Houston Open 2025 Tips: Jason to have a Day in Texas

Europeans have made a great start to 2025 on the PGA Tour, and it continued last week in arguably the most entertaining event of the year, as Viktor Hovland produced some impressively clutch golf over the closing holes to force his way back into the winner’s circle in the always-exciting Valspar Championship.

The PGA Tour now begins its Texas double-header with the Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course and with The Masters just a little over two weeks away, some big names will tee it up with the aim of getting in some vital prep for our first major of the season.

Fresh from tipping up Hovland to win, here are Jamie Worsley's Houston Open 2025 tips, as well as his usual long-read preview featuring five players priced from 33/1 all the way out to 125/1!

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The inaugural edition of the Houston Open dates all the way back to 1946, when Byron Nelson defeated fellow Texan golfing legend, Ben Hogan. It has been a mainstay on the PGA Tour ever since.

This event has been won by several of the game’s greats, with Bobby Locke (1947), Arnold Palmer (1957, 1966), Gary Player (1978) and Payne Stewart (1995) all lifting the trophy.

Vijay Singh is the only player to have successfully defended the title, following his first win in 2002 with back-to-back victories in 2004/2005. That third win put him alongside Curtis Strange as the most successful players in the event, with Strange recording his wins in 1980, 1986 and 1988.

Last five winners:

• 2024 – Winner: Stephan Jaeger (-12)

Runner-up: Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Thomas Detry, Taylor Moore, Alejandro Totsi (-11)

• 2022 – Winner: Tony Finau (-16)

Runner-up: Tyson Alexander (-12)

• 2021 – Winner: Jason Kokrak (-10)

Runners-up: Scottie Scheffler, Kevin Tway (-8)

• 2020 – Winner: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

Runners-up: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama (-11)

• 2019 – Winner: Lanto Griffin (-14)

Runners-up: Scott Harrington, Mark Hubbard (-13)

Last year’s edition was closely fought, as Germany’s Stephan Jaeger picked up his first PGA Tour victory over a quintet of players that included world #1 Scottie Scheffler. He returns to defend this week.

THE COURSE

Memorial Park Golf Course was designed by John Bredemus in 1936 and has a long-standing history with the Houston Open, hosting the event 14 times between 1947 and 1963.

The course went through an extensive renovation at the hands of Tom Doak in 2019, before returning to host this event for the first time in over 50 years in 2020.

It plays as a par 70 and measures a lengthy 7475yds, possessing 5x par 3s (155-237yds), 10x par 4s (405-529yds) and 3x par 5s (587-625yds). This flat and loosely tree-lined parkland course ranks above average difficulty in most aspects and always provides a demanding test, averaging a winning score of -12.75.

Memorial Park’s fairways are average-wide in width, though due to the smart positioning of them, with many situated at an angle to the tee box, they are challenging to hit, possessing the fourth-lowest driving accuracy percentages on the PGA Tour last season. That being said, with much shorter, less penal rough and scarce bunkering around the entire course, players aren’t unduly punished for a stray tee shot.

The large and sloping bermudagrass-based greens are overseeded with poa trivialis and predominantly elevated. Most of these challenging surfaces are crowned, designed to reject balls at their edges and send inaccurate approaches tumbling into tightly-mown chipping areas that offer up a significant test of the short game.

Plenty of attainable birdie chances are available here, with some shorter par 4s and par 3s, but there is some intimidating length on several holes. Half of the par 4s measure above 490yds – including three at 500yds+ - and the par 5s are some of the toughest to birdie on tour, with two of the three measuring over 610yds.

Players will need to navigate exposed ravines throughout Memorial Park and although water only comes into play on four holes, it plays an important part in an exciting and dangerous finish. It protects the front of the green on the 155yd par 3 15^th; sits right of the fairway and surrounds the putting surface on the 576yd par 5 16^th; and hugs the right-hand side of the entire 17^th hole – a 405yd par 4.

With much of the course open and fairly exposed, and in a place where wind is often a factor, that closing stretch can prove perilous for those in contention on Sunday.

THE WEATHER

The forecast is predicting a potentially stormy week at Memorial Park, with thunderstorms scheduled on Monday and returning from Friday-Sunday, possibly accompanied by heavy rain.

Although this could soften the course up, it will make this already long course play even longer and with strong winds forecast, blowing at a consistent 15mph+ and gusting at close to 30mph, it may be a slog of a week in Houston.

