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Win to get in: Here are the 20 players who need a victory at TPC San Antonio to get into the Masters

Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
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Matt Kuchar has come close at the Masters several times but needs to win the Valero Texas Open on Sunday to have another chance.
Matt Kuchar has come close at the Masters several times but needs to win the Valero Texas Open on Sunday to have another chance.

The odds are in favor of someone winning the Valero Texas Open on Sunday to punch the last ticket available for next week’s Masters Tournament. 

Led by Patrick Rodgers at 12-under-par 204, 20 of the top 23 players entering Sunday’s final round at the TPC San Antonio were not eligible for a Masters invitation when the week started. The only spot left for Augusta National next week is for the Texas Open winner – unless otherwise eligible.

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Rodgers, who has a three-shot lead, has never played in the Masters. His closest brush with earning eligibility came two years ago when he lost in a playoff to Charles Howell III in the RSM Classic at Sea Island.

Those players are 5-under or better, which means the group at the bottom of that subset need to post an extraordinary round and hope Rodgers has an epic collapse.

Only three players among the top-23 are already in the Masters field: Corey Conners (second at 11-under), Chris Kirk (tied for fourth at 8-under) and past champion Hideki Matsuyama (tied for 12th at 6-under).

In addition to Rodgers, other players seeking a victory and a trip to Augusta are Matt Kuchar (third at 9-under), Sam Ryder of Jacksonville Beach (tied for sixth at 7-under), PGA Tour Champions member Padraig Harrington (tied for sixth), Harry Higgs (tied for sixth) and Michael Thompson of St. Simons Island, Ga., (tied for 18th at 5-under).

Kuchar, 44, may be running out of chances. The 2012 Players champion has finished among the top-five at Augusta three times and was tied for the lead with three holes to play in 2014 before Bubba Watson won.

One of the players who seems to be too far behind is Rickie Fowler, who is tied for 43rd at 2-under and 10 shots behind Rodgers.

Here are the players who have a reasonable chance of winning to get to the Masters, starting with Rodgers, entering the final round:

  • Patrick Rodgers 12-under

  • Matt Kuchar 9-under

  • Sam Stevens 8-under

  • Byeong Hun An 7-under

  • Sam Ryder 7-under

  • Padraig Harrington 7-under

  • Lee Hodges 7-under

  • Augusto Nunez 7-under

  • Harry Higgs 7-under

  • Dylan Wu 6-under

  • Andrew Putnam 6-under

  • S.H. Kim 6-under

  • Nick Taylor 6-under

  • Nicholas Echavarria 6-under

  • Andrew Novak 5-under

  • Kevin Chappel 5-under

  • Alex Noren 5-under

  • Nicolai Hojgaard 5-under

  • Michael Thompson 5-under

  • Taylor Montgomery 5-under

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Patrick Rodgers, Matt Kuchar lead players who need to win for a Masters berth