The PGA Tour stays in the South this week for the 2024 edition of the Texas Childen’s Houston Open taking place at Memorial Park Golf Course. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 US PGA Tour
Texas Children’s Houston Open
Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
28 – 31 March
Peter Malnati won his first PGA Tour event in nine years at last week’s Valspar Championship, securing a spot at the upcoming Masters in the process. It was a cathartic moment of vindication for an honest pro who truly appreciates the dream that he is living. This week the tour moves to the Lone Star State for the latest edition of the Houston Open.
Texas Childen’s Open
This event dates all the way back to 1946 when Byron Nelson saw off Ben Hogan in a clash of absolute legends to win the inaugural title. It has gone through a variety of iterations over the years and faded in relevance along the way, becoming the Masters tune-up event back in 2007.
It underwent a bit of a facelift in 2019, moving into the fall schedule due to the migration of the US PGA Championship. It was absent from last year’s schedule but it now returns to a more familiar spot in the calendar.
Memorial Park Golf Course
Originally designed by John Bredemus, Memorial Park Golf Course is a parkland course that will host this event for the fourth consecutive season. Tom Doak- working in collaboration with Brooks Koepka- completely reconfigured the layout in 2019.
They reduced the number of bunkers from 54 to 20, opting to create dramatic runoff areas to hug these Bermuda greens. These runoff areas pose a far greater risk to your average professional than a greenside bunker. It actually makes this quite a nice dress rehearsal for the scrambling test faced at Augusta.
The par 70 measures over 7,400 yards and includes three intimidating par 3’s that measure over 200 yards. I would probably tend to favour distance over accuracy this week. As I noted earlier, the decision to eliminate the bunkers has put an added emphasis on scrambling abilities.
So, look for bombers who have decent touch around the greens. This event has actually evolved into one of the tougher tests out there and I’m looking forward to some really gritty golf this week.
The Contenders
It almost feels like Augusta National are temporarily holding onto this year’s Green Jacket, just waiting on Scottie Scheffler to come and collect. The 2022 Masters champion has been in electrifying form, winning at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass to reaffirm his status as the leading player in the world. His improved putting has made him nigh on unbeatable and I wouldn’t be surprised if he claims his third consecutive win this week.
Wyndham Clark has already tasted success this season and he makes a very logical second favourite this week. Will Zalatoris has looked impressive since returning from his long injury hiatus, picking up some brilliant results at Riviera and Bay Hill. He has come within a whisker of winning the Green Jacket before and he will be looking to build some more positive momentum this week.
Elsewhere, the likes of Sahith Theegala and Tony Finau leap off the page in a pretty substandard pre-Masters field.
Past Winners
2023: no event
2022: Tony Finau (-16)
2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)
2019: Lanto Griffin (-14)
2018: Ian Poulter (-19)
To Win Outright:
Scottie Scheffler 26/10 | Wyndham Clark 12/1 | Sahith Theegala 18/1 | Will Zalatoris 20/1 | Tony Finau 22/1
Value Bets
Jake Knapp- To Win 55/1 | To Place 12/1
This is turning out to be quite the rookie season for 29-year-old Korn Ferry graduate Jake Knapp. We first witnessed his potential with a T3 finish at Torrey Pines (he finished just two shots behind eventual champ Pavon). He won his maiden US PGA Tour title at the Mexico Championship before a solid T4 finish at the Cognizant Classic. He struggled at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass but he should find this test- and field- more to his liking. Driving distance could be key this week and Knapp currently ranks 20th on tour in that category. He also ranks 21st on Strokes Gained: Approach and I think he represents brilliant value at 55/1.
Luke List- To Win 70/1 | To Place 15/1
Big-hitting American Luke List won the Sanderson Farms Championship in October and finished runner-up to Matsuyama at Riviera last month. Sure, he has missed the cut in two of his last three events. But that’s kind of how it goes with the mercurial List. List was third in this event when it was hosted at the Golf Club of Houston in 2017. He was the first-round leader here in 2021 but he ultimately had to settle for an 11th place finish. He can get to the par 5’s with his length and he should be encouraged by the lack of punitive rough out there.
The Man to Beat- Will Zalatoris- To Win 20/1 | To Place 44/10
I really have a strong feeling that Will Zalatoris could be a factor at this year’s Masters. He was out for almost a year due to a back injury and I thought it would take him a little more time to get back into his groove. But he has defied my expectations, finishing T2 at Riviera and T4 at Bay Hill. I’m willing to look past his missed cut at a volatile TPC Sawgrass. He has a solid tee-to-green game and he is absolutely incredible with his mid and long irons. He is a Texan who should feel very comfortable in these conditions.
