SAN ANTONIO – Sam Ryder wasn’t sure his neck would feel good enough to play at Valero Texas’ Open on Thursday. He found a swing and rarely missed a putt on the way to 9-under 63 in the final tournament before the Masters.
The rider putts once of his last 12 holes – seven of which include the last three for birdies. He drilled a 25-foot putt on the 16th, stopped a 12-foot putt on the 17th, and slammed his foot on the par-5 closing hole at TPC San Antonio.
“I was just trying to feel the way I could sway,” said the rider who missed Wednesday’s Pro Am after feeling a glimpse of the base of his neck. “I think it helped me stay within myself today. I was happy to be able to play.”
Mitchell played bogey-free for 64 in the morning, highlighted by a 3-wood for 286 yards and stopped a roughly three-foot roll from the tap-in-eagle pin in par 5, 8th place.
Former Open Championship winner Brian Herman had 66 people.
Among the 67 groups was Jordan Spieth, but that round included a drive on the 17th, landing on a hardpan with rocks embedded in about four inches of rock behind the golf ball. He made clean contact and smacked it 12 feet and made a birdie putt.
The riders who made cuts in all nine of the tournaments this year were resting on Wednesday due to a neck injury and appeared on Thursday on Thursday on to see if they could swing.
He will be among those who can go straight to Master next week if he wins.
“I always thought anything under par was pretty good here,” Rider said. “I didn’t intend to be more aggressive or something like that, so I just put one foot in front of my next leg, had a solid round and had as many greens as possible.”
Mitchell is no longer the Masters, and it’s been six years since his only victory on the PGA Tour. This was the third time Mitchell opened under 65 this year. That’s the problem.
“My game is trending,” Mitchell said. “I want to put together some solid rounds, hopefully this week. At least in the first few rounds these days, it feels like I’m showing my game where I need it.
As for that Eagle, Mitchell said it was a combination of good swing and good fortune.
“I thought I could at least cover the front and then roll out to the base of the slope,” Mitchell said. “That pin is tough even in wedges and difficult from around the green. So the fact that I got the ball to stop the ball there didn’t call it by chance – that was where I was aiming – but the fact that it ended up being there is very fortunate.”
Herman won 15 straight wins without a top 10 date until June. He has only had the other top ten since his 2023 Open Championship victory at Hoy Lake. He’s on the verge of breaking out of the top 50 in the world.
“My good days were enough to win, my bad days weren’t that good,” Herman said. “You have to find a way back then. That’s usually a strong part of my game and you’re figuring out how to get it done and get it done.”
Meanwhile, Max Homa was in danger of missing another cut to extend his slump. He announced he had parted ways with Caddy Joe Greiner after leaving swing coach last fall.