KEY STATS

• SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance

Memorial Park is a strong all-round test at which most winners have had to show quality across the board to contend. However, it’s the driver that I believe holds most importance and with all of those long par 4s and par 5s, along with the lack of rough and potentially wet conditions, length should also key.

Of last year’s top 10, seven ranked inside the top 25 off-the-tee. In addition, the longest hitter in the field, Alejandro Tosti was among the five runners-up and winner, Stephan Jaeger ranked 12^th in driving distance.

The big-hitting Tony Finau ranked 2^nd OTT in 2022, with each of the top six ranking inside the top 30 and most not lacking for length; Jason Kokrak ranked 14^th OTT and driving distance when winning in 2021, as runners-up, Scottie Scheffler and Kevin Tway ranked 2^nd and 3^rd OTT respectively; meanwhile, Carlos Ortiz ranked 13^th in driving distance in 2020, with Dustin Johnson in 2^nd ranking 1^st in both areas.

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation/Proximity 200yds+

Although it wasn’t a necessity to contend last year, quality with the irons had been vital in previous renewals. With the distance of some of the holes it’s no surprise to see a high volume of shots at 200yds+; which typically account for over 30% each year.

Tony Finau ranked 1^st in greens-in-regulation and 9^th in approach on his way to victory in 2022. Runner-up, Tyson Alexander ranked 2^nd in GIR and 4^th in approach and five of that year’s top eight ranked inside the top 10 in GIR.

Jason Kokrak was superb with his irons when taking the title in 2021, ranking 2^nd in approach and 3^rd in GIR. Whilst in 2020, winner, Carlos Ortiz ranked 8^th in GIR and 14^th in approach.

• SG: Putting (poa trivialis overseed)

Another week and it’s another course on which we have bermudagrass-based greens overseeded with poa trivialis. Similar to the putting surfaces we’ve seen in THE PLAYERS Championship, Valspar Championship and Phoenix Open already this year, and that which we also find in other events such as the Texas Open, RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship.

Mastering them has been essential in prior renewals, with each winner at Memorial Park ranking inside the top five on the greens for the week.

• SG: Around-the-Greens

Lastly, the greens are tough to hit in the easiest conditions, let alone amidst the testing weather this week’s field look set to encounter. With those short-grass chipping areas surrounding most of them, only the very best short-game players will be confident of getting it up and down.

A strong week around-the-greens was important for last year’s winner, Stephan Jaeger, as he ranked 9^th; Carlos Ortiz also excelled in this area when he won in 2020, ranking 2^nd.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSE)

Phoenix Open (TPC Scottsdale)

TPC Scottsdale is a spacious course with large greens overseeded with poa trivialis, that rank among the toughest to putt on tour and possess many tight lies when missing. It also provides a similar test off the tee to Memorial Park and has developed strong form ties as a result.

Notable correlating form:

Tony Finau:

Houston (1^st, 2^nd) / Phoenix (2^nd)

Carlos Ortiz:

Houston (1^st) / Phoenix (4^th)

Thomas Detry:

Houston (2^nd) / Phoenix (1^st)

Taylor Moore:

Houston (2^nd) / Phoenix (9^th, 14^th)

Alex Noren:

Houston (4^th) / Phoenix (6^th)

Sam Burns:

Houston (7^th, 7^th) / Phoenix (3^rd, 6^th)

Billy Horschel:

Houston (7^th) / Phoenix (6^th, 9^th)

Adam Hadwin:

Houston (7^th) / Phoenix (9^th, 10^th, 12^th)

Texas Open (TPC San Antonio)

TPC San Antonio is one of the most demanding ball-striking tests on the PGA Tour. It ranks closely to Memorial Park in driving accuracy and greens-in-regulation percentages, while also requiring long-iron quality into the similar-sized poa trivialis overseeded greens.

Notable correlating form:

Tony Finau:

Houston (1^st, 2^nd) / Texas (3^rd)

Kevin Tway:

Houston (2^nd) / Texas (3^rd)

Trey Mullinax:

Houston (4^th) / Texas (2^nd)

Billy Horschel:

Houston (7^th) / Texas (3^rd, 3^rd, 4^th)

Adam Hadwin:

Houston (7^th) / Texas (4^th)

Arnold Palmer Invitational (Bay Hill)

A couple of events in Florida now and Bay Hill looks a good comp for this test. Another reasonably length, flat and somewhat spacious layout, it is among the toughest ball-striking tests on tour and has a similar level of short-game difficulty around the large bermudagrass greens. In addition, with many shots coming in that 200yds+ range, it provides a comparable challenge in approach to Memorial Park.

