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Golfweek’s Adam Woodard recaps the 2020 Vivint Houston Open, where Carlos Ortiz won his first PGA Tour title at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Golfweek’s Adam Woodard recaps the 2020 Vivint Houston Open, where Carlos Ortiz won his first PGA Tour title at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Carlos Ortiz held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama to win the Vivint Houston Open at Memorial Park on Sunday.
Consider 118 a lucky number for Carlos Ortiz.
The veteran from Guadalajara, Mexico, needed that many PGA Tour events to finally capture his first title, but it was a special one — his 65 on Sunday was enough to edge Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama and capture the Vivint Houston Open.
Ortiz, who played collegiately at North Texas, had been showing signs he was ready to break through, making three cuts in five starts this season, but hadn’t cracked the top 30 in any event. He came into Houston ranked 160th in the Official World Golf Ranking (and 136 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings), but looked surprisingly comfortable on the front as he fired a bogey-free 32 to pull ahead. He shot a 65 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 13 under.
Meanwhile, Johnson’s goal was to get his game in top gear with the Masters on the near horizon. Consider Johnson’s motor up and running.
The World No. 1 missed a few chances down the stretch, but he proved he’s ready to contend for his first green jacket next week. Johnson shot a 65, although he did miss chances on Nos. 16 and 17 that would have pulled him event with Ortiz.
Hideki Matsuyama didn’t look like he’d be a threat to break a long drought after posting two rounds of even-par to open the tournament, but after a 66 on Saturday, he was aggressive all Sunday in pulling into a tie for the lead.
Matsuyama, who last won at the 2017 WGC-FedEx St. Jude, barely missed a putt on No. 18 that would have forced the issue, but he still finished with a course-record 63 (one of three) to finish at 11 under.
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The tournament marked the first time the PGA Tour has played at Memorial Park since 1963. Architect Tom Doak was the front man for a $34 million renovation funded through a foundation headed by Houston Astros’ owner Jim Crane.
Brooks Koepka, who had helped with the renovation of the Memorial Park, made an early run with a 30 on the front, but he cooled just a tad on the back and posted a second straight 65 to finish the tournament at 8 under.
Meanwhile, 54-hold leader Sam Burns saw his hopes of capturing his first PGA Tour title dashed early. Burns opened the day with a bogey, then added a double on No. 4 to drop off the top of the leaderboard.
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Mackenzie Hughes fired a scintillating 63 that pulled him into the top 10 for the PGA Tour’s Vivint Houston Open.
HOUSTON — Even before coming to Houston, Mackenzie Hughes knew he’d be watching fellow Canadians on TV next week when the first fall Masters takes place.
Unlike in previous years, when a win meant a quick trip to Augusta National, the pandemic’s reshuffling meant any exemptions that went along with a Vivint Houston Open victory would be extended to next spring’s Masters.
Still, Hughes didn’t want to enter into a short vacation on a sour note. So although he entered the final round at even par — nine shots off the lead — the former Kent State star and 2016 RSM Classic champ got his motor rolling, firing a scintillating 63 that pulled him into the top 10 for the tournament.
“It was really a bunch of everything. I hit the ball really nicely. Kind of got off to a medium start, I made a nice par on 1 and then hit one close on 2 and kind of got me going. Then yeah, I was hitting my irons close and felt good over the putter. I made one kind of 20-footer, ” Hughes said.
Houston Open: Leaderboard | Photos
“Besides that, everything I made was kind of inside 10 feet, which my M.O. isn’t usually to stuff my irons and ball-strike my way around, but it really felt like a relatively stress-free 63, which you can almost never say. It’s pretty rare to say that.
“I left a few putts out there that would have been really nice to make. Just really thrilled with the round.”
Hughes’ Sunday showing didn’t just feel good, it was two strokes better than any previous number posted this week (although Talor Gooch later came in with a 63 as well). Hughes made birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 6 to make the turn at 31, but while many others have fallen victim to the back nine at Memorial Park, the Hamilton, Ontario, native maintained his momentum.
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“Yeah, I really didn’t see a round like that out there, to be honest,” he admitted. “I’ve been playing the front nine really well this week and I kind of got off to a good start and I thought, well, if I can just figure out this back nine once and for all. I think I was 8 under on the front going into today, so I was getting off to good starts and then just needed to finish it off and luckily I was able do that.”
As for next week, he’s excited to see what his countrymates can do, even if he can’t be on hand.
“I like all their chances. My buddy Corey Conners is playing great, Mike (Weir) has been playing great on the Champions Tour, so it will be really exciting,” Hughes said. “It’s Nick (Taylor)’s first time, Adam (Hadwin) seems to always play pretty well there. I look for one of them to make some noise or hopefully more.”
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Could this hole make the difference in the final round of the Vivint Houston Open? Hear what Doak and Brooks Koepka think.
HOUSTON — The courses that comprise the PGA Tour schedule are chock-full of 200-plus-yard par 3s. It’s understandable. With the precision that tournament pros bring to the world’s best courses, it’s typical for designers to simply push the tees back in a last-gasp preservation effort, a sort of distance moat.
