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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2018

Media E-Notes For March 8

TEXANS IN THE FIELD: Currently there are a total of 18 players in the field who were either born or now live in the state of Texas. Of that total, eleven players committed at this stage, were born in Texas—Bronson Burgoon (The Woodlands), Chad Campbell (Andres), Brian Gay (Fort Worth), Cody Gribble (Dallas), Kelly Kraft (Denton), Sean O’Hair (Lubbock), Ryan Palmer (Amarillo), John Peterson (Fort Worth), Shawn Stefani (Baytown), Chris Stroud (Groves).

ANOTHER TOP-25 PLAYER: This week, Italy’s Francesco Molinari became the sixth player among the top-25 in the world to commit to the tournament. Molinari, is currently ranked 24th.

RISING STAR ACCEPTS SPONSOR EXEMPTION: Shubhankar Sharma, who led the World Golf Championships-Mexico last week through three rounds before finishing 9th, has accepted a sponsor exemption to play in the tournament. Sharma, a rising 21-year-old star from India, who leads the European Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings on the strength of two victories on that Tour, also accepted an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament this week.

LUKE LIST COMMITMENT: One of the hot players in recent weeks is Luke List, who is currently committed to compete in the Valero Texas Open, April 19-22. At the Honda Classic, List, the third-round leader, birdied the par-5 18th hole Sunday to shoot a 1-under 69 and force a playoff with Justin Thomas before eventually falling on the first extra hole. The runner-up marked List’s best finish on the PGA TOUR. Also, with 15 birdies during the week, List brought his total birdie count to 556 since the start of last season, the most on TOUR during that span.

FEDEXCUP CHAMPION: Bill Haas, the 2011 FedExCup champion and winner of six career PGA TOUR titles, has committed. Haas joins Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker as the third FedExCup champion to join the field.

EAGLES FOR HOFFMAN: So far, this season, 13 players have recorded two eagles in one round. One of those is 2016 Valero Texas Open champion Charley Hoffman. During the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open Hoffman had two eagles on the Torrey Pines course.

ONE TOUGH GOLF COURSE: By the end of the 2017-18 PGA TOUR season, the TPC San Antonio Oaks course was ranked the 10th toughest course on the schedule. The par-72 layout had a 72.853 scoring average by tournament’s end. The field recorded 1,441 bogeys and 176 double-bogeys; making Kevin Chappell’s winning score of 12 under-par that much more impressive.

HE SAID IT: “I felt like I had some unfinished business here (after finishing second in 2011) and, you know, there's a lot of positives for me with this event, just one of the best run events we have all year. It’s a course that really fits my eye. It's great for my family, getting to stay at the resort here.” —2017 champion Kevin Chappell

FLASHBACK: At the 1980 San Antonio Texas Open, eventual World Golf Hall of Fame member Lee Trevino rolled in an 18-foot putt on the 18th hole in the final round to shoot a 5-under-par, 65 and 15-under-par for the tournament. This gave him a one stroke victory over Terry Diehl. That year, Trevino also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average during the season. Trevino will be featured on the cover of our Saturday Spectator Guide.

“I’ve hit the ball a lot today like I’ve been hitting it”... “but the 18-foot birdie on number 18 with a seven-iron to the green clinched the score.” —Trevino.

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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Shubhankar Sharma

Media Contacts

Stephanie Sage
Valero Texas Open
Director, Marketing & Community Relations

210.345.3839 office

Lee Patterson
Valero Texas Open
Director, Media Relations

704.913.1088 mobile