By Jay Betsill
The Valero Texas Open field is official as of 4 p.m on Friday afternoon and golf fans in San Antonio have reason to be excited.
A year after welcoming Rory McIlroy to Texas, the fans coming to the AT&T Oaks course at TPC San Antonio March 24-30 will see Phil Mickleson‘s first appearance in 22 years. Lefty’s only previous appearance in San Antonio came at the end of the 1992 season when the tournament was called the H.E.B. Texas Open and contested at Oak Hills.
“Phil brings another level of excitement when he enters a tournament and we are grateful he has decided to join us next week,” Valero Texas Open executive director Larson Segerdahl said. “The fans in the San Antonio area will have a chance to see one of the great players in the world compete against a tremendous field of PGA TOUR players. Without question, this will be a memorable week.”
If Mickelson wins in San Antonio, he would finalize the career Texas Slam. Four of Mickelson’s 42 career wins have come in the Lone Star State — the HP Byron Nelson Championship in 1996, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in 2000 and 2008 and the Shell Houston Open in 2011.
Another late marquee addition to the field is four-time major champion Ernie Els, who has won 19 PGA TOUR titles, including two U.S. Open championships and two Open Championships. Other notables include two-time Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, David Toms, Patrick Reed, Padriag Harrington and Jimmy Walker.
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