Valero Texas Open: Dave Tindall's each-way picks from 33/1 to 80/1

• 80/181.00 Tom Hoge was third at The Players last time

• 33/134.00 Daniel Berger is showing strong form this season

• 80/181.00 Victor Perez is worth chancing again

• The Masters starts on April 10. Read Dave Tindall's guide to the 2025 Masters here!

Brief history of the Valero Texas Open

The Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio is now a familiar stop on the PGA Tour and this will be the 15th edition to be played on the Greg Norman-designed par 72 that measures 7,438 yards from the tips.

Obviously the tournament exists as its own entity but it's hard not to view in the context of next week's US Masters and note the big names who have decided to use it as prep.

There's no Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy but it's a strong front end.

Ludvig Aberg, a runner-up on his Augusta debut last year, is the 12/113.00 favourite ahead of Tommy Fleetwood (third in last year's Masters) and Corey Conners at 14/115.00. It's then  16/117.00 Patrick Cantlay, 20/121.00 Jordan Spieth and 22/123.00 Akshay Bhatia, who returns as the defending champion.

Those half-dozen are all in the Masters of course but there is a spot at Augusta open to this week's winner, unless they're already exempt. A total of 27 Masters contenders line up here by the way.

Unlike last week, the course isn't set up to try and replicate Augusta National and puts far more emphasis on finding the fairway - a stark contrast to the Houston Open.

The Bermuda greens are relatively slow in case the familiar Texas winds really pick up.

The forecast suggests it could blow quite strongly on Sunday which will be interesting, especially as temperatures will be down in the 60s for that closing round.

As for winning scores, wind can dictate them: the last five reading back from last year show: -20 (Akshay Bhatia), -15 (Corey Conners), -13 (J.J. Spaun), -18 (Jordan Spieth) and -20 (Corey Conners).

Note though that Bhatia and runner-up Denny McCarthy were nine shots clear of third in 2024!

Beyond the usual delves into current and course form, it's worth checking the players who won the week before last year's four majors. Is it smart to avoid the bigger names given that their focus could be elsewhere?

Bhatia took the title here while the other three pre-Major winners in 2024 were Rory McIlroy (Wells Fargo), Scottie Scheffler (Memorial) and Robert MacIntyre (Scottish Open).

Okay, they were big events in their own right but it shows the elite are very good at concentrating on the task in hand.

Tom Hoge @ 80/181.00

An interesting note in colleague Steve Rawlings' preview this week is that the last three winners here - Bhatia, Conners and Spaun - were all in the mix heading into round four of the recent Players Championship.

That's a tournament that rewards strong Approach play - the top four at Sawgrass a couple of weeks ago ranked 5th, 8th, 9th and 2nd for SG: Approach.

And it's similar here. Bhatia was 1st for Approach when winning 12 months ago and the next three home were ranked 7th, 3rd and 2nd.

Which leads me to Tom Hoge at 80s. 

Hoge was tied third at The Players Championship, finishing just two behind winner Rory McIlroy, and he ranked 2nd for SG: Approach.

After results of 40-67-54 in his three previous events, that seemed a big jump but those trio of midfield finishes were compromised by poor final rounds (77 Bay Hill, 76 PGA National, 79 Torrey Pines).

At Sawgrass he started Sunday in 22nd but jumped to third after a closing 66; at the Arnold Palmer Hoge was 17th after 54 holes but fell to 40th.

After that Sunday 66 at The Players, he said: "Everything felt pretty good today. I would say I felt really good about how I played the last two days."

Hoge's season is up and running it seems and this looks a good chance for him to take another positive step.

In truth, his record at TPC San Antonio is a mixed bag in the six events he played there from 2015 to 2021.

But in that run he has a ninth and a 12th, shooting a 65 in the former and a 66 in the latter.

Hoge had two top 20s (14th Houston Open, 17th Charles Schwab) from three starts in Texas last year and he's a strong wind player.

If nothing else, getting 80s on the guy who just finished third at TPC Sawgrass seems good to me. 

Daniel Berger @ 33/134.00

It would be fair to think that Daniel Berger would have a good record at TPC San Antonio.

The course seems to marry well with his skill-sets, he has a previous win in Texas (Charles Schwab 2020) and it's a tournament where the field isn't that strong.

So it was a surprise to see MC-MC next to his name when checking course form this week.

The first was 10 years ago while for his second attempt in 2019 he came in off form of 67-MC and didn't have a top 20 until July.

That's a contrast to his current form which shows six top 25s in his last seven starts including second place at the WM Phoenix Open.

Berger ranked 1st for SG: Tee to Green in Phoenix while he's 10th for Driving Accuracy this season which bodes well for this test.

In fact, he's in the top 50 for all the main Strokes Gained categories (Off The Tee, Approach, Around The Green and Putting) so no wonder he keeps delivering strong and consistent results.

His wedge play and short irons look sharp which will again help him here and with a bit more course form Berger would be around 22s or 25s.

If we fast forward to Sunday night and all has gone well, it's easy to imagine thinking that getting 33/134.00 for an in-form Berger in this field was good business.

Victor Perez @ 80/181.00

I put up Victor Perez at three figures last week and he didn't do much wrong in finishing tied 18th. 

The Frenchman opened with a 66 and closed with a 65, his final position ultimately compromised by playing the middle 36 holes in just 1-under.

But that now gives him form of 18-22-18 and there is plenty to like about his game at the moment.

It's easy to argue that this course suits him more than last week's test where bombers could hit it anywhere.

Perez ranks 15th in Ball Striking this season and 13th in Driving Accuracy and those skills are helping him reel off top 25s.

As noted last week, he went to college in the neighbouring state of New Mexico and his best PGA Tour result came in Texas.

That was his unexpected run to the last four of the WGC Match Play in Austin.

In Europe, he's best known for his win in the windy Alfred Dunhill Links Championship so the gusty forecast on Sunday could play into his hands as could the slower greens.

He pitched up here last year and posted 45th and that may act as a good marker.

His current form suggests Perez is capable of something much better this week.

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