Houston Open Preview: What to expect at the fall stop in Texas
After Viktor Hovland claimed his second straight Mayakoba win in Mexico last week, the PGA TOUR heads back to the United States for the Houston Open.
The tournament has been a part of the TOUR schedule since 1946. However, it recently moved to the fall swing and is being played at a relatively new venue, Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course, just outside of downtown Houston.
Here's what you need to know for the week ahead in Texas.
When: Nov. 11-14
Where: Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course
Purse: $7.5 million
Winner's Purse: $1.350 million
How to watch (all times ET)
Thursday, Nov. 4: 3:00-7:00 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Friday, Nov. 5: 3:00-7:00 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday, Nov. 6: 4:00-7:00 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Sunday, Nov. 7: 4:00-7:00 p.m. (Golf Channel)
The field
Brooks Koepka headlines a strong crop of players making the trip to Houston this week. Other top-25 golfers joining the world No. 15 include Tony Finau, Sam Burns, Cameron Smith, Sungjae Im, and Patrick Reed.
Matthew Wolff, Joaquin Niemann, Jason Kokrak, Shane Lowry, and Max Homa will also attend, giving the event a robust field for a November tournament.
The full field can be found here.
Featured groups (all times ET)
Group: Patrick Reed, John Huh, Adam Scott
Thursday - 8:24 a.m.
Friday - 1:09 p.m.
Group: Tony Finau, Marc Leishman, Matthew Wolff
Thursday - 8:35 a.m.
Friday - 1:20 p.m.
Group: Sungjae Im, Sam Burns, Max Homa
Thursday - 1:09 p.m.
Friday - 8:24 a.m.
Group: Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton
Thursday - 1:20 p.m.
Friday - 8:35 a.m.
The full list of tee times can be found here.
The course
John Bredemus designed Memorial Park in 1935, but the course received a complete overhaul in 2019 by renowned architect Tom Doak with consultation from Koepka. The track now plays as a par 70, tipping out to 7,432 yards on the scorecard. The course was lengthened and made far more difficult to cater to TOUR play. In its debut last year, Memorial Park played as the eighth most difficult layout on the schedule.
The Doak design features Bermuda-grass rough, fairways, and greens and sees only 19 bunkers. That'll force players to chip off difficult tight Bermuda lies, with Doak designs featuring broad, sloping run-off areas around the green. For that reason, the short game figures to be essential this week. Memorial Park also features eight par-4 holes that measure over 440 yards and three par 3s over 200 yards, so distance off the tee and elite mid-to-long iron play is certainly preferred as well.
Betting corner
Sam Burns 12-1
Cameron Smith 18-1
Scottie Scheffler 18-1
Sungjae Im 20-1
Talor Gooch 22-1
Matthew Wolff 25-1
Tony Finau 25-1
Tyrrell Hatton 25-1
Adam Scott 28-1
Brooks Koepka 28-1
Aaron Wise 30-1
Joaquin Niemann 30-1
Marc Leishman 40-1
Patrick Reed 40-1
Shane Lowry 40-1
(Odds source: theScore Bet)