By: @Ryan_Humphries on Twitter & LineStar Chat

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Tournament & Field 🏆

The Florida Swing has come to a close, and the PGA TOUR now heads to the Lone Star State, where Memorial Park Golf Course will once again host the Texas Children’s Houston Open. This event has gone through its fair share of changes over the years – name sponsors, venue shifts, and even a move on the schedule – but it remains a consistent stop on the TOUR calendar. After a three-year run in the fall, the tournament returned to its traditional late-March slot ahead of The Masters a couple of seasons ago. This will mark the sixth consecutive year it’s held at Memorial Park.

The field will feature 134 golfers, with the standard 36-hole cut rule in place – the top 65 players (plus ties) after Friday will advance to the weekend. This isn’t the strongest field we’ve seen, with just 17 of the top 50 players in the world teeing it up, along with 47 of the top 100.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was originally expected to headline the field, but he withdrew earlier in the week as he and his wife prepare to welcome their second child. His absence creates a noticeable shift in the pricing landscape, as Scheffler was the clear top option on the board and held +320 odds to win. With him out of the mix, the win equity becomes more spread out across the field, and plenty of golfers now carry a bit more value at their current price points.

With The Masters just two weeks away, this serves as one of the final tune-ups before Augusta, and for some players, a last chance to lock up a spot in the field. Best of luck!

The Course Preview ⛳

Memorial Park Golf Club

Par 70 | 7,412 Yards

Greens: Poa Trivialis Overseed

Cur Line L5Years: -3, +1, E, +1, +3

Course Difficulty L5Years: 28th, 12th, 11th, 9th, 8th

Winning Scores L5Years: -20, -12, -16, -10, -13

Memorial Park Golf Club is a lengthy Par 70 setup stretching 7,412 yards, making it one of the longest Par 70 courses on the PGA TOUR. This venue will be hosting its sixth edition of the Houston Open since its 2019 redesign by Tom Doak, with consultation from Brooks Koepka. Originally a public course with links-style influences, the redesign significantly altered the layout while maintaining a clean, strategic design that challenges players in multiple ways. Before that, Memorial Park hadn’t been part of the PGA TOUR rotation since 1963. The event was absent from the schedule in 2023 after hosting a fall tournament in 2022, but it has now returned to a late March slot and sets up as an important stop for players preparing for the first major of the season.

Memorial Park has proven to be a formidable challenge in its brief history on TOUR, ranking in the top 12 most difficult courses in four of the last five years. Prior to last season, the cut line had not fallen below even par in any of those years, and the course produced just 17 total players finishing at 10-under or better across those four events. However, the script flipped last year when the cut line landed at three-under and 26 players finished their week in the double digits under par.

This is a non-traditional Par 70 layout as it will feature five Par 3s and three Par 5s. The course is a parkland-style design with tree-lined fairways, similar to Augusta National, though it presents its own unique set of challenges. The fairways are of average width, but they play more difficult to hit than they appear, with driving accuracy historically landing roughly 5–8% below the PGA TOUR average. Even with improved scoring last season, driving accuracy at Memorial Park was still down to 56.1%. The rough, while not the tallest at approximately 3 inches, can be thick and punishing. Water is in play on four holes, and natural hazards, including ravines, add to the challenge. While bunkers are limited – only 19 in total – the greens are well-protected through elevation changes, false fronts, and tricky run-off areas.

Due to its length, Memorial Park is a driver-heavy course where bombers tend to have a built-in advantage. Driving Distance has exceeded 295 yards on average in past editions (296.4 yards/drive in 2025), and many of the top finishers have excelled off the tee. While distance is valuable, it’s not just about raw power – strong overall off-the-tee play and “good drives” will go a long way in setting up scoring opportunities. Shorter hitters can still contend by excelling in long iron play and scrambling, but they’ll naturally be at a bit of a disadvantage.

Around-the-green play has also proven to be a key factor here, and it’s not always easy to navigate these complexes. The greens, overseeded with Poa Trivialis, are large, averaging about 7,000 square feet, but they feature plenty of undulation and run-offs that make scrambling more difficult than it may initially appear.

A strong comparison for this course is the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook, which was, of course, the host venue for last week’s Valspar Championship and, like Memorial Park, also features five Par 3s and three Par 5s. Both courses emphasize long-iron play, require sharp scrambling, and have firm, challenging greens. Players who have thrived at Copperhead also tend to see quite a bit of success at Memorial Park.

Par 5 scoring is another key to success here. As expected, the three Par 5s tend to be the easiest holes on the course and must be taken advantage of, but generating those opportunities often starts with strong driving. Birdie chances on the longer Par 4s can be scarce, especially with six of them exceeding 450 yards, putting a premium on mid-to-long iron approach shots from 175+ yards.

All in all, Memorial Park provides a well-rounded test for players, rewarding elite drivers while also demanding sharp scrambling and strong putting. Expect another challenging setup, where avoiding bogeys and capitalizing on the few true scoring opportunities will be the keys to contending.

Weather & Tee Times ⛅

Click the images above to view the most up-to-date forecasts.

⚖️Weather Verdict: Winds look fairly manageable through the first two rounds, with sustained speeds generally sitting in the 5–10 mph range on both Thursday and Friday. That said, there are some higher gusts mixed in, particularly Thursday afternoon and early Friday morning, which could create a bit of turbulence at times.

It’s not enough to create a major wave edge, but there is a slight lean toward the AM/PM wave, as those golfers should avoid the peak gust windows on both days.

The weekend forecast looks clean, with light winds overall, no rain in the picture, and pleasant Spring-like temps.

Houston Open Tee Times

Key Stats to Consider 📊

Each key stat is paired with a weighted percentage (based on stat importance) for DFS model purposes.

1. SG: Approach – 25%

2. SG: Off the Tee – 15%

3. Around the Green – 15%

4. Total Driving – 10%

5. Par 4 Average – 10%

6. Par 5 Birdie or Better % – 10%

7. Long Iron Accuracy (200+ Yards) – 10%

8. Bogey Avoidance – 5%

PGA Tour Stats Page

Houston Open DFS Model Standouts 🏅

Below are the top 25 ranked golfers in both my overall model and my key stats model. Below that are the top 25 leaders in average finishing position over the last five and last ten starts. The players ranked on these lists do not necessarily mean they are the top golfers I’m targeting for this week's event, but many of these guys should no doubt be favorable DFS options.

Overall Model Rank: A golfer’s ranking (within the current field) in my personal DFS model, which weighs all of the key stats listed above in this newsletter, as well as factors like course history, recent form, recent average fantasy scoring results, and odds to win.

Course Fit / Key Stats Rank: Provides a golfer’s overall rank (within the current field) in my "key stats only" model, which considers only the key stats listed in the section above with the specified percentage weights allocated towards each statistic.

Houston Open DFS Cheat Sheet📑

Click the Cheat Sheet above for the higher-quality direct image link

Alternative Cheat Sheet Direct Image Link

That will do it for our PGA preview! Best of luck this week and, once again, feel free to hit me up in the LineStar chat or on Twitter/X @Ryan_Humphries with any questions.