PGA Tour: Masters Hangover? Top 5 Reasons to Watch This Week's Valero Texas Open

Last week, the PGA Tour was at the center of the sports world for four exciting days.

We we all watched 26-year-old Charl Schwartzel birdie the final four holes on Sunday to blow past Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and an imploding Rory McIlory to win the 2011 Masters Tournament.

Rather than just sit back and wait for the U.S. Open in June, I'm here to give you 5 reasons you should tune into this week's Valero Texas Open.

5. The Course: TPC San Antonio

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SAN ANTONIO - OCTOBER 07: Justin Leonard hits his second shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Valero Texas Open at La Cantera Golf Club on October 7, 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

The Valero Texas Open is played at TPC San Antonio, which is a long hitters dream. There are four Par-5's that can all be reached in two by the longer hitters, and the 17th hole is a drivable Par-4 where most players will go for the green.

Expect the players to go low and have plenty of chances for eagles.  

4. Thursday & Friday's Featured Group: Adam Scott, Angel Cabrera & Geoff Ogilvy

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MIAMI - MARCH 22: Adam Scott (L) of Australia and Geoff Ogilvy of Australia wait on the 3rd hole during the third round of the World Golf Championships CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa on March 22, 2008 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sam Gre

In a not so random draw, three players who all contended for The Masters championship will be playing together for the first two rounds.

Scott, Ogilvy and Cabrera all had at least a share of the lead at some point on the second nine (don't you dare call it the"back" nine) Sunday at Augusta.

Adam Scott is also the defending champion and has historically played very well in Texas.

If you are looking to wager on the tournament, I'd start with examining the odds on these three guys:

Adam Scott: 10/1

Geoff Ogilvy: 11/1

Angel Cabrera: 33/1 

3. The Young Guns

Harry How/Getty Images

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 08: Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela waves to the gallery on the second hole during the second round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

This week, forty-six players competing in the Valero Texas Open are under the age of 30, including 2011 tournament winners, Jhonattan Vegas and Martin Laird.  

Also in the field is three time PGA Tour winner Anthony Kim who is looking for his first win of the season.

If you are looking to roll the dice with one of these guys, here are their odds:

Martin Laird: 16/1

Anthony Kim: 25/1

Jhonattan Vegas: 80/1 

2. Cheer for the American Fan Favorites

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BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI - AUGUST 09: The American Flag and PGA of America Flag fly in the wind during a weather dellay during round three of the 90th PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club on August 9, 2008 in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. (Photo

This week is one of the week's on the PGA Tour where an American favorite that usually comes up short will have a chance to take home the trophy.

Fan favorites like Ricky Barnes, David Duval, Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, Rocco Mediate and Bo Van Pelt will all tee it up, and hopefully one of them can get into the winners circle.

Here are the odds for our favorite Americans:

Bo Van Pelt: 22/1

Ricky Barnes: 33/1

Tommy Gainey: 66/1

David Duval and Rocco Mediate don't even have odds...ouch. 

1. When All Else Fails...Throw Some Money on the Tournament

The biggest way to keep yourself invested in the golf season is to throw some short money on a few golfers. If you happen to hit the winner, you might just earn yourself that flat screen TV or PlayStation 3 you've been wanting. Here are my top-3 Picks and reasons why to throw a little cheddar on them:

Jhonattan Vegas: 80/1

Do I think he has the best chance to win? Of course not, but at 80/1 odds this long hitter, who already has a win under his belt this season, should be able to take advantage of the Par 5's and that's crucial to winning this tournament.

Ricky Barnes: 33/1

The 2009 U.S. Open runner-up has been playing well as of late.  He finished in solo fourth place at The Honda Classic last month and T-20 last week at The Masters, it could be time for Ricky to earn his first career win on The PGA Tour.

Fredrik Jacobson: 33/1

Last year's runner-up at the Valero Texas Open already has four top 25 finishes and one Top 10 in 2011. He was a factor at TPC San Antonio until the 72nd hole last year and I expect him to make another run at the title.

That's All She Wrote from TPC San Antonio

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LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 23: Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela poses with the trophy after winning the Bob Hope Classic at the Palmer Private course at PGA West on January 23, 2011 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

That's it for me.

Now just sit back, relax and let's all cheer for 80/1 Johnny Vegas to take home the win at the 2011 Valero Texas Open.