The PGA TOUR is hosting the Texas Children’s Houston Open this week, which is the first of two straight events in Texas. Located in Houston, the Texas Children’s Houston Open is being played at Memorial Park (par 70, 7,475 yards, POA Trivialis greens), which has hosted the last four Houston Opens. This is a field of 144 golfers and there will be a standard top-65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.
Below, I have featured some finishing position bets to consider for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Jason Day for a Top-20 finish including ties (+150)
Day is fresh off an impressive T-8 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Except around the greens, Day gained strokes in every major category at Bay Hill and he shot an event-low 8-under 64 during the second round. The Australian has finished T-13 or better in three of his six starts this season and he now travels to Memorial Park, where Day has finished inside the top-16 in two of his four appearances at the Texas venue.
Day’s last win on the PGA TOUR came in the Lone Star State, when he took home the top prize at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson two years ago, which marked his second victory in Texas. Day ranks fifth in strokes gained per round when we compare this field’s histories at Texas courses and he ranks 31st in par five performance this season, which is great news for Memorial Park, where three of the last four victors have finished the tournament top-10 in par five efficiency. While Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are competing this week, the Houston Open presents a weak field overall and Day should contend considering the light competition.
Mackenzie Hughes for a Top-40 finish (+100)
Memorial Park is one of Hughes’ favorite courses on the PGA TOUR. In his four starts on the lengthy par 70, Hughes has finished T-7, T-29, T-16 and T-14, in that order. Hughes has shot even par or better in 11 of his 16 rounds at the difficult track and he is gaining 1.76 strokes per round at Memorial Park. Additionally, his 16.5 place average finish at the venue ranks third among the players in this field that have competed at Memorial Park more than once.
This season, Hughes has made 6-of-9 cuts and four of these finishes have come inside the top-40, including a T-36 at the Valspar Championship last week, in which he was one of only 11 golfers to gain strokes in every major category at the Copperhead Course. Looking to build off this showing, Hughes could be in store for his best finish of the season this week and he is a must-bet for a top-40 finish at these +100 odds.
