Following the Florida swing, the PGA TOUR will be hosting back-to-back events in Texas before the Masters, first with the Texas Children’s Houston Open this week. Memorial Park (par 70, 7,475 yards, POA Trivialis greens) in Houston is where this event will be played and this venue has hosted each of the last four Houston Opens. Notably, this event wasn’t played in 2023. Last year, Stephan Jaeger (-12) won this tournament in a dramatic six-man playoff. This week’s field consists of 144 golfers and there will be a standard top-65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.
Memorial Park is a challenging and long parkland course that features thin rough, large greens, only 21 bunkers and water in play on four holes. This is a driver-heavy course that favors strong OTT players, so targeting efficient drivers is a smart move this week. Most importantly, being in great form with both your irons and putter is essential at Memorial Park. Ever since this course became the host of the Houston Open in 2020, three of the four winners at this par 70 have finished the event top-13 both in SG APP and SGP.
Memorial Park is a rare par 70 that presents 10 par fours, five par threes and three par fives. While there are only three par fives, taking advantage of these holes and walking away with a birdie every time you face one of these par fives is vital at this difficult venue, as each of the past four victors at Memorial Park have finished the tournament top-10 in par five efficiency.
Below, I dive into four of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Texas Children’s Houston Open that are all priced under $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]
Max McGreevy ($7,400) – McGreevy has made 2-of-2 cuts at Memorial Park – including a T-19 in 2021 – and travels to Houston as the maker of five cuts in a row. During this streak, McGreevy has carded three top-25 finishes and he shot even par or better in 13 of his 20 rounds, which is impressive given his last four starts have come at tough Florida courses.
McGreevy ranks 36th in SG APP and 47th in par five performance this season, and he is one of the best values available for the Houston Open at this low $7,400 salary.
Victor Perez ($7,100) – Perez shined in his two starts during the Florida swing, finishing T-18th at the Cognizant Classic and T-22nd at the Valspar Championship. Despite the volatile conditions at both these tournaments, the French professional gained over three strokes on approach at each event and he notably only shot over par once in his eight rounds.
Perez finished T-17th in his first attempt at Memorial Park last season and the 32-year-old has similar upside this week given his excellent form.
Ryan Gerard ($7,200) – Gerard has been very consistent this season. The 25-year-old has only missed one cut in eight starts this season and three of these finishes have been top-25 results. While Gerard has never competed at Memorial Park before, he brings a strong combination of efficient iron play and putting that makes him a great match for the par 70.
Gerard ranks top-35 in both SG APP and SGP this season, and he has the potential for a top-25 finish in this weak field.
Matti Schmid ($7,000) – Schmid finished T-21st in his Houston Open debut last season while gaining strokes in every major category at Memorial Park. Returning to the par 70 in compelling form this week, the German professional once again is a threat for a top-25 finish. Schmid has finished T-18th, T-6th, MC and T-28th in his last four starts and he gained strokes with both his irons and putter during all three of those high finishes.
Schmid ranks 22nd in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 200+ yards this season, which bodes well for the lengthy Memorial Park. During last year’s Houston Open at this par 70, 28.5% of approach shots came from at least 200 yards out.
