This earlier post noted how the PGA Tour has forsaken the four Texas Tour events that contribute more to charity than virtually any other Tour events. Just to reaffirm that trend, get a load of the following update on the field for this week’s Valero Texas Open at the Westin LaCantera Resort in San Antonio:
By the 5 p.m. deadline for players to officially commit to next week’s PGA Tour event, they saw one of today’s headline attractions, Presidents Cup representative K.J. Choi, withdraw from the field.[. . .]
The exit of Choi, the world’s 10th-ranked player, for undisclosed reasons leaves [Stephen] Ames, the 2006 Players Championship titlist, as the highest-rated player in the field. At No. 42, he will be the only top-50 competitor on hand.
One top-50 player? The venerable Texas Open — one of the oldest Tour events — has been relegated to a glorified Nationwide Tour event.
Valero really puts on a first class event here. I have played in the sponsor tournament the last three years and have always come away impressed. I understand that next year, this event will be held in the spring.