⛳ Texas Children's Houston Open Odds & 2026 Betting Preview: Scheffler Favored at MPGC
📡 SBR Edge: Handicapping Houston Open motivation in Masters tune-up
This week's Texas Children's Houston Open serves as the second-to-last tune-up for the first major of the year. Many of the biggest names in this week's field - Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka - won't be playing next week, while other long shots require a win to earn an invitation to Augusta National Golf Course in three weeks.
I'm focused on driving distance, long iron approach shots, and hot putting strokes. Memorial Park's biggest tests come from length (7,475 yards) and the firm and fast putting surfaces.
🏥 Texas Children's Houston Open odds: Favorites
Here are the 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open odds from DraftKings as of Monday to help with your golf picks. Top-5 and top-10 betting markets include ties.
| ⛳ Golfer | 🏆 To win | 5️⃣ Top 5 | 🔟 Top 10 | 🌎 World ranking (as of 3/22) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +300 | -136 | -260 | 1 |
| Min Woo Lee | +2250 | +425 | +210 | 31 |
| Chris Gotterup | +2450 | +460 | +225 | 10 |
| Sam Burns | +2450 | +455 | +225 | 33 |
| Brooks Koepka | +2600 | +495 | +245 | 162 |
| Jake Knapp | +2600 | +475 | +230 | 42 |
| Rickie Fowler | +2900 | +500 | +240 | 61 |
| Kurt Kitayama | +3100 | +550 | +265 | 35 |
| Nicolai Hojgaard | +3500 | +630 | +305 | 47 |
| Harry Hall | +3500 | +600 | +290 | 62 |
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⛳ Houston Open tournament info
- Where: Memorial Park Golf Course (Houston)
- When: Thursday, March 26 - Sunday, March 29
- Field: 135
- Cut rule: 36 holes (top 65 and ties)
- Favorite: Scottie Scheffler (+300 via DraftKings)
- Defending champion: Min Woo Lee
- Purse: $9.9 million
- FedEx Cup points: 500
- How to watch: NBC/Golf Channel (ESPN+ for streaming)
🖱️ Houston Open pick to win: My first click
Brooks Koepka (+2600)
Brooks Koepka was a consultant during Tom Doak's 2019 redesign of Memorial Park Golf Course. That may have helped him finish T-5 in the tournament's debut at this venue in 2021, but he missed the cut the following year before leaving for the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Koepka's coming off a T-18 finish last week, in which he averaged 0.86 strokes gained: approach and 0.52 SG: putting per round. That comes after 1.93 SG: approach per round during The Players Championship. He's rounding back into old form three weeks out from the Masters, a goal that has long been viewed as the ultimate aim of his return to the PGA Tour this year.
The five-time major champion has plenty of distance for this course, and his irons and putter have taken large steps forward in his recent events. He'll play for the third week in a row for the first time since he left the PGA Tour in 2022.
A winning $10 bet on Koepka to win the Texas Children's Houston Open would return a profit of $260.
🌲 Koepka's Masters odds
Koepka's Masters odds are still available at +3800 at DraftKings. A winning $10 bet would return a profit of $380 at an implied win probability of 2.56%.
If you're betting Koepka to win this week, I'd also bet him to win the Masters now. His odds to win the first major would shrink considerably if he prevails in Houston.
I'm choosing to pair an outright bet on Koepka to win this week with Bryson DeChambeau to win the Masters (+1000), following his back-to-back wins on the LIV Series.
⚖️ How I'm betting the Texas Children's Houston Open
Just two tournaments separate us from the first major of the season. That makes handicapping the Houston Open a little more difficult than most other PGA Tour events.
Many golfers will use this tournament - or next week's Valero Texas Open - as preparation for Augusta National Golf Course and the Masters. Somewhat like spring training in baseball, where pitchers will focus on fine-tuning select pitch types rather than trying to win with their full arsenal, golfers will work on certain shot types and may target specified approach distances to the greens. The firm and fast greens offer a comparable experience to ANGC as the field tries to lock in their putting stroke.
As such, I scale back my betting investment these next two weeks. I'll stick mostly to the outright market and will target some more golfers from the middle tier, as a win this week will get them an invitation to the Masters, if one isn't already secured.
