:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72131961/1249415838.0.jpg "Who needs to win the Valero Open to reach The Masters? Players that need a victory to make first major of 2023")
The path to the 2023 Masters may not be closed just yet. This weekend, the Valero Texas Open will tee off from TPC San Antonio, and the winner of the tournament will receive a Masters invitation for next week if he has not already qualified for it.
So who does this opening apply to? Rickie Fowler did not finish in the OWGR Top 50 and has not won a PGA TOUR event since the last Masters. David Montgomery and Augusta native Matt Kuchar could reach the Masters with a win this week. Kuchar is off to a good start, going -3 in his first nine holes in a weather-delayed Thursday opening round to be T1 at the turn.
Taylor Pendrith, Beau Hossler, and JJ Spaun have not yet received a Masters exemption and play this weekend. Plus Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III is a major winner and will receive an honorary invite, but he'd have to do the near-impossible and win in Texas to actually grab his clubs in Georgia.
Several golfers in the Valero Texas field have already qualified – Tyrrell Hatton, Corey Conners, Hideki Matsuyama, and Si Woo Kim, to name a few. The Masters tees off from Augusta National on Thursday, April 6.