Latest News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2023

Third Round Notes

Mostly cloudy. High of 84. Wind E 8-15 mph.

Second-Round Leaderboard

Patrick Rodgers	66-67-71—204	(-12)
Corey Conners	64-72-69—205	(-11)
Matt Kuchar	68-70-69—207	(-9)
Sam Stevens	72-68-68—208	(-8)
Chris Kirk	67-72-69—208	(-8)

Things To Know

With a third-round 1-under 71, Patrick Rodgers maintains his lead at the Valero Texas Open for the second straight round in his bid for a first career PGA TOUR title
Rodgers, who owns three runner-up finishes in 234 PGA TOUR starts, seeks to win for the first time in four attempts with the 54-hole lead/co-lead
First-round leader Corey Conners looks to become the 10th multiple winner of the event and the first player since K.H. Lee (2021, 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson) to record his first two TOUR victories at the same event
Following last year’s T2 at the Valero Texas Open, Matt Kuchar posts 3-under 69, despite a double bogey at the par-5 18th; marks his 16th consecutive round of par or better in the event (a tournament record)
A week removed from a T3 finish at the Corales Puntacana Championship, PGA TOUR rookie and Texas native Sam Stevens seeks first career TOUR title in his 17th start
Headed into the final round four strokes back, Chris Kirk looks to join Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa as multiple winners this season

Third-Round Lead Notes

8 Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Valero Texas Open since it moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 (most recent: J.J. Spaun/2022)
13Third-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2022-23 (most recent: Scottie Scheffler/THE PLAYERS Championship)

Patrick Rodgers (1st/-12)

Category	Entering the week
Age	30 (June 30, 1992)
FedExCup	No. 52
OWGR	No. 143
Starts – wins – top-10s in TOUR career	234-0-19
Starts – wins – top-10s in 2021-22	16-0-2
Starts – wins – top-10s at Valero	4-0-0

Despite a bogey at the par-5 18th hole, finishes with a 1-under 71 to maintain his hold on the lead for a second consecutive round in his bid for a first career PGA TOUR title
Marks the fourth occasion to hold the third-round lead/co-lead on TOUR; 0-for-3 to date, most recently finishing T10 at The RSM Classic earlier this season
Aims to become the third consecutive 54-hole leader/co-leader of the Valero Texas Open to convert for the win, joining Jordan Spieth (2021) and J.J. Spaun (2022)
Has three runner-up finishes in 234 PGA TOUR starts: 2015 Wells Fargo Championship (T2), 2017 John Deere Classic (2nd), 2018 RSM Classic (P2)
Finished T3 at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship for his best finish in 16 starts this season

Additional Player Notes

2019 Valero Texas Open champion and first-round leader Corey Conners (2nd/-11) birdied five of his last eight holes en route to a 3-under 69 in bid to become the event’s 10th multiple winner; would become the first player since K.H. Lee (2021, 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson) to record first two PGA TOUR victories at the same event
Seeking a fifth top-10 finish in his 18th Valero Texas Open start, in spite of a double-bogey at the par-5 18th, 2001 and 2022 runner-up Matt Kuchar (3rd/-9) posts 3-under 69; his 69 marks his 16th consecutive round of par or better in the event, a tournament record by three over Kevin Streelman; a win Sunday would mark his 10th on TOUR and first since the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii
Coming off a T3 finish at last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship, Texas native and PGA TOUR rookie Sam Stevens (T4/-8) used birdies on four of his first and last five holes to post a 4-under 68 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 14, 16, 17 and 18); this week marks his 15th start of the season and 17th overall on the PGA TOUR
On the strength of two eagles (par-5 second and par-4 17th), Chris Kirk (T4/-8) posted a 3-under 69 in his ninth Valero Texas Open start; seeks a fourth top-10 finish in the event (T8/2015, T8/2018, T6/2021)
With scores of 68-73-68, newly nominated World Golf Hall of Fame member Padraig Harrington will enter the final round T6 at 7-under 209; the 51-year-old reigning PGA TOUR Champions Rookie of the Year collected four titles in 19 starts last season on PGA TOUR Champions; victory Sunday would come at the age of 51 years, 7 months and 2 days, which would make him the third-oldest winner in TOUR history:
- Sam Snead – 52 years, 10 months, 8 days (1965 Wyndham Championship)
- Art Wall – 51 years, 7 months, 10 days (1975 Greater Milwaukee Open)
Nicolai Hojgaard (T18/-5) Ryan Gerard (T43/-2) are in good shape to earn PGA TOUR Special Temporary Membership this week; Gerard needs a solo-68th or better, while Hojgaard needs to finish in a two-way T46 or better
In his bid to become the fifth player to successfully defend his Valero Texas Open title and first since Zach Johnson in 2009, J.J. Spaun sits T30 at 3-under 213
Henrik Norlander’s (T63/+3) 93’ 4” putt for birdie at No. 13 is the second-longest made putt on the PGA TOUR this season; Harris English made a 100’ 3” putt on the sixth hole in round two of the WM Phoenix Open

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.

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