Valero Texas Open Round 1: Sam Ryder Nearly Sat Out, Then Putted His Way to a 63

Three hours before his tee time, Sam Ryder was not sure he would be playing golf on Thursday. By sundown he owned the lead at the Valero Texas Open.

Ryder had pulled out of Wednesday's pro-am after feeling a twinge at the base of his neck, rested it, and tested his swing roughly three hours before he was due on the 1st tee. Then he went out at TPC San Antonio's Oaks Course and shot a bogey-free 9-under 63, his lowest round of the season, to take a one-shot lead over Keith Mitchell (64). Brian Harman is alone in third after a 66, and Jordan Spieth and Carson Young share fourth at 5-under 67.

The Putter Took Over

The scorecard says 63. The putting numbers say something closer to a heist. Ryder needed only 21 putts, one-putted 11 of his last 12 holes, and led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting at 5.353, per the tournament's round notes.

The finish was the loudest part. Ryder birdied six of his final seven holes, rolling in a 25-footer on 16 and a 12-footer on 17, which pulled him level with Mitchell at the top. On the par-5, 613-yard 18th, he hit a wedge to a foot and tapped in for the outright lead.

"I was just trying to get a feel for how I could swing," Ryder said, per the AP. "I think it helped me stay within myself today. I was just happy to be playing."

The stakes are real for a 35-year-old ranked No. 154 in the world. Ryder has never won on the PGA TOUR, and this is the last stop before Augusta, so a win would hand him a Masters invitation. He has made the cut in all nine starts this year. Thursday showed the ceiling.

Mitchell's Morning Masterclass

If Ryder won the round on the greens, Mitchell won it from the fairway. He went out in the morning wave and played bogey-free, posting six birdies and an eagle while leading the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (5.464) and Approach (4.496).

The eagle was the shot of the morning. On the par-5 8th, Mitchell ripped a 3-wood from 286 yards that settled about 3 feet from the hole.

"I figured if I hit it good it could at least cover the front and then kind of roll out to the base of the slope," Mitchell said.

It is the third time this year Mitchell has opened with 65 or better. The catch has been the finishing. His last TOUR win came six years ago, and he is not in the Masters field, so the same Augusta carrot dangles in front of him.

"My game's been trending," Mitchell said. "I'd like to put some solid rounds together. Hopefully, it's this week."

Harman Finds a Good Day

Harman's 66 is quietly one of the more interesting lines on the board. It is his lowest score in 25 career rounds at this tournament, and the first time he has been inside the top 10 after 18 holes since the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge.

The 2023 Open champion arrived on a run of 15 straight starts without a top 10 dating back to June, and he is hovering near the edge of the world's top 50. He was refreshingly blunt about the shape of his year.

"My good days have been good enough to win and my bad days have been not great," Harman said.

Thursday was one of the good ones.

Spieth Feels at Home

The crowd's favorite storyline is right there in a tie for fourth. Spieth, a former Texas Longhorn and the 2021 champion here, shot 67 with one bogey, which came at the 1st. He turned in 1-under 35 and then caught fire with four birdies on the back nine.

The highlight came on 17, where his tee shot finished well right on hardpan with a rock a few inches behind the ball. He nipped it to 12 feet and made the putt. Augusta is his next start.

"This is a hard golf course, and we've got good conditions, so it was nice to take advantage of that," Spieth said, per the PGA TOUR. "I think this was maybe the easiest that we see it for the week."

Young matched that 67. One shot further back, Tommy Fleetwood and University of Virginia amateur Ben James, the 2024 Valero Texas Collegiate winner, sit at 4-under 68.

Big Names, Long Afternoons

Not everyone found the same course. Defending champion Akshay Bhatia shot 2-over 74 with one birdie and three bogeys and sits outside the top 100. Ludvig Åberg, No. 5 in the world and the highest-ranked player here, opened with a 1-under 71, matching Patrick Cantlay, Keegan Bradley and two-time winner Corey Conners.

Further down, Rickie Fowler (75), Max Homa (76), Matt Fitzpatrick (76) and Tom Kim (77) all left themselves real work to do just to see the weekend.

Friday's Question

The weather helped. Thursday played mostly cloudy, then sunny, with winds in the 5 to 12 mph range, and Spieth suggested this may be as gentle as the Oaks Course gets all week. That makes Friday a test for everyone at the top: Ryder has to back up the round of his season with a neck that nearly kept him out, Mitchell has to prove the finishing problem is solved, and the cut line is waiting for a lot of familiar names.

"I figured anything under par is always usually pretty good out here," Ryder said.

Nine under is a lot better than pretty good. Now he needs another one. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap, leaderboard and Jordan Spieth feature), AP, Valero Texas Open round notes, Field Level Media. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.