On Saturday and Monday, thousands of fans will pack San Antonio’s Alamodome for the men’s Final Four and national championship college basketball games. A little more than 30 minutes away, another big sporting event will take place today through Sunday: the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio.
“We think we’ll certainly be able to piggyback on all the excitement around the Final Four and hopefully introduce a lot of sports fans to what we do here at the Valero Texas Open,” said Larson Segerdahl, the tournament’s executive director.
First played in 1922, the Valero Texas Open is the third-oldest tournament on the PGA Tour and the oldest to be played in the same city. It’s also the last event before the Masters, giving non-invited players a final chance to earn an invitation by winning. With the Final Four in San Antonio, Segerdahl believes the tournament will have something for golf fans and non-golf fans alike.
“What had previously been a real niche golf audience event has become a community-wide party and an event where you don’t just have to be a golfer or a golf fan to come out and enjoy the Texas Open,” Segerdahl said.
After the final putt of the third round on Saturday, the Texas Open will host a “Final Fore” watch party, where spectators can watch basketball on a big screen. There will also be many basketball- and golf-themed games for people to play.
“We’ve already seen an influx of inquiries for tickets particularly on Sunday, which is sort of the off day in between semifinals and the championship game,” Segerdahl said. “We’ve also seen a big uptick in ticket requests. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
All people in attendance, golf fan or not, will surely be treated to some entertaining golf due to the strong field.
“I think both last year and this year will be the strongest fields we’ve ever had here in San Antonio,” Segerdahl said.
There are seven of the top 16 players in the world in the field, including Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley. There are also 12 different major champions and 25 invitees to the Masters Tournament for the following week.
“To be that last opportunity for players to tune up their game before they head into the year’s first major championship is great,” Segerdahl said. “To be the last opportunity for players who aren’t already in the Masters to try to qualify for the year’s first major championship has been a great spot for us the last few years.”
Last year, Akshay Bhatia’s victory at TPC San Antonio earned him an invitation to Augusta National. Bhatia is one of seven past Texas Open champions in this year’s field. Segerdahl says the tournament committee places an emphasis on inviting back past champions and making them feel at home. In the more than 100-year history of the Texas Open, the event certainly boasts many notable past champions.
“Our list of champions includes (Byron) Nelson, (Sam) Snead, (Ben) Hogan, (Arnold) Palmer, (Lee) Trevino and (Jordan) Spieth,” Segerdahl said. “I mean, you name them, they’ve won here.”
“There really isn’t a corner of our community that isn’t directly impacted by the charitable dollars that are generated here. We always try to raise the bar when it comes to charity.” – Larson Segerdahl
More fans at this year’s Valero Texas Open would also mean more money to charity. Since Valero Energy took over as the title sponsor in 2002, the tournament has raised more than $256 million for charity.
“Last year we raised $24 million for charity through the event, which was No. 1 on the PGA Tour,” Segerdahl said.
Segerdahl says the tournament benefits more than 400 charities in Texas and other markets where Valero is involved.
“There really isn’t a corner of our community that isn’t directly impacted by the charitable dollars that are generated here,” Segerdahl said. “We always try to raise the bar when it comes to charity.”
With both the Final Four and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, the spotlight will certainly be on Texas this weekend.
“We joke sometimes that we treat it as though it’s the national championship of the Republic of Texas,” Segerdahl said. “Texans take great pride in their community and in their culture. This event is a big part of that.”