The Florida swing is behind us now. In other words, the master is approaching very quickly. Despite Georgia's equally mindfulness of all golfers, fans and Pandits, the PGA Tour travels to Texas for two weeks before descending to Augusta National.
The first was the Texas Children's Houston Open in Memorial Park, a city course that was renovated by Tom Doak in 2019 with the advice of Brooks Coepka. Memorial Park welcomes around 60,000 visitors a year and rivals two well-known public courses: Beth Page Black and Torrey Pines.
But unlike Black and Torrey Pines South, Memorial Park doesn't have a thick, rough and punishing lie if you miss the fairway. Instead, the defenses on this course are around the green, placing premiums on iron play and lacking in the right place. Short games are top priority Justin Ray, golf statistician Earlier this week, those who finished in Memorial Park's top 10 earned 19.5% of strokes from around the green. To provide further context, Ray noted that since 2020, when the PGA Tour first returned to Memorial Park in nearly 60 years, the US Open only has a higher percentage in this regard. Short story: That's all about this week's short game.
Memorial Park's top 10 finishers took place in the final four times that hosted the Houston Open, with 19.5% of the strokes totaling from shots around the green.
In recent seasons, only US Opens have a higher percentage.
– Justinray (@justinraygolf) March 24, 2025
That said, Memorial Park is a bomber paradise. At 7,475 yards, this is the third longest course on the PGA Tour so far this season. It is also a PAR-70, and will play for even longer. This tour has so far only had one other event on the Par-70. This course measures only 7,044 yards at the Waiarae Country Club for the Sony Open in Hawaii.
However, Memorial Park is a stark contrast to Waiarae. You can miss a big off from the tee, but you still have a chance to get a par or more. The Memorial Park rough is a perennial ryegrass overseed, 1.25 inches long. Certainly, some players will tell lies swirling here and there, but in stark contrast to the hack-and-sack approaches on other long tracks like Tory and Beth Page.
Weather is expected this week as rain softens the golf course on Thursday and Friday. This will make the course longer, but the fairways will also be wider. Green is also more receptive.
Players who can drive well from the tee and players who have a clever, short game should compete this week. It helps explain why Scotty Schaeffler and Rory McIlroy arrive as big favorites, but they are now two of the best players in the world. Still, at this point, for the top players of the game, it's all about getting one final iteration in front of Augusta.
Texas Children's Houston Open Odds:
This is the latest The chances of the player winning Texas Children's Houston Open, provided by Fan Duell:
Scotty Schaeffler +350
Rory McIlroy +650
Aaron Ry +2800
Wyndham Clark +3300
JJ Spaun +3500
Davis Stompson +3500
Jason Day +3500
Tony Finau +3500
Michael Kim +3500
Min Woo Lee +3500
Sungjae IM +4000
Si Woo Kim +4500
Stephan Jaeger +4500
Taylor Pendris +4500
Jacob Bridgeman +4500
Maverick McNerry +5000
Sahith theegala +5000
Ben Griffin +5500
Thomas Detrey +6000
Max Greyserman +6000
Taylor Moore +6000
Alex Smalley +6000
Keith Mitchell +6500
Kurt Kitayama +7000
Joe Highsmith +7000
Mackenzie Hughes +8000
Kevin Yu +8000
Jake Nap +8000
Harris English +9000
Andrew Novak +9000
Harry Hall +9000
Nick Taylor +9000
Seamus Power +9000
Samuel Stevens +10000
rasmushøjgaard+10000
Nicolai Højgaard+10000
Patrick Rodgers +10000
Ricky Fowler +10,000
Play Through Picks:
Jack Mirco – Staff Writer, Golf
It's time for the chef to get the job done.
I'm taking it Min Wooly To win this week at Memorial Park, he relies heavily on his clever short game and distance from the tee. Young Australia ranks 9th in the PGA Tour with strokes obtained around green and third mileage, the perfect combination for this golf course.
His putting metrics are also solid. Lee will convert 15th place in the stroke he acquired with the Greens and 10-10-foot putts on his ninth stroke on the Tour. The putter has been hot recently too. He was the player who led the 36 holes with Akshay Bhatia, and Lee ranked third in the stroke. He was reverted with TPC Sawgrass for a very inaccurate day on Saturday. He missed seven fairways and shot 78 over 6.
This week's courses are very different. Lee can find a way to spray the ball wherever he enjoys and score from almost anywhere. Driving accuracy has been his Achilles heels for a long time, but Lee doesn't have to worry about it at Memorial Park.
Fanduel Odds: Lee wins with +4000
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RJ OCHOA – Senior Producer, Boy's Blog
At this point in the PGA Tour season, it feels like the results have been obtained from the entire field.
Big names, little names, and everyone in between won at some point. And things need to be adjusted properly, as the Master is now within an impressive distance.
With that spirit, I simply can't imagine the world Scotty Scheffler He won't win towards his title defense at Augusta. The most sagging fruit is the sweetest for the sweetest reasons, and I will go as chalk as you can and choose Scotty to take it in his hometown.
Funder Elds: Schaeffler won with +330
Mark Schofield – Staff Writer, NFL, F1
Memorial Park is a “bomber paradise,” as our fearless leaders have shown at the top.
Rory McIlroy Currently, he is fifth on the PGA Tour mileage (averaged 315 yards off the tee) and first obtained from the tee on strokes (.905). That alone will make him solidly choose this week.
But there are other reasons. After all, he leads the Tour with total strokes he has won (2.289) and scoring averages. He arrives in Houston after finishing in the top 25 in all four events this year.
It's definitely a chalk pick, but we're looking for a victory here, friends.
Fanduel Odds: McIlroy to win at +650
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Jedmesh – Staff Writer, MMA Fighting
First, let's say that I, who debuted with this amazing group last week, has delivered a very good winner. I was hitting jack on Sunday when Justin Thomas took a two-shot with three holes and asked for details about where my cor crown would be, when and where. And JT completely collapsed with horrifying decisions and Viktor Hovland bent his clutch gene. Alas, what was it mostly?
Anyway, I'm tempted to support Sahis Tegala this weekend After having one of the most relevant moments on last week's tourBut, however, I know this is lame – for all the reasons Mark outlined, Smart Money is in Rory this weekend. Memorial Park is longer than a giraffe tie that works well in McIlroy's hands. And considering how well those hands have been shaking sticks these days, I'm covering up my favorite Northern Ireland son.
