This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Texas Children's Houston Open
Houston, Texas
Memorial Park Golf Course - Par 70 - 7,432 yards
Field - 144 entrants
Purse - $9.1 million
The Preview
Although the Houston Open was on the 2022-23 circuit, it was played in November of 2022, meaning that it has been nearly 16 months since Memorial Park Golf Course hosted a PGA Tour event. With the change in scheduling, this means that this week's tournament is the second to last event before the Masters at Augusta National in Georgia. Given its proximity to a Major championship, the Houston Open will provide a tune up for those looking to don the green jacket in Augusta.
The field includes world No. 1 Scottie Schefler, who has won each of his last two tournaments including The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass two weeks ago. The runner-up to Scheffler at TPC, world No. 4 Wyndham Clark, is also teeing off in Houston as are top-25 ranked Sahith Theegala (No. 15) and Jason Day (No. 20), as well as defending Houston Open champion Tony Finau.
Don't let the Par-70 scorecard fool you; Memorial Park Golf Course is a lengthy and difficult layout, and it has ranked in the top-12 in scoring difficulty in each of the past three years. Each of the par-5s are 575 yards or longer, with the eighth hole measuring in at a whopping 625 yards. There are five par-3s to balance that out, but three of them are 200-plus yards, and three of the eight par-4s are 500 yards or longer. There's plenty of space for players to find the fairways, but the approach game could be challenging with false fronts and run-offs around the greens. The area is expected to avoid rain for the tournament, but winds are expected to reach 20 mph over the weekend.
Recent Champions
2022 - Tony Finau
2021 - Jason Kokrak
2020 - Carlos Ortiz
2019 - Lanto Griffin
2018 - Ian Poulter
2017 - Russell Henley
2016 - Jim Herman
2015 - J.B. Holmes
2014 - Matt Jones
2014 - D.A. Points
Key Stats to Victory
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
Par-5 scoring
Strokes Gained: Approach/GIR
Proximity 200+ yards
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
Scheffler enters Houston after taking the previous weekend off, a much-deserved break after back-to-back tournament wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship. He carries the highest price tag into this weekend's tournament, but the fact he leads the PGA Tour in SG: Off the Tee and SG: Approach bodes well for Memorial Park. In previous entries, Scheffler finished ninth in 2022 and second in 2021.
Wyndham Clark - $44
Clark could have very well entered Houston as a winner of three of the last four tournaments, had it not been for Scheffler. Clark won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and he finished with two second-place finishes at the API and THE PLAYERS. He ranks third overall in SG: Total, including eighth in Tee-to-Green and 17th in Approach to Green and his average driving distance of 303.7 yards ranks third on Tour. Clark also did say in his pre-tournament interview that he tweaked his back earlier in the week, but that it was steadily improving. We expect him to play, but it may be something to monitor.
Sahith Theegala - $40
Theegala has started the season strong with four top-10 finishes, three of which came in his last four tournaments. He ranks fourth in SG: Total, including seventh Putting and 25th in Off-the-Tee, and the wider fairways in Houston should hide one of Theegala's weak spots of driving accuracy.
Glue Guys
Si Woo Kim - $34
Kim is coming off a sixth-place finish at THE PLAYERS, his best performance of the PGA Tour this season, and sits in 25th in the FedExCup Standings. He could be in good contention for a second-straight top-10 finish in Houston, and he ranks fifth in SG: Tee-to-Green, 13th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 10th in Driving Accuracy and 12th in GIR.
Luke List - $33
Memorial Park Golf Course favors long hitters, and List ranks 22nd this season in driving distance. Similar to Theegala, List isn't the most accurate of hitters off the tee, but the wide fairways in Houston should drastically lower his chances of finding the rough. His best performance this season was at The Genesis Invitational in February, when he scored 14-under to finish in second place.
Aaron Rai - $32
Rai has demonstrated previous success at Memorial Park Golf Course, as he finished T7 and T18 at the Houston Open in 2022 and 2021 respectively. He ranks first in the PGA in driving accuracy and eighth in GIR, while he ranks 23rd in SG: Tee-to-Green. Rai has given himself plenty of opportunities to score low, which could play favorably over the weekend should the wind speeds pick up.
Bargain Bins:
Joel Dahmen - $23
Dahmen is familiar with the Houston Open, having placed ninth in 2022 and fifth in 2021. He has made the cut in each of his last three tournaments, including an 11th-place finish at THE PLAYERS. Dahmen's approach game has been strong all season, and he ranks eighth on Tour in SG: Approach and 12th in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Joseph Bramlett - $22
Bramlett is coming off a strong T17th finish at the Valspar Championship in which he finished T5 in GIR and 14th in SG: Approach. He should be well-suited for a longer course like Memorial Park, as he ranks 14th in driving distance and ranks well in approaches out of the rough should he miss the fairway. Bramlett has had previous success at Memorial Park, finishing ninth at the Houston Open in 2021.
Andrew Novak - $20
Novak didn't make the cut at THE PLAYERS, but he bounced back with a 17th-place finish at the Valspar Championship last weekend, and he has now finished in the top 20 in four of his last five tournaments. Novak ranks 11th in SG: Total and SG: Approach and 14th in SG: Tee-to-Green. What will set him apart is his approach, in which he ranks fourth in approaches from 200-225 yards and ninth in approaches from less than 200 yards.
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