AS March gives way to April a veritable feast is laid out before us, and that’s just the obscene amount of Easter eggs and crisps I’ll be eating next week after a Lent of controlled abstinence.
We can also gorge on the glorious sporting action getting very close on the horizon, as this really is the month with something for everyone.
The race for Sam Maguire gets going next weekend when Armagh and Tyrone renew their friendly rivalry on the same day as the Grand National takes place at Aintree to cap off a fine three-day meeting.
There is also the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible to come, while the picture should become clearer in the race for the biggest prizes in soccer.
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And then, of course, there is The Masters at the majestic Augusta National, where Rory McIlroy will attempt to defy recent history and hold on to the Green Jacket after last year’s long-awaited breakthrough, all while trying to peel the spuds and wrap dates in bacon for the champions’ dinner.
It is not just McIlroy’s menu that whets the appetite, and I can’t wait for it all to unfold.
With so much to be done, it is little wonder the Holywood man sits out this week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, with his final preparations for Augusta carried out away from the spotlight.
Rory McIlroy defends his Masters title at Augusta next week (David J. Phillip/AP)
World number one Scottie Scheffler also gives this one a miss in his home state as he awaits the birth of his second child, but a strong field has been assembled with a number of the leading lights feeling competitive action is the best way to get everything fine-tuned with next week in mind
There is no hard and fast way to get ready for the first Major of the season, but the recent trends suggest giving the final warm-up a wide berth could be a good idea.
The last Augusta winner to play the previous week was Hideki Matsuyama in 2021, and he finished well down the San Antonio field.
Dustin Johnson was second in Houston the week before his triumph in the Covid-delayed Masters in November 2020, while Jordan Spieth was also the runner-up in Houston before slipping on the Green Jacket seven days later in 2015.
Going well two weeks out from the big one has been more conducive to shining at Augusta, and you have to go back 20 years to Phil Mickelson to find the last man who won the week before Augusta – at the Bellsouth Classic – and then triumphed on Magnolia Lane.
That’s not to say the big names teeing it up in the Valero Texas Open would turn their noses up at a PGA Tour victory come Sunday night, but it might be worth keeping in mind that this week is not the total focus.
Ludvig Aberg is one of the favourites for the Valero Texas Open after his near miss in The Players (Mike Egerton/PA)
Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood contest favouritism in San Antonio, just ahead of the consistent Russell Henley, 2021 winner Spieth, and Collin Morikawa.
Aberg in particular will be looking to get a few demons out of his system after blowing a winning chance at The Players when last seen, while Morikawa lasted only one hole at Sawgrass before withdrawing due to a back injury.
The latter had been in superb form during the Florida Swing and would look ideally-suited to the desert-style Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, as it is a tight test off the tee while the putting surfaces are small.
It is all about accuracy for the most part, and that is very much Morikawa’s strength, but those nagging fitness concerns are enough to put me off.
The fact every player can be backed at 16/1 or bigger if you shop around suggests the bookies aren’t sure about the motivation for the top men.
Of the 132 going to post, 24 have their ticket booked for Augusta, and that could rise to 25 if the winner come Sunday night is not already eligible.
Gary Woodland took that route by winning in Houston at the weekend, sealing an emotional success less than three years after brain surgery that has led to PTSD.
San Antonio won’t throw up the same emotions, but anyone taking the last slot at The Masters may well shed a tear or two.
Robert MacIntyre doesn’t have to worry about that, but I have a sneaky suspicion he could go well in San Antonio, where the last two winners – Brian Harman and Akshay Bhatia – have been left-handers.
That is probably a coincidence but MacIntyre might well make it a hat-trick, especially with the Texas winds due to blow hard.
The Scot loves testing conditions and tough courses, while he returns here after a fourth at Sawgrass, another fine performance on a big stage.
MacIntyre has been a bit wayward with his irons this season but that was markedly improved last time out, while he has been driving very well and is in the top-10 for putting so he should be well up to this task.
Any bad weather that comes will be a bonus, and with other leading lights perhaps looking ahead he is worth backing at 18/1 with William Hill.
Gary Woodland posted an emotional win at the Houston Open (Richard Sellers/PA)
I was also tempted by the deadly accurate Sepp Straka, but I’ll opt for Keith Mitchell, who has finished in the top 15 in each of the last two years in San Antonio and returns on the back of a fast-finishing 14th in Houston on Sunday.
A tee-to-green machine, Mitchell’s best result of 2026 was sixth in the Cognizant Classic at windy PGA National, and his ball-striking should stand to him in San Antonio.
Another one to follow at a decent price is Austin Smotherman, who was second in the aforementioned Cognizant Classic and has impressed since making the step up from the Korn Ferry Tour.
A resident of Dallas, the rising star is well used to the Texan winds, while he was eighth in a desert surrounding at the American Express earlier this season.
Smotherman was also 13th in good company at The Players last month and would dearly love to book a Masters ticket, which isn’t that fanciful when you consider he is second to Morikawa in strokes gained for approach play in 2026.
Also in his favour is the fact he was fourth in a Korn Ferry event at this course back in 2020 and knows his way round, so stranger things have happened and he is definitely worth backing at 66/1 as we look to start an action-packed April with a winning docket.
VALERO TEXAS OPEN
Robert MacIntyre, e/w, 18/1 (William Hill);
Keith Mitchell, e/w, 33/1 (Paddy Power);
Austin Smotherman, e/w, 66/1 (General)