Course info
Memorial Park Golf Course has received plenty of praise from the golf community since taking over as host of this event in 2021. The winning 72-hole scores since 2021 have ranged from -10 to -20, with Min Woo Lee setting the low mark last year.
The greens are relatively small and play as some of the firmest and fastest among annual PGA Tour host sites. There's a lot of undulation in the greens.
Tom Doak's redesign in 2019 reduced the number of bunkers. Water is a real hazard on only three holes, offering a reprieve from the Florida swing.
| ⛳ Memorial Park Golf Course | |
|---|---|
| Par | 70 |
| Yardage | 7,475 |
| Greens | Bermuda |
| Architect | John Bremedus, Tom Doak renovation |
| Comparable courses | Puntacana Resort, Torrey Pines, Los Angeles Country Club |
📊 Key stats: Handicapping Memorial Park GC
Memorial Park Golf Course is a real test of length, playing nearly 7,500 yards as a par 70. Distance off the tee is far more valuable than accuracy, and approach shots most commonly fall in the 175-200-yard range with three par 4s playing longer than 500 yards. Two of the four par 3s are longer than 200 yards, with No. 11 playing a whopping 237 yards.
Putting success on firm and fast greens can be used as a differentiator.
Three of the last five winners at Memorial Park won in their debut at the venue, so I don't value course history too highly.
| 🏌️ Stat Category | ⚖️ Weight | 📝 Why it matters for MPGC |
|---|---|---|
| SG: approach | 50% | Putting surfaces are relatively small and play very firm |
| SG: off-the-tee (distance) | 25% | This is a long course for a par 70 with only three par 5s; three par 4s exceed 500 yards |
| Proximity: 175-200 yards | 10% | The most common approach range, with dog-legged fairways limiting driver off the tee |
| Proximity: 125-150 yards | 10% | See the above: make sure you're abiding by fairway curves |
| SG: putting | 5% | Bermuda greens are among the fastest on the PGA Tour rotation |
👛 My golf betting record (March)
Here is my golf betting record in March, broken down by outright, first-round leader, and prop bets:
| 🎟️ Bet type | 🆚 Record | 💰 ROI |
|---|---|---|
| Outright | 0-8-2 ❌ | -5.75 units ❌ |
| First-round leader | 0-6 ❌ | -2.25 units ❌ |
| Props | 4-14-2 ❌ | -7.32 units ❌ |
Last week ended up being a much lighter golf betting week than I had planned. My initial outright bet on Akshay Bhatia was voided after he withdrew on Tuesday. I took Corey Conners in 1-and-done pools, and he finished just T-14 after stumbling over his final two rounds.
💰 Houston Open betting history
Here are the recent winners of the Houston Open, along with their 72-hole score and pre-tournament odds:
| 🗓️ Year | 🏆 Winner | 🪧 Score to par | 📊 Odds (prior to Round 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Min Woo Lee | -20 | +3000 |
| 2024 | Stephan Jaeger | -12 | +5000 |
| 2023 | No tournament | ||
| 2022 | Tony Finau | -16 | +1600 |
| 2021 | Jason Kokrak | -10 | +6000 |
| 2020 | Carlos Ortiz | -13 | +15000 |
| 2019 | Lanto Griffin | -14 | +4000 |
| 2018 | Ian Poulter | -19 (playoff) | +8000 |
| 2017 | Russell Henley | -20 | +3000 |
| 2016 | Jim Herman | -15 | Field (+275) |
Historical odds via GolfOdds.com.
📊 Full-field Houston Open odds 2026
Here are the odds to win the Houston Open for the 135-man field at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.
❓ Houston Open FAQs
Who is favored to win the Houston Open?
Scottie Scheffler is this week's PGA Tour betting favorite with +300 odds to win the Texas Children's Houston Open representing an implied win probability of 25%.
Who won the Houston Open last year?
Min Woo Lee won last year's Texas Children's Houston Open with a 72-hole score of -20 to win by one stroke over Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland. Lee had pre-tournament odds of +3000.
When is the Houston Open?
The 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open begins with Round 1 on Thursday and plays through Sunday, March 29.
Where is the Houston Open?
The Texas Children's Houston Open is held annually at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston.
How to watch the Houston Open?
The Houston Open is broadcast on NBC and Golf Channel, and streamed on PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ and Peacock.
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