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April 22, 2016
Partial Second-Round Notes
Weather: Sunny, with a high of 81 degrees. Wind NE 8-12 mph.
Due to darkness, the second round was suspended at 8:11 p.m. CT. The first round will resume at 8:00 a.m., Friday, with the third round scheduled to begin at approximately 9:30 a.m.
Partial Second-Round Leaderboard
| Brendan Steele | 64-70 – 134 | (-10) |
|---|---|---|
| Charley Hoffman | 66-71 – 137 | (-7) |
| Stuart Appleby | 67-70 – 137 | (-7) |
| Scott Langley | 69-68 – 137 | (-7) |
Brendan Steele
With a 2-under-par 70 Friday to get to 10-under 134, 2011 Valero Texas Open winner Brendan Steele tied Ben Curtis for the 36-hole tournament record since the Valero Texas Open moved to TPC San Antonio – Oaks Course with a two-day total of 10-under 134. Curtis went on to win in 2012 after opening with a 134.
On Friday morning, Steele returned to finish the last five holes of his first round in even par. Beginning his second round 30 minutes later, Steele birdied three of his first four holes to charge out to a five-shot lead. He made his first double bogey of the tournament at No. 15, but birdied 17 to post 10-under.
En route to his first career win here in 2011, Steele held a share of the 36-hole lead at 3-under-par with six other players. This marks Steele’s third lead/co-lead after 36 holes, with his only conversion to a victory being his lead here in 2011. His last 36-hole lead came at the 2015 Safeway Open, where he posted a 76 on Sunday to finish five shots back of the playoff in T17. Only six second-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to finish the job with a win in the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season.
Steele has hit 20 of 28 fairways and 27 of 36 greens in regulation thus far. He has only needed 52 putts – 26 each round – to complete his rounds. Entering this week, Steele ranked 167th on the PGA TOUR in putting average at 29.65 putts per round. His game has experienced a quick turnaround this week, though, as he went from tied at the bottom of the leaderboard a week ago at the RBC Heritage to the top of the leaderboard a week later after 36 holes.
Steele has played in each Valero Texas Open since his 2011 victory, where he has played well; 2011/1st, 2012/T4, 2013/T46, 2014/MC, 2015/T8.
Second-Round Lead Notes
Since 2000, seven of the last 16 second-round leaders/coleaders of the Valero Texas Open have gone on to hang on for the win, most recently Steven Bowditch and Jimmy Walker in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
This year, six second-round leaders/co-leaders have held on for the win. The most recent to do it was Jason Day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Through 36 holes last year, the eventual winner Jimmy Walker was 6-under-par at this point with a one- shot lead.
Charley Hoffman
Charley Hoffman was tied for second a year ago after 36 holes at the Valero Texas Open and that’s exactly where he finds himself a year later. Starting on No. 10, Hoffman bogeyed his first hole but posted three birdies and an eagle on his way in to counter three more bogeys for a second-round 1-under 71.
Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, Hoffman is now 38-under-par.
Seeing Hoffman’s name at or near the top of the leaderboard at the Valero Texas Open should come as no surprise. Hoffman is making his 11th-consecutive start at the Valero Texas Open, where he has claimed four top-10 finishes. He narrowly missed the top-10 last year, finishing T11. Hoffman has never missed a cut and only once finished outside the top 15 (T70/2008). His top-10 finishes; T8/2006, T9/2009, T2/2011 and T3/2013.
Hoffman is making his 13th start of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR Season, where he remains in search of his first top-10 finish. His best showing to date is a T11 at the Valspar Championship. Hoffman is coming off a T14 at last week’s RBC Heritage where he held a share of the 36-hole lead before closing in 71-75.
Scott Langley
Following a bogey-free 2-under front nine, Scott Langley holed a pitch shot for eagle at the par-5 14th to climb up the leaderboard. He added a bogey at 15 and birdie at 17 to post a 4-under-par 68 and follow up a first round 69. It’s the first time in 2016 that Langley has opened with back-to-back sub-70 rounds.
Playing the weekend is particularly important for Langley who has conditional status on the PGA TOUR after finishing 16 points short of full status at 127th in the FedExCup point standings a year ago.
In 10 prior PGA TOUR starts this year, Langley’s played the weekend four times with his best finish of T11 coming four weeks ago at the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach. Langley entered the week 174th in FedExCup points with 88.
Langley’s made the weekend at three of the last four Valero Texas Opens, with his best finish being T50 in 2012.
Ricky Barnes
Starting on No. 10, Ricky Barnes posted four birdies (6, 11, 17, and 18), a bogey (7) and double bogey (2) for a 2-under 70. In six previous starts at the Valero Texas Open, Barnes has never finished higher than T36 (2011). He’s missed the cut three times, withdrew once, and posted a T50 in 2012.
A week ago at the RBC Heritage, Barnes posted his best finish of the season with a T9. On the season, Barnes has made the cut in 10 of 15 starts with three top-25 finishes. He’s 91st in the FedExCup standings after finishing in 155th a year ago.
With 221 career PGA TOUR starts under his belt, Barnes is looking for his first career victory.
Luke Donald
Five-time PGA TOUR winner Luke Donald posted his first top-20 finish of the year a week ago with a tie for 2nd at the RBC Heritage and is back in contention again this week after opening with rounds of 69-70. Starting on the back nine Friday, Donald opened his round with eight pars and a bogey at the par-5 14th but posted birdies on Nos. 3, 8, and 9 to come home in 33.
This is Donald’s fourth start at the Valero Texas Open, but first since 2003.
The former World No. 1’s last PGA TOUR win came at the 2012 Valspar Championship.
Miscellaneous Notes
During today’s second round of the Valero Texas Open, Scott Stallings aced the 13th hole with an 8-iron from 200 yards. As the Official Mortgage Sponsor of the PGA TOUR, Quicken Loans will award one year’s worth of mortgage payments to Royal P. from Montgomery, Ala., to commemorate the ace. The Quicken Loans’ Hole-In-One Sweepstakes awards one year’s worth of mortgage payments to a randomly selected entrant for every ace during official PGA TOUR events from the Waste Management Phoenix Open through the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. Fans can enter the sweepstakes by visiting www.pgatour.com/quickenloans. Participants in the 2015 Sweepstakes must re-register to be eligible in 2016.
Stuart Appleby posted a triple on his first hole of the day, No. 10, Friday but rallied with seven birdies on the day to salvage a 2-under-par 70. He is in a tie for second at 7-under 137.
Last week’s RBC Heritage champion Branden Grace opened with back-to-back even par 72s.
World Golf Hall of Fame member Phil Mickelson missed his second consecutive cut with rounds of 77-71. In 10 starts this year, Mickelson has posted three top-10s with seven made cuts. His best among them is solo second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In five career starts at the Valero Texas Open for the 42- time PGA TOUR winner, his best finish is T30 in 2015.
Brad Dalke, whose victory at the 2015 Junior PGA Championship earned him a spot into this week’s Valero Texas Open field, opened with a 1-over-par 73 but will not play the weekend after a second-round 85.
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.
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