Notable correlating form:

Jason Kokrak:

Houston (1^st) / API (4^th, 6^th, 8^th)

Trey Mullinax:

Houston (4^th) / API (8^th)

Sepp Straka:

Houston (5^th) / API (5^th)

Joel Dahmen:

Houston (5^th, 9^th) / API (5^th)

Billy Horschel:

Houston (7^th) / API (2^nd)

Cognizant Classic (PGA National)

PGA National is a predominantly open course with large bermudagrass greens that rank as some of the most difficult to putt and scramble around on tour. In addition, the ball-striking challenge is akin to what we find at Memorial Park, especially off the tee, with both courses becoming more forgiving in recent years due to the shorter rough.

Notable correlating form:

Ben Taylor:

Houston (3^rd) / Cognizant (5^th)

Alex Noren:

Houston (4^th) / Cognizant (3^rd, 5^th)

Sepp Straka:

Houston (5^th) / Cognizant (1^st)

Mackenzie Hughes:

Houston (7^th) / Cognizant (2^nd)

David Skinns:

Houston (7^th) / Cognizant (4^th)

Billy Horschel:

Houston (7^th) / Cognizant (4^th, 8^th, 9^th)

Mexico Open (Vidanta Vallarta)

Mexico Open host, Vidanta Vallarta is up last. This spacious course has been a favourite of longer hitters (Brian Campbell notwithstanding) and with a high percentage of approach shots coming from over 200yds, it possesses a somewhat similar ball-striking test to Memorial Park.

Notable correlating form:

Tony Finau:

Houston (1^st, 2^nd) / Mexico (1^st, 2^nd)

Stephan Jaeger:

Houston (1^st) / Mexico (3^rd, 6^th)

Alejandro Tosti:

Houston (2^nd) / Mexico (10^th, 10^th)

Ben Taylor:

Houston (3^rd) / Mexico (8^th)

Alex Smalley:

Houston (4^th) / Mexico (6^th, 10^th)

Joel Dahmen:

Houston (5^th, 9^th) / Mexico (6^th)

Martin Trainer:

Houston (5^th) / Mexico (11^th)

Aaron Rai:

Houston (7^th, 7^th) / Mexico (4^th)

THE FIELD

The world’s two best players (in the absence of Joaquin Niemann, of course) will tee it up this week, as #1 Scottie Scheffler returns to Memorial Park for the fifth time and #2 Rory McIlroy makes his first start in the Houston Open since 2014.

There are a further five of the world’s top 25 in attendance and 20 of the top 50 in total. This includes our defending champion, Stephan Jaeger, who is joined by just two other previous winners, in the shape of Tony Finau (2022) and Lanto Griffin (2019).

Min Woo Lee and both Hojgaard twins are among this week’s debutants; Lee Hodges returns after a six-week absence due to a rib injury; while three-time major winner, Padraig Harrington is one of this week’s sponsor’s exemptions.

Houston Open 2025 Odds

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Scottie Scheffler 100/30, Rory McIlroy 7/1, Aaron Rai 28/1, Tony Finau 33/1, J.J. Spaun 33/1, Davis Thompson 33/1

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy make for a formidable duo at the top of this week’s betting, but I’m not tempted by either at the prices.

I’ll look to get them beat, first with a couple of classy Australians who have both the power often needed to contend here, and the short-game skills required to handle these testing putting surfaces and their surrounds, starting with the returning Jason Day.

1.5 pts Jason Day each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 33/1

I put up Day pre-tournament in THE PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago, where he withdrew due to illness. He looks fully recovered and having been in good form so far this year, I expect him to go well in Houston.

He was in with every chance of winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational when we last saw him, though he gave away three shots over his final three holes to take himself out of it, finishing 8^th. That was his third top-15 finish of the season in just six starts, the best of which came when he was 3^rd in The AmEx.

The standout area of the Aussie’s game in 2025 has been his approach play, ranking 37^th and producing numbers as good at any point during his career. He’s also been solid enough off-the-tee and around-the-greens, whilst we’ve finally seen this typically excellent putter find his touch on the greens in recent starts.

Day missed the cut here last year, but he had been good in previous starts at Memorial Park, finishing 7^th in 2020 and 16^th in 2022. His win in the 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational is an appealing piece of comp form and possessing plenty winning form in Texas – which includes the 2016 WGC – Match Play and two victories in the Byron Nelson – he’s a player clearly at ease in the often windy Texas conditions.

