The final stop on the road to the 2026 Masters will showcase a top-class field for the Valero Texas Open this week.With the first major of the year just days away, players will be looking for form before heading to Augusta National or even to qualify for the last few places in the field.Rickie Fowler is still hoping to make the MastersGettyTommy Fleetwood headlines in San Antonio while a number of big names will hope to perform well and join the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler at the Masters.2023 Open champion Brian Harman won this event last year, beating Ryan Gerard by 3 strokes.Other recent winners include Akshay Bhatia, J.J. Spaun, Jordan Spieth and Corey Conners.Valero Texas Open 2026: Date and how to followThis PGA Tour event is taking place from Thursday, April 2 to Sunday, April 5.It is being held on the Oak Course at TPC San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas – the course is a par 72 and will measure a maximum of 7,438 yards.Play is due to start at 1pm UK time each day.talkSPORT will have live coverage from Texas throughout the week.Tune in to talkSPORT through the website via the live stream or find us on DAB digital radio through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.Download and listen to all our live commentaries via the talkSPORT app.Visit talkSPORT BET for all the latest odds and bet boosts for every big event.Subscribe to our talkSPORT YouTube channel for news, views and analysis plus our regular goals show and for more, follow us on talkSPORT Facebook and talkSPORT X.Sky Sports Golf will also have coverage of the event from 1:15pm each day.Fleetwood is the top ranked player in the field in TexasGettyValero Texas Open 2026: Field and tee timesFleetwood, Collin Morikawa and Russell Henley are the top ranked players in the field. Other top 20 stars include Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka, JJ Spaun, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg and Alex Noren.The full field, tee times and groupings can be found here.And the latest leaderboard from San Antonio can be found here once play is up and running.The prize pot for this event is set at $9.8million with the winner taking home $1.8m.Valero Texas Open 2026: Masters implicationsThe champion in Texas will qualify for the Masters if they have not already secured their place in the field at Augusta.Likewise the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings after this week’s event will also make it if they are yet to.There are a number of household names in the field this week who are looking for big weeks to try and qualify for the upcoming major.The likes of Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Matt Wallace, Tom Kim, Billy Horschel and Will Zalatoris are in the field in Texas as they eye victory to qualify.Michael Thorbjornsen is currently ranked 54th in the world while Pierceson Coody is on the bubble of qualification as he is ranked 52nd.Gary Woodland confirmed his place at the Masters with his emotional win in Houston on Sunday while Daniel Berger, Nicolai Hojgaard, Jake Knapp and Matt McCarty also did enough to qualify for the first major of the year.Woodland is finally back in the winners’ circleGettyValero Texas Open 2026: What has been said?Woodland claimed a stunning victory at the Texas Children’s Houston Open last time out, his first win since brain surgery.Woodland, a hugely popular player on Tour, had a tumor removed from his head in 2023 and recently talked about suffering with PTSD in the aftermath.He overcame those struggles to produce an incredible display in Houston, winning his first event in seven years.He said: “We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today.“I got a lot of people behind me, my team, my family and this golf world. Anybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up, just keep fighting.“Today was a good day, but I’m going to keep fighting. I’ve got a big fight ahead of me and I’m going to keep going, but I’m proud of myself right now.”Nicolai Hojgaard came a distant second to Woodland and was quick to putt out on the 18th and let the American have his moment.“We thought it was appropriate to let him have his moment,” Højgaard said. “It was a pretty cool moment for Gary and it was cool to see. I’m really happy for him.”