PGA Tour big guns Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will be at Memorial Park Golf Club this week, looking to fine tune their skills at the Houston Open two weeks before The Masters at Augusta.
Scheffler has finished runner-up here twice, while McIlroy, who won the Players Championship a fortnight ago, is making his course debut, however, there are plenty of others looking to make their mark at the Texas track this week.
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Houston Open betting tips
Tony Finau to win @ 33/1
Scheffler finished as one of five players a shot behind last year’s winner Stephan Jaeger, but he had Tony Finau for company and the man from Utah represents some strong value in this week’s tournament.
Finau had posted a round of 62 for his second successive tournament at Memorial Park in that effort, which came 12 months after he had claimed a four-shot Houston Open success.
The six-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut last time out at the Players Championship, but this 7,475-yard par 70 test should be much more up his street following his Sawgrass disappointment.
His ability off the tee and with long irons should come to the fore and he demonstrated he can be a factor in decent tournaments after he posted a fifth-placed finish at the Genesis Invitational, despite starting with a 76.
He ticks plenty of boxes this week and should go well at what appears a big price.
Alex Smalley to win @ 55/1
Alex Smalley missed the cut at last week’s Valspar Championship, but he has had a solid start to the year, finishing no worse than 21st in his six completed tournaments.
His best finish has been tenth at the Mexico Open and, while he failed to make the weekend here 12 months ago, he does have good Memorial Park form.
He was fourth two years ago and 15th the year before that and he comes into this year’s renewal in better form so he has every reason to be optimistic.
Jake Knapp to win @ 75/1
Jake Knapp is another player who has been knocking on the door in the early months of 2025 and this could be the week he gets over the line.
He came close at the Cognizant Classic three weeks ago when he started with a 59, so the sixth place he eventually posted was a slight disappointment.
However, he recovered from that to finish 12th in a strong field at the Players and also proved himself earlier in the campaign when he was 17th at the Genesis Invitational, one of the PGA Tour’s signature events.
Knapp missed the Houston cut on his debut 12 months ago, but we can expect a much improved effort this time around.
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