Arnold Palmer, whose charming personality and bold style of play created one of golf’s greatest players, the sport’s most revered figure and the most influential athlete of his generation, died Sept. 25 of complications due to a heart condition with his two daughters and wife Kit at his side. He was 87.

Palmer was known for his impressive 62 career PGA TOUR titles, including seven major championships. The Valero Texas Open is proud of its connection with Palmer and his place in the event’s history as a “three-peat” champion (1960 at Fort Sam Houston Golf Course, 1961 and 1962 at Oak Hills Country Club).

“We have lost a great friend and giant in our sport tonight with the passing of Arnold Palmer," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "There is no way to adequately express the immense sense of loss that we all feel with this news. He obviously meant so much not only to the PGA TOUR, but to the entirety of golf by lifting it to newfound visibility and popularity. It is not an exaggeration to say there would be no modern day PGA TOUR without Arnold Palmer. There would be no PGA TOUR Champions without Arnold Palmer. There would be no Golf Channel without Arnold Palmer. No one has had a greater impact on those who play our great sport or who are touched by it. It has been said many times over in so many ways, but beyond his immense talent, Arnold transcended our sport with an extraordinarily appealing personality and genuineness that connected with millions, truly making him a champion of the people. The fact that his popularity never waned more than a quarter century after his last competitive victory speaks volumes to the man, the icon and the legendary figure he was.”

While those who know and enjoy the game of golf will miss Palmer, there is no doubt that his spirit and the impact he made will live on forever.

Congratulations to Team USA who ended a recent European stronghold and brought home the Ryder Cup with a decisive 17-11 point victory at Hazeltine. This was the Americans' largest winning margin since 1981.

The victorious Team USA included 8 players who teed it up in the 2016 Valero Texas Open: JB Holmes, Zach Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker and Boerne, TX resident Jimmy Walker.

"We came out here and we played for each other, we played for our country and we played for all these fans," said Dustin Johnson, who beat Chris Wood, 1 up.

Ryan Moore, the final player picked for the team, clinched the Cup with his 1-up victory over Lee Westwood.

Congratulations Team USA!

Later this month the Valero Texas Open’s Birdies for Charity®, a successful annual fundraising campaign, will kick off in San Antonio on October 18, Corpus Christi on Oct. 19 and Austin on Oct. 20. The official 2017 campaign will begin accepting donations and pledges starting Monday, October 24 at ValeroTexasOpen.com.

The program designed in 1997 gives participating charities and schools a unique platform to engage potential donors and generate contributions. A no-cost program, Birdies for Charity, gives 100% of the funds raised back to the participating organizations.

Funds are generated by soliciting pledges from individuals and corporations. Birdies for Charity is like a walk-a-thon, but instead of donating per mile, participants make a pledge for every birdie made at the Valero Texas Open. The 2016 Valero Texas Open had 1,834 birdies made, so a pledge of $0.01 yielded a donation of $18.34. Donors also have the ability to make a one-time donation with the flexibility to pay in advance or to be billed after the tournament. Donations are accepted from anywhere around the world and are tax deductible, thanks to the Valero Texas Open’s non-profit 501(c)3 status.

The 2016 fundraising campaign, which combined efforts of one hundred twenty-five charities and schools, raised a record-breaking $2.78M with an all-time high collections rate of over 100% from donor commitments. These hardworking organizations were awarded an additional $194,000 combined, based on performance, through incentive programs funded by the Valero Texas Open and its corporate partners.

Registration to participate in the 2017 fundraising campaign for charities and schools is presently underway. If you know of a charity or school that isn’t already involved, please encourage them to participate in this great community initiative. Click here to learn more.

The PGA TOUR announced earlier this week on Tuesday that Dustin Johnson has been named the 2016 PGA TOUR Player of the Year as voted on by the TOUR’s membership for the 2015-16 season.

Johnson, who will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy for winning PGA TOUR Player of the Year, was selected for the honor over Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson.

In 22 starts, Johnson had a TOUR-best 15 top-10 finishes with 21 made cuts. Johnson has now won at least one PGA TOUR event in nine consecutive seasons dating back to his rookie season in 2008, the longest active streak on TOUR.

Johnson has competed in the Valero Texas Open four times in his career; most recently in 2015 when he finished T6 on the strength of back-to-back rounds of 68 on Saturday and Sunday.

Now that the 2016 official PGA TOUR season is in the books, it is interesting to look at some of the ShotLink statistics from the year completed.

The Valero Texas Open was one of 46 official events on the PGA TOUR schedule during which 17,635 stroke play rounds were played, 317,430 total holes were played and 1,254,242 total strokes were taken by the players. And, during the 2015-2016 wraparound season, the total combined score to par was 1,039 under-par. Charley Hoffman defeated Patrick Reed by one stroke to win this year’s Valero Texas Open. In all 30 of the 45 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR calendar were decided by one or fewer shots. There were 14 playoffs and 16 events – the VTO included – decided by one shot. VTO Champion Charley Hoffman was one of the 24 victories claimed by a player from the United States during the season. This year there were a total of 20 eagles recorded by the field at AT&T Oaks Course. In comparison, a total of 1,437 eagles were made during the entire PGA TOUR season. Charley Hoffman made a 9’ 2” birdie putt on the final hole to win the 2016 Valero Texas Open. His 9’ 2” putt was 1 of only 8 birdies made from outside of 9 feet in the final round of the Valero Texas Open.

Charley Hoffman defeated Patrick Reed by one stroke to win this year’s Valero Texas Open.

	Rory McIlroy recently won the TOUR Championship and is the newest FedExCup Champion; earning himself a $10 million bonus to conclude the 2016 PGA TOUR season. McIlroy competed in the 2013 Valero Texas Open and came in second place.

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