Preview

PGA Tour Texas Children's Open Picks 2024

Starts: 28th March 2024
Course: Memorial Park Golf Club, Texas
Par: 70
Length: 7,412 yards
2022 Champion: Tony Finau

Course Info

Course Designer: John Bredemus 1935, with Tom Doak renovation 2019.
Tournament played here since: 2020
Type of Course: Parkland
Fairways: Wide, tree lined.
Greens: Large, Bermuda, tight grass slopes and contours waiting should you miss the greens.
Par 5's: 3rd, 8th and 16th
Water Hazards: In play on four holes

2024 Houston Open Trends

Winning Score
There have been three previous events played at Memorial Park, with winning scores of -10, -13 and -16.  It should be note that all these previous events were played in November and the event has now moved to a March slot in the calendar.

Course Form
With so few events held at memorial Park, course form is not considered essential.  Jason Kokrak hadn't played the course in 2020, prior to his win in 2021.  In 2022, Tony Finau had a missed cut and 25th place finish to show from his previous two starts at the course.

Recent Form
Strong recent form coming into the event hasn't been a way to identify winners either.  Tony Finau missed the cut the week before he triumphed at the 2022 Houston Open.  Jason Kokrak was 54th in his last start before winning in 2021. In 2020, Ortiz finished 35th in his last start prior to his win.  However, that came at the 78 man ZOZO Championship which had no cut.  

World Ranking
Tony Finau was world number 15 prior to his win in this event in 2022.  Kokrak was 35th when winning in 2021, whilst Ortiz was 159th when he won 2020.

Age
The three course winners ranged from 29 to 36 years old.  

Age
Two Americans and one Mexican have won this event since the move to Memorial Park.

2024 Houston Open Stats Analysis

SG: Off The Tee
The three course winners ranked 3-14-31. Not essential to drive the ball brilliantly this week but you have to be above average in this category.

Driving Distance
The three course winners ranked 20-36-16.  Once again, length helps and we'd side with length over accuracy.

Driving Accuracy
The three course winners ranked 1-20-51 for the week.

SG: Approach
The three course winners ranked 9-2-14 for the week.  Quality approach shots are essential this week.

Greens In Regulation
The three course winners ranked 1-4-8 for this category the week they won.

SG: Around The Green
The three course winners ranked 29-67-2 for this category the week they triumphed at this event.

SG: Putting
The three course winners ranked 2-3-5 for this category the week they won.  A hot putter is essential.

2024 Houston Open In Play Advice

Fast or Slow Start

Two of the three events have been won by players who got off to a fast start.  Tony Finau led wire to wire when winning in 2022 and in 2020, Carlos Ortiz was 2nd after the first round. Three of the eventual top six that year were inside the top eight after the opening round.

However, in 2021, Kokrak was NINE shots back at halfway and two back after 54 holes. The 54 hole leader Scottie Scheffler was SEVEN behind after round one.

Preference would be for players to get off to a fast start but weather conditions may allow those who made a slower start to play catch up.

Tough Holes
The 14th, 1st and 8th holes play as the hardest holes.

Easy Holes
The par 5s on the front nine (3rd and 8th) played under par but note the par 5 on the back nine (16th) has played over par.  Aside from the par 5s, the par 3 2nd hole usually plays easy.

Previous Houston Open Quotes

"My caddie went around the front nine, he said the greens are real undulated and very firm. When you put in new bermuda, it's extremely firm and I'm assuming that's what the greens on the course are going to be like because the course is pretty much brand new. So I think it will be challenging hitting approach shots into these greens just the way they'll be bouncing and it should be a fun, exciting week."  Scottie Scheffler - November 2020

"You can get into some spots where you start playing ping pong across these greens, it's brutal. Fairways and greens is definitely at a premium this week." Scottie Scheffler - November 2020

"I would say the grass is somewhat similar to the Golf Club of Houston, but the golf course is very, very different. It's a tough golf course to learn in a week. It's got a lot of undulating -- a lot of movement around the greens." Lanto Griffin - November 2020

"The golf course is good. It's a big golf course, it's long, so I mean, I think -- and you've got to be on your game. The greens got a lot of slope and undulation in them, so you've got to hit it in the right spots if you want to have any kind of look at birdie. If you miss greens, you're going to have a really tough time making pars, especially if you're in the wrong spot. So yeah, I mean, the golf course, I think it's going to play fairly difficult. It's a long golf course, you hit a lot of mid to long irons. You don't get many wedges in your hand out here." Dustin Johnson - November 2020

"I think it's the firmness of the greens more than anything else. It's very long. There were a few tees were put forward that made it a little more manageable than it was during the practice rounds; you're playing every tee right at the back. And there's a lot of holes out there from the very back tees and it becomes a very long course. So I think it's already quite long, but it's more the firmness of the greens. If you're not in the fairway, you can't really hold them, so driving becomes very important. You go drive it down there a long way so you can spin it. It's just the ability to get the ball near the hole, and the penalty for just missing on the wrong side becomes really big because the ball just rolls away. It's been a while since I've played a course on Tour that's really done that and it's great, it reminds me a lot of back in Australia." Cameron Davis - November 2020

"It's a tricky golf course, no question. It's got length, you've got to hit it in the fairway here to score and I actually scored it quite nice. I don't feel like I hit it great, but was able to get up and down when I needed to and still turn in an under-par round." Tony Finau - November 2020

Will The Weather Be A Factor at the Texas Children's Houston Open 2024?

The wind is forecast to blow in excess of 15mph for the final three days but round one should be played in calmer conditions.  There may be a draw bias towards PM-AM and this should be factored into your 2024 Houston Open picks.

Previous Texas Children's Houston Open Previews

You can access our historical Houston Open tips, previews and in-play blogs using the links below:

2022 Houston Open picks

2021 Houston Open picks

Texas Children's Houston Open In-Play Picks - Round 4 Bets