PGA Tour Tips & Preview
Vivint Houston Open 2020 Preview
Starts - 5th November 2020
Course - Memorial Park Golf Course, Texas
Par - 72
Length – 7,432 yards
Defending Champion - Lanto Griffin
Course - Memorial Park Golf Course, Texas
Par - 72
Length – 7,432 yards
Defending Champion - Lanto Griffin
Course Info
Course Designer - John Bredemus 1935, with Tom Doak renovation 2019.
Tournament played here since - Debut
Type of Course - Bombers paradise, birdie fest.
Fairways - Wide, tree lined.
Greens - Large, Bermuda, tight grass slopes and contours waiting should you miss the greens.
Par 5's - 1st, 3rd, 8th, 14th, 16th.
Water Hazards - In play on four of the holes. 16th has water surrounding the green.
Premium on - Par 5 scoring, distance, putting.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This event is a warm up ahead of the Masters next week so be aware some of the top players will be using it to fine tune their games.
Birdies and eagles should be the name of the game, despite the length. Course is designed for lots of drama and excitement.
Brooks Koepka was used as a player consultant prior to the re-design in 2019.
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
Weather Forecast
Hot temperatures all week in the late 20's. Winds should be between 5-10mph with no rain expected.
Thursday - Sunny Intervals and a gentle breeze.
Friday - Sunny and a gentle breeze.
Saturday - Sunny and a gentle breeze.
Sunday - Sunny Intervals and a gentle breeze.
Trends
Winning Score - New course but winning score can be expected to be near the -20 mark given the scoring opportunities.
Course Form - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
Recent Form - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
Stats Analysis
No data available.
In-play
Tough Holes - The 4th is toughest hole on the course. 12th and 18th are long par 4's.
Birdie Holes - Par 5's; 1st, 3rd, 8th, 14th, 16th. Bare in mind 8th is 625 yards. Driveable par 4 13th.
Fast or Slow Start - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
*As ever, follow our daily in-play updates and tips on our Vivint Houston Open in-play page*
Course Designer - John Bredemus 1935, with Tom Doak renovation 2019.
Tournament played here since - Debut
Type of Course - Bombers paradise, birdie fest.
Fairways - Wide, tree lined.
Greens - Large, Bermuda, tight grass slopes and contours waiting should you miss the greens.
Par 5's - 1st, 3rd, 8th, 14th, 16th.
Water Hazards - In play on four of the holes. 16th has water surrounding the green.
Premium on - Par 5 scoring, distance, putting.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This event is a warm up ahead of the Masters next week so be aware some of the top players will be using it to fine tune their games.
Birdies and eagles should be the name of the game, despite the length. Course is designed for lots of drama and excitement.
Brooks Koepka was used as a player consultant prior to the re-design in 2019.
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
Weather Forecast
Hot temperatures all week in the late 20's. Winds should be between 5-10mph with no rain expected.
Thursday - Sunny Intervals and a gentle breeze.
Friday - Sunny and a gentle breeze.
Saturday - Sunny and a gentle breeze.
Sunday - Sunny Intervals and a gentle breeze.
Trends
Winning Score - New course but winning score can be expected to be near the -20 mark given the scoring opportunities.
Course Form - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
Recent Form - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
Stats Analysis
No data available.
In-play
Tough Holes - The 4th is toughest hole on the course. 12th and 18th are long par 4's.
Birdie Holes - Par 5's; 1st, 3rd, 8th, 14th, 16th. Bare in mind 8th is 625 yards. Driveable par 4 13th.
Fast or Slow Start - As the tournament is being held at Memorial Park for the first time this year, we cannot draw any analysis.
*As ever, follow our daily in-play updates and tips on our Vivint Houston Open in-play page*
Vivint Houston Open - Six To Watch
As outlined in our Tipping Record, our strategy is to focus on speciality bets and value in-play. However, we have identified the following six players if you do wish to place a bet before the event begins:
Stewart Cink - 66/1 @ William Hill (8 places)
Form figures of 4-64-12-1 are confirmation that Stewart is competitive again. Indeed, his 4th place last week could have been much better had he not struggled in 30mph winds in round two and he ranked 1st for greens in regulation. There is much to like about his game for Memorial Park - so far this season he ranks 37th for distance, 18th for birdie average, 9th for greens in regulation and 2nd for Par 3 scoring. Finally, his win a few weeks ago also preceded a major and was won with a score of -21, showing he can go low at venues where scoring is key.
Wyndham Clark - 70/1 @ Betfred (7 places)
We have missed the early value on offer as he unsurprisingly has been tipped up by other websites on the back of his performance last week. It shouldn't deter us from getting on the bandwagon though, Memorial Park appears to be a better fit for Wyndham with five par 5's to attack and extremely wide fairways. Last week's runner up ranks 7th for driving distance and finished 6th for par 5 performance in 2020. Generally, Clark's weakness is his iron play but 17 greens in regulation in his final round last week shows that approach play is in good shape.
