurs in the past ten years are currently enjoying successful professional careers on either the PGA TOUR or Korn Ferry Tour. They include: Ludvig Åberg, a two-time PGA TOUR winner and Ryder Cup participant, who played in the VTO in 2022 while attending Texas Tech; Sam Bennett, who turned pro at the end of 2023 and had two third place finishes during his Korn Ferry Tour debut in 2024 after attending Texas A&M and playing the VTO in 2021; Sam Burns, who played in San Antonio in 2015 while at LSU, and has five wins on the PGA TOUR; Austin Eckroat, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR in 2024, who played here in 2021 while attending Oklahoma State; San Antonio's Mac Meissner, who recorded three top ten finishes on TOUR in 2024 and played here in 2021 while at SMU. They all missed the cut as amateurs when they played the VTO. However, in 2024, as eligible TOUR players, Meissner was T10, Aberg finished T14 and Eckroat T33. Burns was T23 (2019).
PGA TOUR players have until Friday, March 28 at 4:00 p.m. Central Time to commit and can withdraw at any time.
Additional News and Notes:
 |  | Tickets Currently on Sale: Tickets to the Valero Texas Open are on sale via www.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 USAA: This year’s program will feature World Golf Hall of Fame member Jack Nicklaus.
“I greatly appreciate the Valero Texas Open for inviting me to be a part of their event and pay tribute to those who have served and sacrificed for our country. I never had the opportunity to serve our country, but I have always had an enormous respect, admiration and heartfelt appreciation for those who have,” Nicklaus said.
The Valero Texas Open’s long-standing tradition of celebrating “Military City, USA” continues this year as active military, wounded veterans, and corporate supporters gather Friday night of tournament week on April 4 for this annual military appreciation banquet. | |
| | 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 $17.7M to charities, a part of the record-breaking $24 million raised by the tournament in 2024, bringing the grand total to $256 million in charitable giving from Valero Texas Open tournament proceeds.
The 2025 fundraising campaign is presently underway and will conclude April 14. Over 230 participating charities and school programs have already raised over $16.78 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: The Valero Texas Open utilizes approximately 2,100 volunteers across twenty-four committees to assist in staging and managing the tournament through its Volunteer Program presented by Frost Bank. Nearly 700 Valero employees are part of this volunteer effort. Due to popular demand and community support, volunteer shifts are all full and registration for this year’s tournament is now closed. | |
Visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for all tournament news, updates, information and to purchase tickets.
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