1.5 pts Min Woo Lee each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 35/1

Min Woo Lee has put together a consistent series of results in 2025 without really threatening to claim that first PGA Tour title. However, as a long hitter with one of the sharpest short games on tour, Memorial Park looks like a perfect spot for him to make that breakthrough.

Min Woo began his year by finishing a sound 17^th in Dubai on the DP World Tour and has carried that form over to the U.S, recording four top 20s across his six starts. His best result came when he finished 11^th three starts ago in the Cognizant Classic and when we last saw him, he was 20^th at TPC Sawgrass – an event in which he entered the weekend in a share of the lead.

As you’d expect, the short game has been key this year, ranking 9^th around-the-greens and 16^th in putting. Meanwhile, the long game too offers encouragement for this test, ranking as the third-longest driver on tour and although his iron play can be a little erratic, he ranks a solid 57^th from 200yds+.

Lee hasn’t played here before but he has some notable results that suggest he should appreciate what he finds. He’s a player who often excels on open and wind-affected courses, as shown by his runner-up finish in last year’s Cognizant Classic, whilst his win in the 2021 Scottish Open – on another exposed course with a demanding short-game test – also bodes well.

1 pt Jake Knapp each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 70/1

Jake Knapp disappointed when we were on in last week’s Valspar Championship, comfortably missing the cut. That being said, his game looked in excellent shape prior to that and arriving at a course that should suit his power-packed ball-striking game, I’m happy to give him another shot in Texas.

Knapp shot rounds of 74 and 77 to miss the cut by seven shots at the Copperhead Course, but he did enter the week off the back of his two best finishes of the season, as he finished 6^th in the Cognizant Classic and 12^th in THE PLAYERS. They were his third and fourth top-25 finishes in a row and with anyone forgiven one off week, I’m hoping he can bounce back here.

He’s been excellent on the greens this year, ranking 11^th and has gained strokes each time he’s putted poa trivialis. This big hitter has been a little unreliable with the driver, but he’ll get more leeway for his waywardness at Memorial Park and showing eye-catching form with his long irons, ranking 19^th from 200yds+, he has the required quality in approach to tackle this layout.

Knapp missed the cut here on debut in 2024 due to a poor week on the greens, but I was encouraged by the strength he showed from tee-to-green. With appealing comp form to be found, such as his win in Mexico last year and two top-six finishes at PGA National, I’m confident in his ability to improve on last year’s result.

1 pt Mackenzie Hughes each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 80/1

Mackenzie Hughes has played some of his best golf of 2025 over the course of his last three starts and possessing a great record at Memorial Park, this short-game specialist can achieve his best finish of the season.

Hughes has made nine starts this year and recorded just one top 25, which came three starts ago when 22^nd in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Though not by much, he missed the cut at THE PLAYERS the following week but responded positively at the Valspar, finishing 36^th and gained strokes right through the bag.

After struggling to keep it straight off the tee so far this year, the Canadian has been noticeably accurate over those last three starts. Indeed, he signed off the Valspar with a great display of precision ball striking, ranking 1^st in GIR and driving accuracy in round four, which when combined with his elite short game makes this two-time tour winner an attractive prospect.

Hughes has played all four previous renewals of this event here and finished no worse than 29^th, going best when 7^th in 2020. He’s also a former runner-up of the Cognizant Classic and with each area of his game clicking in recent weeks, I’m expecting him to again reach the higher levels of the leaderboard in Houston.

1 pt Mac Meissner each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 125/1

Mac Meissner showed plenty of promise when we were on last week, before eventually finishing 28^th; a result that was engineered by his best approach display since stepping up to the PGA Tour. As a player with Texas links who possesses a stellar short game, he’s worth chancing again this week.

Meissner’s most impressive result of the year thus far came on his season debut in the Sony Open, where he finished 21^st. He failed to fire following that and entered THE PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago having missed his last three cuts, but he turned his form around there, finishing 42^nd and carried the momentum over into the Valspar, where he was 14^th after 36 holes.

As mentioned, that result was the consequence of his finest approach performance on the PGA Tour, as he gained almost 1.9 strokes per round and ranked 4^th in the field. If he can maintain that whilst showing his usual quality around-the-greens, for which he ranks 13^th in 2025, he’d look an ideal fit for this challenge.

Meissner went to college and resides in Texas, which no doubt helped him record two top 10s in the state last year, including a 10^th-place finish in the correlating Texas Open. He did miss the cut in Houston the previous week but encouragingly there was evidence that suggests he can perform at the course, as he started the second round of that event inside the top 20 after shooting a two-under 68 in round one.