HOUSTON OPEN: The PGA Tour heads west to the Lone Star State this week for the Houston Open, an event that has moved around on the schedule a bit over the past decade but now seems to have found a home a fortnight before the Masters. And though tournament organizers and the local community surely regard this week as something bigger than a tune-up for the year’s first major, in the big picture, for most fans, that’s exactly what it is.
There are essentially two types of players this week: those who are trying to punch their tickets to Augusta, either by playing well enough to move into the top 50 of the world rankings or by winning outright, and those who are already exempt and are here in preparation mode, sharpening the sword. Those near the top of the market mostly fall into the latter camp, though there are a few exceptions, guys like Nicolae Hojgaard (29.0), Michael Thorbjornsen (30.0), and Rickie Fowler (42.0), players who have not yet secured their Masters invite but still have an opportunity if they play well enough. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was scheduled to tee it up after finishing runner-up here in two of the past three years but had to withdraw on Tuesday due to undisclosed family reasons, which gives the rest of the field an extra dose of hope, for sure. As it stands now, defending champion Min Woo Lee (14.5) heads BETDAQ’s Win Market.
The venue, Memorial Park Golf Course in the heart of downtown Houston, is perhaps the finest public-access course in the state of Texas… definitely so if you don’t count the $200/round resorts like Barton Springs et al. It’s an old-school municipal course that is reasonably priced, encourages walking over carts, and is well-conditioned year-round. I’ve played it more than once, and if you ever find yourself in Houston with a set of clubs and a few hours to kill, I highly recommend a visit.
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, with many slopes and collection areas replacing bunkers and water hazards, giving the course a unique charm as a place that is accessible to all yet a challenge for the best.
Lee’s 20-under 260 last year was the lowest winning score this tournament has seen in a decade, and with the dry weather conditions in Houston this week expected to bake out the greens, I’d be very surprised if anyone challenged 20-under this year. That said, here are three who are a good bet to contend:
WIN MARKET
Recommendations to BACK (odds in parenthesis)
Sam Burns (26.0)- This feels like a good week for Burns, who has been up and down this season but is coming off a T13 at The Players and is just three starts removed from a T6 at the AT&T Pebble Beach, where he opened with a 63 and was around the lead all week. An ace with the flat stick, he currently ranks 14th on Tour in strokes gained putting and often does his best work on Bermuda greens like the ones he’ll see this week (Burns is from Shreveport, Louisiana… just an easy 3-hour drive from Houston). Though he hasn’t teed it up here since 2022, he has an excellent record in this event which includes back-to-back 7th-place finishes in 2020 and 2021, so he clearly feels comfortable at Memorial Park. He’s a sensible bet at the current price.
Ryan Fox (65.0)- Formerly a mercurial, streaky player, Fox has found his groove in his late 30s and is now a consistent moneymaker, with top-25 finishes in all four of his PGA Tour starts this year, including a T7 at last month’s Genesis Invitational. The long-hitting New Zealander generally plays his best on courses geared for bombers, and though Memorial Park wouldn’t appear to fit the bill at first glance, the longer players have fared quite well here since the 2019 renovation, with Jason Kokrak and Tony Finau among the names who have won this tournament in the 2020s. Fox himself has made the cut here in both of his appearances and finished 15th last year, which means he knows his way around the course and should have ample confidence heading into the week. At a price like 65.0, Fox might be the best value on the board.
Tom Kim (140.0)- Two years ago, Kim appeared to be on track to be one of the world’s top players for years to come. Still only 23, the hype around him has cooled considerably as his game has stagnated, and, incredibly, he has not recorded a top-5 finish on the PGA Tour since 2024. There are reasons for optimism, however: he’s 7/7 on made cuts this season, so he’s been playing solid golf, and he’s coming off his best finish of 2026, a T18 at last week’s Valspar Championship, a performance that would’ve been even better had it not been for a mediocre final round 72. This will be Kim’s debut at this event, but his game, which combines elite iron play with a nifty short game, should fit Memorial Park nicely. And let’s not forget that this guy had racked up 3 Tour wins by age 21… he knows how to get the job done. He’s worth a bet at such an inflated price.
