Defending champion Stephan Jaeger (+4500) leads the field of 155 players at Memorial Park in Houston for the Texas Children’s Houston Open. The German, making his third start, won for the first time on TOUR last March on the historic municipal course after signing for T9 in November 2022. Never missing out on the weekend in three previous visits, his streak of rounds in the 60s is currently at five.

Tony Finau (+3500), the only other former champion in the field from Memorial Park, has thrived on the municipal layout regardless of if the event was played in the fall (2019-22) or spring (2024). The 2022 winner, who set the tournament scoring record on this track at 16 under to win by four, missed a playoff by one shot in defense last year (T2). Owning a 27-under aggregate, which included a round of 62 in each event, he posted 11 of 14 career rounds in the 60s.

Strokes Gained: Putting

All four winners at Memorial Park ranked in the top five on the Poa Trivialis overseeded greens. Simply, putts do not go in here. The last three seasons, the course ranked in the top 10 in Putting Average, and that includes the major championships. Those who succeed find a way to will them in with the flat stick. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked in 2024 in Strokes Gained: Putting (bold = top 20):

Players listed below are competing this week.

Putting matters this week, as 11 players from the top 15 in SG: Putting cashed T17 or better.

Scottie Scheffler (+350) has never missed a chance to play Memorial Park and has qualified for the weekend in four visits. Posting T32 on debut before he exploded into being the No. 1 player in the world, he was the first to fire 62 and set the course record on his way to T2 on his second visit. Over the last two years, he added two more top-10 results, a T9 in 2022 and T2 in 2024, and is a combined 25-under par across those three events. The Dallas native is hunting for his first victory in stroke play in the Lone Star State.

Making his fourth consecutive start in Houston, Aaron Rai (+2800) will look to continue his excellent run of form on the municipal track, which favors excellent ball-strikers like him. In 12 loops, the Englishman signed for 11 rounds of 70 or better, with his worst effort being 1-over 71 during his inaugural round. After taking home T19 in the 2021 edition, he returned to rack up five rounds of 60 or better and earn a share of seventh place in the last two events. Only Finau and Scheffler have a better scoring average at Memorial Park.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes (+8000) found the top 10 (T7) in the return of 2020, and his next three trips resulted in T29 or better. Opening with 66, closing with 65, and adding 69 on Saturday, the 2024 edition was the first time he signed for three rounds in the 60s (T14). In 16 rounds, nine resulted in red figures.

Notables

• For the second week in a row, the host course features five par-3 holes and overseeded Poa Trivialis putting surfaces.
• Two of the four champions have led the field in Par-3 Scoring.
• The par-70 layout also features three par-5 holes, one of the toughest trios on TOUR.
• The overseeded fairways average 30 to 40 yards in the landing area, accounting for the winds that constantly blow in this part of the world.
• Poa Trivialis overseeded greens average 7,000 square feet and will not run over 11.5 feet on the Stimpmeter (wind). The nuanced greens are the defense of this Tom Doak (2019) restoration.
• Hole No. 16 is using a new tee box for 2025 and adding 40 yards to the scorecard.
• This is the second consecutive year with the overseeded rough cut to 1.25 inches.
• The last three champions ranged from 33 to 36 years of age.
• The Official World Golf Ranking is represented by 20 of the top 50 players, including No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who makes his debut at Memorial Park.

Oddsmaker’s extras

• Jason Day (+3500) cashed T7 in the return and added four rounds in the 60s for a T16 in November 2022.
• In his last seven rounds, Davis Riley (+11000) has signed for 64 and two rounds of 65, both in 2024. Making his fourth start, he owns finishes of T29, T27 and T14 over the last three editions.
• After missing the weekend on his first try, big-hitting Wyndham Clark (+3300) produced seven of his next 12 rounds in the 60s to earn T41-T16-T31 money.
• Sahith Theegala (+5000) resides in The Woodlands and should be a fan favorite. After earning T28 and T22 finishes the last two seasons, including five consecutive loops of 70 or better, he should be ready to take the next step.
• Taylor Moore (+6000), Thomas Detry (+6000) and Alejandro Tosti (+27000) were part of the group of five who shared second place in 2024.
• Alex Smalley (+6000), Trey Mullinax (+22000) and Joel Dahmen (+12000) all own a previous top-five payday at Memorial Park.

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