– This week a piece of news was confirmed that needed no confirmation. Edoardo Molinari will once again be Luke Donald’s right‑hand man at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, Ireland. To celebrate, Robert MacIntyre (-14) and Ludvig Aberg (-10) have taken charge of proceedings at the Valero Texas Open. Well, actually, it has been the Scot who has taken control and the Swede is following as best he can, even holing out from the fairway for eagle if required.
– MacIntyre is the one who’s really on another level at the always tough and demanding TPC San Antonio. The two‑time PGA Tour winner (Scottish Open and Canadian Open) carded a sensational second round of 64, one of those rounds that wasn’t on any roadmap, and has moved into the lead with a healthy margin over the rest. Basically, he put on a phenomenal display with his irons. To record the seven birdies and an eagle on his card this Friday, the longest putt he needed was three metres. Only one. All the others were two metres or less. Another level.
– All MacIntyre needs now is to make the jump to the next level by winning a Major. It’s his natural next step and what he will try to do at the Masters. He can’t yet be considered the outright favourite for victory, but he is certainly one of the strongest candidates on that second rung. Remember that he finished the 2025 Majors with two very good top‑10s at the US Open and the Open Championship.
– Aberg, meanwhile, is determined to reach the Masters having finally shaken off the THE PLAYERS disappointment two weeks ago, when he went into Sunday as leader and was left without options after a very troubled closing stretch. His game seems to have regained its customary consistency at the best time of the year.
– The Valero Texas Open has been merciless, especially at the cut. It has left many high‑profile names out. For example, Sepp Straka, Russell Henley, Tom Kim (he had made every previous cut this year), Jimmy Walker, Johnny Keefer and, above all, Rickie Fowler missed the cut, with Fowler now out of contention for the Masters at Augusta. Michael Thorbjornsen has also missed the cut. Last week he fell out of the world top‑50 and therefore missed out on qualifying for the Masters, and his last remaining option was to win the Valero. He’ll have to keep waiting.
– Tony Finau (-9) does, however, keep his hopes of playing the Masters intact. Playing in the afternoon in much tougher, windier conditions — there was even a suspension of almost an hour for lightning — he managed to post a three‑under‑par round to keep a chance of victory alive, although MacIntyre is five shots clear.
– Luke Clanton (-2) is the only player who did not complete the second round. It’s not that he couldn’t, but that he chose not to. He arrived in time to play the 9th before the suspension horn sounded, but decided not to because the light was already poor. The cut is set at -2 and he preferred to play the hole early today in theoretically easier conditions. His playing partners, with no chance of playing the weekend, did complete the hole.
