Valero Texas Open: Memorable moments

If you’re running a golf tournament in Texas in the 1940s, it doesn’t get any better than a showdown between Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. That’s what happened in the 1940 Texas Open, when the two Texas titans tied at 13-under 271 and met in an 18-hole playoff, which Nelson won, 70 to 71. It was Nelson’s only Texas Open win, and the first of three consecutive years that Hogan would finish second in the tournament.

The seeds of Arnold Palmer’s eight-win, two-major campaign in 1960 were sown in the Texas Open Invitational. Palmer had one win, in the Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic, when he arrived in San Antonio. His first three rounds were 69, 65, and 67, and, despite a final-round 75, he hung on for a two-shot win over Doug Ford and Frank Stranahan. Palmer would go on to win eight times that year, including his second Masters and his charge at Cherry Hills in the U.S. Open.

Two of the biggest names in golf in the early 1920s were Walter Hagen and “Wild” Bill Mehlhorn. “The Haig” was known for dressing to the nines and appreciating the finer things in life (as well as winning 11 majors). Mehlhorn, though he was from Illinois and lived most of his life in New York, was known for wearing a cowboy hat and being colorful. It was the good fortune of the second Texas Open that they met in a playoff, ultimately won by Hagen.

Tommy Armour III ended a victory drought of almost 14 years when he won the 2003 Valero Texas Open and broke the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record. Armour, grandson of legendary pro Tommy Armour, shot 254 (26 under par) at La Cantera Golf Club. “I’ve always felt like I’ve underachieved for the talent I have,” Armour said. “I take it serious, but it’s not the end-all.”

Mike Souchak was a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour, but the win he is most remembered for was his first. Souchak shot a 27-under 257 to win the 1955 Texas Open at Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. The 257, plus his first-round 60 and his back-nine 27 were records for 72, 18 and nine holes, respectively. Souchak’s 72-hole record stood until 2001, when Mark Calcavecchia shot 256 at the Phoenix Open. Calc’s record was subsequently broken in 2003 when Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the Valero Texas Open.

The 1981 Texas Open came down to a playoff between Bill Rogers (born in Waco, attended the University of Houston) and Ben Crenshaw (born in Austin, attended the University of Texas). Rogers, who already had won three times, including the Open Championship, defeated Crenshaw with a birdie on the first extra hole. That was a high mark for Rogers, who was named PGA Player of the Year. But seven years later, in this same event, his PGA Tour career came to an end, as Rogers, frustrated by the state of his game, walked off the third green in the second round and never came back (save for one final Texas Open appearance as a favor to a friend).

When you play golf for a living, you don’t have the luxury of taking the occasional X. When things start going south, you just grit your teeth and try to keep count. That’s the situation Kevin Na found himself in while playing the ninth hole in the first round. “I got done with the hole and I said [to my caddie], ‘I think I made somewhere between a 10 and a 15,” Na said. “But I think it’s close to a 15.” The score wasn’t confirmed until officlals and Na watched a video replay. The 16 was a record high for a par-4 hole. It was a gigantic blip in an otherwise solid round – Na shot 4 under for the other 17 holes.

Texan Ben Hogan had been a runner-up three times in the Texas Open when he teed it up in 1946 at Willow Springs Golf Club. Hogan had lost to Chick Harbert in a 1942 playoff, finished second to Lawson Little in 1941 and lost in a playoff to Byron Nelson in 1940. The Fort Worth native made sure there would be no playoff in 1946, beating defending champion Sammy Byrd – a former major league baseball player – by six shots.

Justin Leonard probably wouldn’t have been the favorite going into his sudden-death playoff with Jesper Parnevik. The Texan was 0-4 in PGA Tour playoffs, and it didn’t take long for him to show why. He couldn’t eliminate Parnevik on the first extra hole despite the Swede having to take an unplayable-lie penalty (in fairness, Parnevik did save par), and Leonard also missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole that would have ended things. Finally, mercifully, Leonard made a 10-footer for birdie to win on the third extra hole. It was Leonard’s third Texas Open win, tying him with Arnold Palmer for the most in tournament history.

Robert Gamez is best known for winning twice in his rookie season, 1990. He won his first PGA Tour start, at Tucson, and added win No. 2 by holing a 7-iron from 176 yards on the final hole of the Nestle Invitational (now Arnold Palmer Invitational). Little did Gamez know it would be 15 long years before he won again. Victory No. 3 finally came at the 2005 Valero Texas Open, by three shots over Olin Browne. It was 394 events between wins, a PGA Tour record.