The PGA TOUR begins its mini Texas swing this week in Houston as we sit just 17 days away from the Masters. Memorial Park will host the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and measures as an incredibly long 7,475-yard par 70 with Poa Trivialis overseeded greens.
The field extremely top-heavy this week, as both Scottie Scheffler (World No. 1) and Rory McIlroy (World No. 2) will be teeing it up in the Lone Star State. Joining them will be the likes of Tony Finau, Sungjae Im and Wyndham Clark.
Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Pitch + Putt [$200K to 1st]
Aaron Rai ($9,800)
It feels weird paying $9,800 for Rai in a field that features both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, but he’s simply been too good to ignore of late. It started at the Mexico Open, where the Englishman would finish T4. He then went T11 and T14 in his next two subsequent starts at the Arnold Palmer and THE PLAYERS. During this stretch, Rai’s ball-striking has been white hot.
He gained both on approach and off-the-tee in all three events, while ranking second in this field in Total Strokes Gained during that stretch as well. Only J.J. Spaun ranks higher than Rai in that department during this mini-run, while McIlroy and Scheffler sit third and fourth, respectively.
It’s also quite comforting to know that Rai loves Memorial Park, as he’s now played this event three times, while finishing T19, T7 and T7 across those three starts. Rai has always been one of the more underrated golfers on the PGA TOUR, but ever since he picked up his first win this past summer at the Wyndham Championship, he’s become more of a household name.
Although it comes with some sticker shock, starting your lineups with Rai helps you go more balanced throughout the rest of your roster, rather than jamming in a bunch of mid-tier golfers with a $12,700 Scheffler, who’s been good but not great to start the season.
Stephan Jaeger ($8,800)
Part of the reason I don’t like starting all the way at the top of the board this week is because I want to jam in a few guys in the $8k range, and that starts with the defending champ. Jaeger has quietly put together a really solid start to his 2025 campaign, already posting a pair of top-six finishes at the Sony Open and Mexico Open, while finishing T20 at THE PLAYERS as well.
Jaeger came out guns blazing last week at the Valspar, finishing Round 1 with a share of the lead before ultimately falling out of contention over the weekend. He would still finish a respectable T36, however, while gaining strokes in both ball-striking categories.
He’ll now return to Memorial Park where he’s made the cut in all three of his starts, while finishing T35 and T9 before putting the cherry on top last year for his first career PGA TOUR win. Jaeger was also one of the select few who can say he went toe-to-toe with Scottie Scheffler and outdueled him on a Sunday last year, otherwise we could be talking about a potential 11 or even 12 win season for the World No. 1.
Regardless, Jaeger has been rolling right along this season, ranking 17th in the field in Total Strokes Gained over the past 24 rounds. We should expect the good times to continue this week at arguably his favorite course on the circuit, and this $8,800 price tag is a pretty nice bargain considering his upside.
Harris English ($7,800)
It’s likely most have overlooked what English has been up to of late, so let me fill you in. One week following his win at the Farmers Insurance Open, he was an unmitigated disaster at Pebble Beach, losing a whopping 11.1 strokes ball-striking. Since then, however, English has been getting better incrementally in each start. It started at the Genesis, where he gained 1.1 strokes on approach, but lost 0.8 off-the-tee.
That’s clearly nothing to write home about, but then his following start at the API he gained 1.7 on approach while also gaining 1.2 off-the-tee. Sadly he would end up missing the cut thanks a cold putter, but the progress was clear. English then capped this all off at THE PLAYERS, where he gained 2.0 on approach and 2.3 more off-the-tee, while simultaneously gaining 1.5 with the putter as well.
That brings us to this week, as English sits at a quite palatable $7,800 in a rather mediocre field. His ball-striking cannot be ignored right now, as it’s clearly trending way up, while his putter and short-game remain a weapon every time he tees it up. English has always had a reputation of finding his way around long, tough courses, and Memorial Park certainly fits that mold. In his only start here back in 2023, he would finish T39.
English is playing much better golf now than he was two years ago, and is not only a threat to outperform his salary, but actually contend for the trophy this week. He is by far my favorite play in the $7k range and will likely go overlooked, as many opt for longer hitters.
