Can the Memorial Be the Bounce Back for Top Players: The Houston Open Outlook
After a busy week at the Valspar Championship and the finals for TGL, the PGA goes to Houston’s Memorial Park Golf Club for the Houston Open. With all the big names coming out for this tournament, we are sure to get a storyline through the tournament as we get closer to the Masters. With Players Championship winner Rory McIlroy coming back for the first time in 11 years and players like J.J. Spaun and Si Woo Kim looking for their Masters invites. While some players are looking for a continuation of their great year, players like Scottie Scheffler will be trying to find the magic he had in 2024, and a hometown course like this one might do the trick. With the winds projected to rise throughout the weekend, the course will turn into quite a long one, making it more of an Augusta warmup than any other course on tour.
Going into the tournament, nobody needs this win more than Scottie Scheffler. While he has finished in the top 25 of all five tournaments he’s played this year, it has been far off his best stuff. After a week off, he should be more motivated than ever with a course he knows very well. Scheffler not only has the tied course record on Memorial with Tony Finau, but he came one stroke off a playoff with Stephan Jaeger last year after a missed short put. If Scheffler can recapture some of his magic going into Augusta where he will try to defend his title at the Masters. His biggest competition will be the number one player in the FedEx rankings, Rory McIlroy, who has looked more in control of his game than anybody else on tour. After winning the Players Championship in a playoff over Spaun, he has stated in the media that after his week off, his only focus is in Houston, not on the only Major he has yet to win.
The betting favorites, however, should be Finau and Jaeger. Finau has been the most consistent player on this course, not only having the tied course record but having won this event once and finishing in the top five twice. Finau needs this win as well, or at least a good performance, as he has missed the cut in three straight events he’s competed in. Stephan Jaeger comes into tournament weekend as the defending champion and someone looking to get his Masters invitation. If Stephan wins, an invite is almost certain, while a missed cut could make the Valero a must-win in two weeks to get the opportunity to play in Georgia. Jason Day and Wyndham Clark also return to the field after two weeks off and a withdrawal from the Players Championship, both due to injuries. While both golfers, along with Australian star Min Woo Lee, can win any tournament at their best, all of them need to show consistency. With 10 out of the top 30 players in the world suiting up for Houston, we are more than likely to see a close finish that will affect confidence going into April more than any other tournament.