Cameron Davis - 75/1 @ Bet365 (5 places)
We have added another young bomber who has been the model of consistency recently. Cameron has posted six top 40 finish's in his past seven starts. None of these have been top 10's, but this course should play to his strengths. Ranks highly in all the stats we're looking for: 21st for driving distance, 13th for birdie average and 20th for Par 5 scoring.
Sam Burns - 100/1 @ Bet365 (5 places)
Sam is a winner in waiting and, like Clark, if we were to identify a course he is going to breakthrough it would be one like Memorial Park. Last season, he ranked 8th driving distance, 30th SG: Putting, 20th holes per eagles and 55th birdie average. Driving accuracy is his main weakness which should be less of a factor here and his best results tend to come at birdie fests.
Martin Laird - 100/1 @ William Hill (8 places)
Martin hasn't played since his outstanding (and memorable for GBC) victory at Shriners Hospital for Children and the bookmakers seem to have forgotten about his performance. He won that week with 22 birdies and 3 eagles, so has shown that he can score big recently. Stats of 2nd SG: Tee to green, 4th SG: Approach and 15th driving distance fit the bill here. As an added bonus, Martin has two recent top 20's in Texas and his win prior to Shriners was at the Valero Texas Open in 2013.
John Huh - 250/1 @Boylesports (8 places)
John is on the comeback trail and this will only be his 2nd appearance since the resumption, but he is worth chancing at 250/1. He finished 19th at the Shriners Hospital for Children which included 20 birdies and an eagle. He ranked 6th SG: Tee to green and 2nd SG: Approach to show his long game is still sharp. Although it's only based on one week he ranks 1st for par 3 scoring and 4th for Par 5 scoring in 2021. Like Laird, has previous history in Texas, finishing 2nd back in 2012.
Stewart Cink - 66/1 @ William Hill (8 places)
Form figures of 4-64-12-1 are confirmation that Stewart is competitive again. Indeed, his 4th place last week could have been much better had he not struggled in 30mph winds in round two and he ranked 1st for greens in regulation. There is much to like about his game for Memorial Park - so far this season he ranks 37th for distance, 18th for birdie average, 9th for greens in regulation and 2nd for Par 3 scoring. Finally, his win a few weeks ago also preceded a major and was won with a score of -21, showing he can go low at venues where scoring is key.
Wyndham Clark - 70/1 @ Betfred (7 places)
We have missed the early value on offer as he unsurprisingly has been tipped up by other websites on the back of his performance last week. It shouldn't deter us from getting on the bandwagon though, Memorial Park appears to be a better fit for Wyndham with five par 5's to attack and extremely wide fairways. Last week's runner up ranks 7th for driving distance and finished 6th for par 5 performance in 2020. Generally, Clark's weakness is his iron play but 17 greens in regulation in his final round last week shows that approach play is in good shape.
Cameron Davis - 75/1 @ Bet365 (5 places)
We have added another young bomber who has been the model of consistency recently. Cameron has posted six top 40 finish's in his past seven starts. None of these have been top 10's, but this course should play to his strengths. Ranks highly in all the stats we're looking for: 21st for driving distance, 13th for birdie average and 20th for Par 5 scoring.
Sam Burns - 100/1 @ Bet365 (5 places)
Sam is a winner in waiting and, like Clark, if we were to identify a course he is going to breakthrough it would be one like Memorial Park. Last season, he ranked 8th driving distance, 30th SG: Putting, 20th holes per eagles and 55th birdie average. Driving accuracy is his main weakness which should be less of a factor here and his best results tend to come at birdie fests.
Martin Laird - 100/1 @ William Hill (8 places)
Martin hasn't played since his outstanding (and memorable for GBC) victory at Shriners Hospital for Children and the bookmakers seem to have forgotten about his performance. He won that week with 22 birdies and 3 eagles, so has shown that he can score big recently. Stats of 2nd SG: Tee to green, 4th SG: Approach and 15th driving distance fit the bill here. As an added bonus, Martin has two recent top 20's in Texas and his win prior to Shriners was at the Valero Texas Open in 2013.
John Huh - 250/1 @Boylesports (8 places)
John is on the comeback trail and this will only be his 2nd appearance since the resumption, but he is worth chancing at 250/1. He finished 19th at the Shriners Hospital for Children which included 20 birdies and an eagle. He ranked 6th SG: Tee to green and 2nd SG: Approach to show his long game is still sharp. Although it's only based on one week he ranks 1st for par 3 scoring and 4th for Par 5 scoring in 2021. Like Laird, has previous history in Texas, finishing 2nd back in 2012.
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