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The PGA Tour has packed its bags and moved from Florida to Texas for this week’s event. It’s the 2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open, which is hosted by Memorial Park. The first round begins on Thursday.
Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the Texas Children’s Houston Open from BetMGM Sportsbook’s odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The top 2 players in the world, Scottie Scheffler (+400) and Rory McIlroy (+650) are both using this week as one final tune-up before the Masters in a couple of weeks. They’re head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field as the favorites, with Aaron Rai (+2500) being third on the list. Defending champion Stephan Jaeger is +4500 to win this event for the second straight year.
Memorial Park is a par 70 and 7,474 yards long, so it certainly favors longer hitters at that length. It’s one of the few municipal courses on the PGA Tour schedule but it’s not necessarily an easy track, especially with the closely mown areas just off the greens – similar to Augusta. It rejoined the PGA Tour circuit in 2020 following a major renovation.
- Houston Open: Best outright winner bets
Houston Open – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 2:23 p.m. ET.
Tony Finau (+650)
The good thing about betting the top-5 market is Finau can still cash even if Scheffler and McIlroy finish near the top of the leaderboard. Finau has come in second and first the last 2 years and he also finished 24th in his tournament debut in 2020. His ball striking has been good and he should be in contention at a course that fits his game.
Min Woo Lee (+700)
Lee’s length off the tee will give him an edge this week and he’s excellent around the green, ranking ninth in that category based on strokes gained. His putter has been great all year, too, ranking 15th in SG: putting. Despite being his tournament debut, he has a real shot to win.
Houston Open – Top-10 picks
Taylor Pendrith (+400)
With tee shots being so pivotal this week, it’s worth taking a chance on Pendrith, who is third on tour this season in SG: off-the-tee. He’s long and has been relatively accurate, which is a recipe for success at Memorial Park.
Davis Thompson (+350)
Thompson hasn’t cracked the top 10 in 2 starts here (21st and 43rd) but he’s one of the better players in the field, especially off the tee. He ranks 16th on the PGA Tour in SG: off-the-tee this season but the rest of his game has been struggling. If he can get his irons on track and the putter heats up, he’ll be one to watch.
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Houston Open – Top-20 picks
Wyndham Clark (+175)
Clark withdrew in Round 2 of the players, which is a little bit worrisome, but assuming he’s healthy, he should find success again at Memorial Park. Since missing the cut in 2020, he’s finished 41st, 16th and 31st in the last 3 years. His distance off the tee can be a weapon for him.
Thomas Detry (+200)
Detry has won already this season, running away from the field at the WM Phoenix Open. He almost won this event last year, coming in second behind Jaeger. He’s 34th in SG: off-the-tee and that’s after dropping 7 spots in the last week.
Joel Dahmen (+400)
Dahmen had been trending up but even with some recent struggles, he’s someone to consider this week. He finished fifth in 2021 and ninth in 2022 before missing the cut last year, putting together an impressive resume at Memorial Park.
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Houston Open – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Tony Finau (+130) vs. Aaron Rai (-160)
Finau is too good to be this big of an underdog against Rai. Both players have finished top 7 in each of the last 2 years but Finau is a past champion and the value is too good to pass up at +130.
Min Woo Lee (-105) vs. Si Woo Kim (-110)
Lee is making his tournament debut, but it’s at a course that should fit his game well, given his distance advantage off the tee.
Houston Open – Top English
Aaron Rai (+110)
Despite picking against Rai in the Finau matchup, he’s clearly the best Englishman in the field. Harry Hall (+330) and Matt Wallace (+450) are the next-best players, but Rai hasn’t finished worse than 19th in 3 starts here, including back-to-back seventh-place finishes the last 2 years.
Houston Open – First-round leader
Wyndham Clark (+4500)
Clark is 33rd on tour in first-round scoring average this season and already has a top-20 finish at this course. If he’s healthy, he should come out hot and play aggressively on Thursday morning, as he often does with his length.
Scottie Scheffler (+1200)
There’s not a lot of value on Scheffler in a field like this, but he ranks 19th in Round 1 scoring average this year and has been the runner-up here in 2 of the last 3 years. It’s a course he knows and enjoys playing so he could be on top of the leaderboard on Thursday.
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