2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open champion Stephan Jaeger of Germany returns to Memorial Park. … More (Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The first major of the year is less than two weeks away, and The Masters odds are drawing more interest as the the top golfers practice and prepare for the speed and slopes at Augusta National. This week it’s the Texas Children’s Houston Open on the 7,475 yard par 70 at Memorial Park Golf Course. Dallas native and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler joins world No. 2 and recent Players Championship winner Rory McIlroy as they both tee-it-up in a non Signature Event for the first time this season.
A total of 11 of the top 30 players in the world golf rankings will challenge those two favorites with first place prize of $1.7 million from a purse of $9.5 million. Six Europeans have won the first 12 tournaments of 2025 on the PGA Tour including Viktor Hovland finding his game through early season struggles to rally and win last week’s Valspar Championship at long odds (65/1).
But fans that watch and wager on golf and other sporting events including college basketball March Madness and next week’s Final Four in San Antonio are unable to place a bet in Texas with U.S. online sportsbooks.
Other wagering options are available and top online sportsbook and Panama-based BetOnline has been a market leader in providing more betting options for fans, and especially those political and sports-crazed fans in the three most populated states that currently don’t offer betting at U.S. online sportsbooks – California, Texas and Florida. So this week’s PGA Tour event in Houston and next week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio running the same weekend of the Final Four will provide great watch and wager entertainment.
Golf Odds To Win Houston Open
Golf odds from BetOnline and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on futures, props and live betting. Top finishing position odds and tournament matchups are other popular bets with top-10 odds in ( ).
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+375: Scottie Scheffler (-175)
+650: Rory McIlroy (+100)
+2500: Aaron Rai (+275)
+3000: J.J. Spaun (+300)
+3300: Davis Thompson (+300), Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee (+350)
+3500: Sungjae Im (+350), Jason Day, Tony Finau (+400)
+4000:Michael Kim (+350),Wyndham Clark, Stephan Jaeger (+450)
+4500: Jacob Bridgeman (+350), Taylor Pendrith (+450)
+5000: Alex Smalley (+450), Thomas Detry (+500)
+6000: Maverick McNealy, Joe Highsmith, Taylor Moore (+500)
+6000: Sahith Theegala (+500), Max Greyserman (+550)
+6500: Keith Mitchell (+550)
+7000: Ben Griffin (+450), Jake Knapp (+700)
+7500: Harris English, Nicolai Hojgaard
+8000: K. Kitayama, S. Power, N. Taylor, D. Riley, S. Stevens
+8000: Davis Riley, Sam Stevens
+8500: Mackenzie Hughes
+9000: Patrick Rodgers, Rickie Fowler \
+10000: Rasmus Hojgaard, Nico Echavarria
+10000: Harry Hall, Kevin Yu, Andew Novak
+11000: Doug Ghim, Max McGreevy, Nick Dunlap
+11000: Niklas Norgaard, Ricky Castillo, Lee Hodges
72-Hole Winning Score: Over/Under TBD (Par 70)
Types Of Bets And Wagering Terms
Notable players from the 156-player field who had success in last year’s event with a top-10 finish include Stephan Jaeger (-12, winner), Scheffler (T2), Tony Finau (T2), Thomas Detry (T2), Taylor Moore (T2), Aaron Rai (T7), Max Greyserman (T7), David Skinns (T7).
Tony Finau was runner-up last year and his 2022 victory at Memorial Park was the lowest score (-16) relative to par and the largest margin of victory (4 shots) in the four years of the Houston Open at this course.
Finau tops the list of players with best course history at Memorial Park and those (*) with multiple top-15 finishes in the last four editions. Thomas Detry, Scottie Scheffler *, Alejandro Tosti, Aaron Rai *, Mackenzie Hughes *, Stephan Jaeger *, David Skinn, Joel Dahmen *, Alex Smalley *, Max Greyserman.
Memorial Park Course, Holes, Stats
Memorial Park is a public course and hosting the event for the fifth straight year. There are lots of tight grass slopes, contours and runoff/shaved green complex surround slopes which repel approach shots. The above average-sized Bermudagrass green complexes (7,000 sq. feet) feature Poa Trivialis overseed in March. The tight lies that golfers face more often will require recovery shots to more elevated greens, which prepars golfers for Augusta National in early April at The Masters.
