Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- Houston Open
OVERVIEW
The big news this week is the change in schedule for this event. Previously held the week before The Masters, the Houston Open was used as a primer for players as they’d head to Augusta National. The superintendent and event coordinators would mimic the way Augusta plays in order to draw bigger names in this event. All that changes this week as this is now just another stop for aspiring golf pros and while I don’t know for sure if the course will be setup the same or not, I doubt they have it play as fast as it has in the past. Winds are always a key factor in Texas, and this week should be no different. The course itself is straightforward as the fairways are wide and the greens are large. The rough should be up a bit compared to in the past as well as there’s not a major with short rough to prepare for. The Par 5’s make up the four easiest holes on the course, so birdieing these will be imperative if our players want to win the event. Conversely, the Par 3’s are the four hardest holes on the course and making par on these holes could be just as important. If the wind doesn’t kick up, we could see scores reach twenty-under, but if it howls, we should expect more of the -13 to -15 range. With a lot of the upper echelon of talent taking this week off, I’d expect to see a first-time winner come out of this group come Sunday.
TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND
- The Course
- Golf Club of Houston
- Par 72
- 7,400 yards
- Bermuda greens
- Location: Houston, TX
- Corollary Courses/Performances: Normally Augusta National is the comp, but with the schedule change it’s tough to say if they’ll shave down the green surrounds or not
- Past Champions:
- 2018: Ian Poulter -19 in a playoff over Beau Hossler
- 2017: Russell Henley -20 over Sung Kang
- 2016: Jim Herman -15 over Henrik Stenson
- 2015: JB Holmes -16 in a playoff over Jordan Spieth & Johnson Wagner
- 2014: Matt Jones -15 in a playoff over Matt Kuchar
KEY STATS TO TARGET
- Strong Emphasis – SG: APP, Birdies or Better, Par 5 Scoring
- Important – SG: P, Par 4 Scoring 350-400 yards, APP 200+, APP 150-175 yards
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