When renowned architect Tom Doak took on the renovation project at Memorial Park, he asked four-time major champ Brooks Koepka for his input. While Koepka insists he didn’t get too technical while lending advice, he did plead with Doak to make sure variety on shorter holes was a priority.
Case in point — the short, but scary 15th hole. At under 160 yards (for tournament play), it’s easy picking for the strong field on hand this week, at least in terms of distance.
But No. 15 is no pushover. In fact, with a creek running along the entire left side and some massive slopes on either side, this short hole could very well be the decisive one during Sunday’s final round of the Vivint Houston Open.
VIVINT HOUSTON OPEN: Leaderboard
“Yeah, 15 is a really dangerous hole. That’s one of the ones. Brooks said when we started we’d be heroes if we just make par 3s short and not make them all 210 yards, because that’s what they usually do for Tour courses these days,” Doak said. “Especially that one, it’s the shortest one and it’s the nastiest one.”
The stats bear that out. In each of the first two rounds, 15 gave up its share of birdies. On Thursday, for example, the hole was playing at just 110 yards, and with a front-right pin placement, the hole surrendered 35 birdies. But those who missed the green found it difficult to get up and down for par. A total of 15 players made bogey on the hole and 11 more made double.
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Grayson Murray doesn’t need to be convinced. The 2017 Barbasol Championship winner had a nightmarish experience on No. 15 in the first round. Off the tee, Murray pushed his shot just a little right, enough to come to rest in the rough on the right side of the green. He then proceeded to chip back and forth over the green four times en route to an ugly 8.
“I told Tom I really just wanted a short par 3 that was very brutal, where if you miss the green you could make double, definitely making bogey,” Koepka said. “Who knows, maybe even triple if you miss it in the wrong spot.”
Or quintuple-bogey, in some cases.
With pin placements in the back for rounds 2 and 3 par there were fewer doubles and triples. But expect the pin to be tucked back up front for Sunday’s final round, possibly in the front-left where the creek comes more into play.
“I hope the most famous hole of the week is for something somebody does that’s great,” Doak said.
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On Saturday, Day didn’t look like a hospital case, but rather like the guy once on top of the Official World Golf Ranking.
HOUSTON — Ask again if you must, but Jason Day is feeling no pain. He swears it.
He’s been consistent with that message throughout this week at the Vivint Houston Open. Each time Day comes to the virtual podium he’s asked about his neck, his back, his overall well-being. The question comes up so frequently that he makes little jokes or nods as if to brush it away quickly. On Thursday, he smiled and said he feels he’s faced that question plenty in his career.
There’s logic behind the daily interrogations. Just a year ago, Day talked with his wife about hanging it up for good, the pain too much for him to bear. And just a few weeks ago, Day withdrew from the CJ Cup with neck problems after completing the first three rounds at 10 under.
The good news is this: Day’s getting more and more questions about his consistent play as well. And for a guy who hasn’t won since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, he’s more than happy to field those.
VIVINT HOUSTON OPEN: Leaderboard
During Saturday’s third round of the Vivint Houston Open, Day didn’t look like a hospital case, but rather like the guy once on top of the Official World Golf Ranking. Until the final hole, he played nearly mistake-free golf in posting his second 67 of the week, sandwiched around an also-solid 68.
At times when he’s struggled, Day has talked about his swing being in between patterns, but there’s been little of that this week. When asked the difference between those patterns and positive swings, he singled out his final drive of the day.
“The feel of swinging well is the drive on 18, and then anytime that I get the weak one to the right or kind of the smother draw, that’s kind of in between patterns. I’m just not really pleased with it. It’s just a work in progress, I’ve got to be patient with it,” Day said. “Right now I’m in contention, I’m one back going into tomorrow’s round, so it’s positive in regards to how I feel like I’m playing. I think the golf swing is holding up quite nicely and the body is, too.”
Unfortunately, after a solid round at Memorial Park Golf Course, Day followed that final drive with a three-putt that dropped him one behind leader Sam Burns heading into Sunday’s final round. Burns’ 68 has him leading at 9 under, but Day and Carlos Ortiz are both a single stroke behind.
“Obviously, you’d like to hole that one, which I was trying to,” Day said.
“Unfortunately, I just gave it a little bit too much gas. Overall it was a solid day. I think I drove it nice, hit a lot of good iron shots and I was just very patient out there today, so it was good to see. Looking forward to tomorrow.”
Perhaps his best shot of the day came on No. 12 when he briefly took the lead. On Thursday, Day pulled his tee shot on 12 to the left, then he pushed it right on Friday. But on Saturday, he piped a drive down the middle of the fairway —he was third in strokes gained off the tee on Saturday — leaving a tricky, but attackable 166-yard approach. Day stayed aggressive and stuck it to inside five feet.
