In his first round at the Valero Texas Open, Smylie Kaufman hit 5 of 14 fairways and 9 of 18 greens in regulation, finishing at 1 under for the tournament. Kaufman finished his day tied for 52nd at 1 under; Si Woo Kim is in 1st at 6 under; Abraham Ancer, J.T. Poston, Brian Stuard, and Jhonattan Vegas are tied for 2nd at 5 under; and Jordan Spieth, Chris Stroud, Roberto Díaz, Hank Lebioda, Max Homa, Ryan Moore, Scott Stallings, Danny Lee, Ted Potter, Jr., Morgan Hoffmann, and Rickie Fowler are tied for 6th at 4 under.

On the par-4 11th, Kaufman's 110 yard approach to 3 feet set himself up for the birdie on the hole. This moved Kaufman to 1 under for the round.

On the 241-yard par-3 13th, Kaufman's tee shot went 175 yards to the left side of the fairway and his chip went 28 yards to the green where he rolled a two-putt for bogey. This moved him to even-par for the round.

At the par-5 14th, Kaufman chipped in his third shot from 6 yards off the green, scoring a eagle for the hole. This moved Kaufman to 2 under for the round.

At the 464-yard par-4 15th, Kaufman reached the green in 2 and rolled a 39-foot putt for birdie. This put Kaufman at 3 under for the round.

At the 183-yard par-3 16th, Kaufman hit a tee shot 176 yards at the green, setting himself up for the 21-foot putt for birdie. This was his 3rd under-par hole in a row and moved Kaufman to 4 under for the round.

After hitting his tee shot into the native area, Kaufman hit his next to the right side of the fairway. He hit his fourth shot to the green and had a two-putt for a bogey on the par-5 18th. This moved Kaufman to 3 under for the round.

After hitting his tee shot into the native area, Kaufman hit his next to the left side of the fairway and reached the green on his third shot, rolling a two-putt bogey on the 454-yard par-4 first. This moved Kaufman to 2 under for the round.

On the 602-yard par-5 second hole, Kaufman reached the green in 3 and sunk a 3-foot putt for birdie. This moved Kaufman to 3 under for the round.

Kaufman's tee shot went 177 yards to the right greenside bunker and his approach went 37 yards to the green where he had a two-putt for bogey on the 213-yard par-3 third. This moved Kaufman to 2 under for the round.

After a drive to the left rough on the 474-yard par-4 ninth hole, Kaufman had a 182 yard approach shot, setting himself up for the birdie. This moved Kaufman to 1 under for the round.