The Valero Texas Open is next up on the PGA TOUR schedule. This is a look at the best first-round leader bet to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Valero Texas Open
The Valero Texas Open is played at TPC San Antonio. TPC San Antonio is a par-72 golf course and ranges 7,494 yards. The greens are Bermudagrass, just like they were last week in Houston. The Valero Texas Open field will feature 150 golfers, and there is a standard 36-hole cut with the top 65 and ties making the weekend. This is the last event on the PGA TOUR before The Masters. Some top players like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are taking the week off to rest, while others like Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Cantlay are using this week as a tune-up for Augusta. For some in the field, this is also their last chance to qualify for Augusta with a strong performance in Texas.
Here is a look at my pick to lead after the first round of the Valero Texas Open:
Keegan Bradley FRL (+4000)
The 2025 Team USA Ryder Cup captain wants to put on a show at Augusta, so this is an important week for him to prepare. Keegan Bradley currently sits 19th in the Team USA points list for this year’s Ryder Cup, but a strong performance at The Masters could see him skyrocket up that list. The captain has previously stated that he would only play in the Ryder Cup if he is an automatic qualifier, which would require him to finish toward the top of a couple of major leaderboards.
It has been a good start to the 2025 season for Bradley. After picking up wins each of the past two seasons on TOUR, Bradley has continued his good form this season. In seven events played so far, Bradley has five top-20 finishes and two top-six finishes. Bradley has taken a couple of weeks off but in each of his last two tournaments, he performed well. He finished inside the top 20 in tough conditions against a great field at THE PLAYERS and finished T-5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational against another great field the week before that. Bradley’s game is in a good place heading into the Valero Texas Open.
Keegan Bradley has performed well at the Valero Texas Open in the past. Bradley has played this event six times before, finishing in the top-10 twice. His most recent time playing this event was in 2022, where he finished T-8. Players can typically go quite low at TPC San Antonio, which is good news for Bradley. When his game is on and he is putting well, he can go as low as anybody on TOUR. Bradley showed how red-hot he can get at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year, where he shot a 29 on the front nine on Sunday to go storming up the leaderboard. Keegan Bradley is eighth on the PGA TOUR in proximity this season, meaning he is sticking his approach shots close to the hole. If he can get in birdie positions and get his putter hot, he could go low enough to lead after the first round in San Antonio.
