Valero is looking forward to the upcoming Valero Texas Open golf tournament and its companion fundraising event, the Benefit for Children Golf Classic, which will take place April 1-8. The Valero Texas Open – an annual PGA TOUR event featuring some of professional golf’s top players – takes place at the TPC San Antonio course, located at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. The Benefit for Children Golf Classic features more than 2,000 players who sign up in foursomes to play on 10 local courses around San Antonio.

There are some new elements to this year’s tournament. The tournament will be played the week before the Masters tournament, which means it’s likely that more top-notch pros will play. And the tournament has a new director, announcing last September that Greg Norman Production Company, a subsidiary of Great White Shark Enterprises, will oversee management of the annual PGA TOUR event. GNPC also manages the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Riviera Maya, Mexico and the Franklin Templeton Shootout in Naples, Fla., a PGA TOUR Challenge Season event. The management agreement ensures that World Golf Hall of Fame member Greg Norman will have a presence at the TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Oaks Course, which he designed.

GNPC has appointed Larson Segerdahl, who has served as the Tournament Director for the Mayakoba Golf Classic since the event’s inception in 2007, to oversee the Valero Texas Open and its staff from its San Antonio office.

For all the changes, the Valero Texas Open retains all of the traditions that have made it a special stop for pro golfers. Combined with the Benefit for Children, the Valero Texas Open is the largest fundraising tournament on the PGA TOUR. In the 11 years that Valero has been the tournament’s title sponsor, more than $71.5 million has been donated to charities. The 2012 Valero Texas Open, won by Ben Curtis, together with the Valero Texas Open Benefit for Children Golf Classic contributed $9 million to charities. And in mid-2012, Valero announced it would extend its title sponsorship through the 2018 tournament.

Tens of thousands of spectators enjoy the Valero Texas Open each year, making it one of the highest-attended professional sporting events in San Antonio each year. Spectators are joined by the thousands of volunteers who make the tournament possible.

Tickets are available online at www.valerotexasopen.org or at San Antonio-area Valero Corner Stores. Tickets are free for children 12 and under and to active-duty military personnel and their families.