HOUSTON OPEN: The PGA Tour heads to East Texas this week for an event that has seen its status rise in recent years due in no small part to the venue, a lovely parkland-style track in the heart of downtown Houston that also happens to be one of only two true daily-fee public courses on the schedule, with Torrey Pines being the other. And when you compare green fees at the two places, it becomes clear that Houston’s Memorial Park Golf Course is truly unique in that seems to be the last supremely affordable, everyman-type course to host a tournament of this magnitude.
Originally built over a century ago as a recreational grounds for soldiers recovering at nearby Camp Logan hospital and then re-designed by John Bredemus in the 1930s, Memorial Park retains a classic, old-school feel despite being extensively renovated and modernized by Tom Doak and Brooks Koepka in 2019. The course is now a real challenge for the pros, measuring over 7,400 yards from the tips and featuring difficult green complexes with severe run-offs and mounding that requires the players to call upon their short game creativity. But these same features make the course fun to play for the recreational golfer — think slopes and collection areas as opposed to bunkers and water hazards — and have allowed the course to retain its unique charm as a place that is accessible to all yet a challenge for the best.
This is the last true tune-up that many players will have before the Masters in two weeks, and the greens at Memorial Park, though maybe not quite as slick as what they’ll see in Augusta, will be firm and very fast. It should be a fun week for the spectators, particularly because the top two players in the world, Scottie Scheffler (5.7) and Rory McIlroy (7.8), are both teeing it up in a real coup for tournament organizers. Scheffler is a Texan, of course, and he’s finished runner-up here in 2 of the past 3 years, though he has yet to hoist the trophy ad is still looking for his first victory of 2025. McIlroy, meanwhile, is coming off a thrilling victory at the Players but hasn’t played this tournament since it moved to Memorial Park. Will we get a classic Sunday showdown between golf’s brightest stars? Is that too much to hope for? Should we swallow the short odds and back one or the other to win? Here are my thoughts:
WIN MARKET
Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)
Scottie Scheffler (5.7)- It’s time, don’t you think? Scheffler suffered a hand injury in December and hasn’t found the winner’s circle since then, but let’s not get all hysterical and use words like “slumping” or “struggling” — in his last 5 starts he has five top-25s, including three finishes of 11th or better and a 3rd-place showing at the Genesis. He took last week off after a T20 at the Players, surely fine-tuning his swing and preparing to win in his home state, on a course he’s devoured over the past three years. Don’t get it twisted — Scheffler currently ranks 3rd on Tour in total strokes gained and 11th or better in both strokes gained off the tee and on approach. He’s still himself, and this week I fully expect him to get back to what he does best: winning golf tournaments.
Jacob Bridgeman (52.0)- Bridgeman is hot right now, finding the top-15 in three of his past four starts, including a runner-up at the Cognizant earlier this month and a sole 3rd at the Valspar last week. It’s the best stretch of his young career and it’s all happened on bermudagrass-covered courses just like those that Bridgeman learned the game on in South Carolina, and just like the one he’ll see this week in Memorial Park. This will be his second appearance here and he fared well on debut last year, finishing 21st, so he knows what to expect and should have loads of confidence given his recent form. If he’s around the lead on Sunday, the putter could take him home — Bridgeman ranks 6th on Tour in strokes gained putting, so the guy can flat-out roll the rock. He’s worth chancing at better than 50/1.
Mackenzie Hughes (102.0)- Hughes has been playing some solid golf lately, making 6 of his last 8 cuts, logging a top-25 in a stacked field at the API three weeks ago, and making a really nice comeback at the Valspar last week after a poor opening round, shooting 69-69-70 on a tough track to finish 36th and make a nice little chunk of change. He’ll have his eyes on bigger things this week, especially considering the venue is Memorial Park, a place where Hughes has enjoyed consistent success, finding the top-30 in all four of his appearances, including a T14 last year and a T7 in 2020. He does have two career PGA Tour victories, with the most recent coming in 2023, so he knows how to perform under Sunday pressure and close the deal. This feels like an awfully big price for an in-form vet like Hughes.
