Denny McCarthy plays his tee shoot on the 14th hole during the first round of the 2024 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. (Photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
The fields at the Valero have waned in recent years as more and more players adhered to a schedule that eliminated play the week before the Masters. With so many top players in the field this week, however, that appears to be changing. Homa, for example, said he’s playing the week before all four majors this year and thinks it might be more productive for him.
And Denny McCarthy, who fired a 68 in difficult conditions on Thursday, said he thinks this event makes sense in terms of prep.
“I feel somewhat refreshed coming into this week,” McCarthy said. “I like playing the week before a big event. I feel like you get good tournament feels, you get under the gun a little bit, test kind of what you’re working on under the gun. So yeah, I like kind of how I handled what I’ve been working on today. Yeah, I’ve played Augusta a handful of times over the last month and a half and I love the place. I think it’s a good golf course for me, I think I can play well there.
“I’m kind of taking what I think I need to do well at Augusta and working on that over the last few weeks and kind of bringing that here. Yeah, everything feels like it’s in good shape.”
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