So strokes gained Around the Green and Approach are key stats as angles into greens can be more difficult with wind in play, making ball-striking more significant.
There are just 19 sand bunkers and four holes with water in play. Wider fairways (30-40 yards) are tree-lined but set back with thicker rough. Five par 3’s and three par 5’s are in play with 40 yards added to the longer hole No. 16. The par 4 at No. 14 is the most difficult hole at 529 yards, and the closing hole at No. 18 is another tough 500 yard par 4 with the tougher long par 3 at No. 11 making the back nine more challenging.
You can follow the weather in Houston with low 70’s temperatures and rain (70-80%) Thursday and Friday along with wind gusts exceeding 20 mph in the advance forecast.
Tee to Green leaders at this event last year and playing again are Tony Finau, Gary Woodland, Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim, Davis Riley, Billy Horschel, Mackenzie Hughes, Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala.
Golf Picks, Props and Stats
Golf picks are updated weekly Tuesday and Wednesday as selected golf analysts, handicappers and noted golf media provide contributors picks to win, props and additional information you can bet on.
Bamford Golf: A. Rai, T. Moore, J. Knapp, K. Yu, A. Potgieter
Tournament Matchups
PGA tournament matchup offerings and moneyline odds below are from BetOnline, and odds vary from top online sportsbooks. BetOnline also offers bettors to lay or take 1.5 strokes with adjusted odds on matchups, which we did with a pick and winning bet on Tommy Fleetwood in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Scheffler (-147) vs. McIlroy (+122)
Rai (-127) vs. Spaun (+106)
Si Woo Kim (-120) vs. Finau (+100)
Sungjae Im (-127) vs. Michael Kim (+106)
Highsmith (-118) vs. Mitchell (-102)
Bridgeman (-129) vs. Jaeger (+108)
Min Woo Lee (-122) vs. W. Clark (+102)
Pendrith (-120) vs. McNealy (+100)
Theegala (-110) vs. T. Moore (-110)
Smalley (-120) vs. Detry (+100)
Ghim (-115) vs. Hodges (-105)
Griffin (-144) vs. Greyserman (+120)
Kitayama (-110) vs. English (-110)
Power (-110) vs. Stevens (-110)
Hughes (-138) vs. Knapp (+115)
Rasmus Hojgaard (-115) vs. Nicolai Hojgaard (-105)
N. Taylor (-110) vs. P. Rodgers (-110)
R. Fox (-110) vs. M. Wallace (-110)
M. Schmid (-150) vs. N. Dunlap (+125)
Eckroat (-129) vs. Fowler (+108)
Additional tournament matchup picks and winners include 2-0 in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with tournament winner Rory McIlroy over Scottie Scheffler. Phoenix Open followers of FairwayJay and Forbes went 1-0 with Justin Thomas (T6) over Hideki Matsuyama plus Justin Thomas over Xander Schauffele in The Players Championship and 1-0 in the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.
How To Watch The Houston Open
Houston Open tee times, featured groups and TV schedule updated as provided by the PGA Tour Tuesday and Wednesday. All times Eastern (ET).
Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 (Golf Channel), 3-6, (NBC/Peacock)
Also, SiriusXM Radio Channel 92 from 1-7 Thurs/Fri and 1-6 Sat/Sun.
Featured Groups
PGA Tour Live exclusively on ESPN+ from 8am-7pm Thur/Fri and 11am-6pm Sat/Sun.
Thursday
Learn more about golf rules, match-ups, futures and dead heats while also evaluating golf odds and adjustments including live betting during events.
Whether you’re watching and wagering at the top online sportsbooks or the best sportsbooks in Las Vegas, follow coverage of the Houston Open and weekly PGA Tour events and research additional golf stats to assist in your pursuit of profit and picking golf winners. Betting on golf continues to be most popular with fans firing for more fairways and green when watching, wagering and live betting on their favorite players and events.
You can bet on it.
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