A storm is brewing at the Valero Texas Open, and it’s not just the one on the weather radar. The PGA Tour has just made a controversial ruling that has purists questioning the event’s legitimacy.
For the final round of the $9.8 million event, the integrity of the game is being questioned as players will be allowed to do something usually forbidden: choose their own lie. “Preferred lies will be in effect for the final round of the Valero Texas Open,” read an X update from the PGA Tour.
During the third round of the event, heavy storms and rain disrupted the play at the TPC San Antonio. And come this Sunday, the weather has refused to improve. Thus, the preferred lies method will have been brought back into play to make the golfers feel a little more at ease while combating the problematic weather.
Preferred lies will be in effect for the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 5, 2026
Now, for the uninitiated, the preferred lies rule is also known as ‘winter rules.’ Under such circumstances, a golfer is allowed the leverage of lifting, cleaning, and placing the ball. This is usually not the case in traditional golf. The traditional method relies fully on hitting the ball from exactly where it has landed.
Interestingly, the preferred lies rule is only permitted within the 6-inch to one club length range. And when a golfer wants to enforce the preferred lies rule, it does not attract penalties on the fringes or the fairway. Coming back to the Valero Texas Open, the leaders were only able to play six holes on Saturday due to the bad weather.
Preferred lies rule sparks debate again after weather disrupts plans
Back in the 2025 Tour Championship, the administration brought in a lot of changes in the rulebook around the preferred lies. The authority decided to make sure that they delve into the conclusion of the starting-strokes era. While they were trying to tighten the game at East Lake Golf Club, Mother Nature interfered with the matter. And yet again, the authority has to bring in preferred lies into play.
While preferred lies gives the golfers a chance to mark the position of their balls after lifting them, fans have mostly disliked the rule. Later, after critics voiced their opinion against the rules, the authority released a newsletter.
In the newsletter, officials had planned to make the course very challenging by keeping the greens extremely fast and the rough quite tall, which would test players more than usual. But unexpected rain and thunderstorms disrupted those plans, forcing changes to the conditions. However, the “preferred lies” rule was used again at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