Right at it. 🎯@JDayGolf gets to -8 and the co-lead.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/fLthbtRH53
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 7, 2020
“The miss, if you’re going to miss the green, it’s in that bunker to the right, but anything left of that pin is kind of death, hitting back up that hill and it’s very tough to judge,” he said. “I think the whole group kind of was feeding off each other today, everyone was playing some nice golf out there. Once again I was just trying to be as patient as possible. I know it’s a Saturday round, obviously can’t win it today, you’ve got to just give yourself an opportunity to get into tomorrow’s round.”
The energy that fed the group of Day, Burns and Ortiz kept the trio in the same position they entered in the morning.
Since Day is the only one of that trio who’s captured a PGA Tour title — and in fact, his first one came in Texas via the 2010 AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving — does he have the edge heading into Sunday?
“No, I don’t think so,” Day said. “I would say that I’d probably be a
little bit more calmer than both those guys, but everyone’s going to be nervous on the first tee tomorrow.
“What I saw out of Carlos and Sam Burns, I think they’re playing some pretty good golf, too, so they’re going to be tough to beat tomorrow.”
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For those wondering how many rounds it would take for World No. 1 Dustin Johnson to shake off his quarantine rust and once again start playing like the best player on the planet, the answer was exactly one. DJ opened on the back nine during …
For those wondering how many rounds it would take for World No. 1 Dustin Johnson to shake off his quarantine rust and once again start playing like the best player on the planet, the answer was exactly one.
DJ opened on the back nine during Thursday’s first round of the Vivint Houston Open and he seemed out of sorts in posting five bogeys in his first nine holes. He settled down after the turn and finished with a 2-over 72, not good enough to get near the top of the leaderboard, but not poor enough to play his way out of contention.
But the Johnson who dominated the FedExCup Playoffs resurfaced in Friday’s second round. While playing with Adam Scott and Tyrrell Hatton, Johnson fired a 66, getting back to 2 under for the tournament and within striking distance with two rounds to play.
Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 on October 13, and withdrew from the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship, after experiencing achiness, congestion and a mild cough. But during a press conference ahead of this week, he declared himself a picture of health.
And his game certainly didn’t suffer.
HOUSTON OPEN: Tee times, TV info | Leaderboard
“Obviously it was very solid today. I felt like I played pretty well yesterday, just a little rusty. It was my first event since the U.S. Open, so just a little rusty, but felt like I swung it pretty well, just hit a couple bad iron shots,” Johnson said. “But I think that was more just from not trusting what I was doing, just from not being out there. But today did a lot better, hit a lot of really nice iron shots and felt like I managed my game very well, drove it well, hit a lot of quality shots, so very pleased with how I played today.”
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While DJ is hoping to place high at Memorial Park, especially since this is an event his good friend (and Houston Astros owner) Jim Crane helped to produce, the larger goal is to be playing well for next week’s Masters.
Johnson is the only player in this year’s Augusta field to be in top 10 in the Masters every year he played since 2015. He tied for sixth in 2015, tied for fourth in 2016, missed 2017 with a back injury suffered on the eve of the tournament when he was the hottest player in the game, tied for 10th in 2018 and was a runner-up last year.
But he’s yet to win.
He told Golfweek in September that while he’s hoping to win a few more majors, “a green jacket would definitely be at the top of the list.”
That’s why he’s putting in the work here in Houston, even if it means a more hectic travel schedule before Augusta.
Johnson’s drives, on average, were more than 10 yards longer on Friday — he led the field in driving distance (317.4 yards) and was ninth in strokes gained: off the tee, but the real difference in the second round was his putter. On Thursday, DJ made 98.9 feet in putts while he made 123.3 feet on Friday; jumping from 68th in the field in strokes gained: putting to fourth on Friday.
Aside from dunking the ball in the water on No. 9 on Friday and taking bogey, Johnson played a largely error-free round, and one that should give him plenty of confidence heading into the Masters.
“I just need the reps before next week. Yeah, I’m pleased with where I’m at. Obviously, anything under par I think is going to be (good). If I can go out and shoot a good score tomorrow I’m going to have a chance come Sunday,” Johnson said. “I’m just looking to get a little better each day.
“I’m happy where I’m at.”
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At the first PGA Tour event in the U.S. to allow fans, Brandt Snedeker gets a lift from their support and shoots 65 to lead in Houston.
HOUSTON — It’s about a 90-minute drive to Houston from Texas A&M, home of the 12th man, but to Brandt Snedeker the 2,500 fans allowed to watch the pros at the Vivint Houston Open on Thursday felt like a Saturday afternoon of SEC football, perhaps even his Vanderbilt Commodores.
Snedeker felt the love from the return of fans to the PGA Tour – the first event permitting fans stateside since the Players Championship in March – and rode that wave to a 5-under 65 and a two-stroke lead over six golfers including Jason Day.
“I think that’s a big reason why I played well today. I love having fans out here, I kind of feed off their energy. It’s great to hear some claps and people excited for good shots and some birdies,” Snedeker said. “I was excited to be out there and been missing them, so glad to have them back.”
Vivint Houston Open: Leaderboard | Photo gallery | Tee times
But did Snedeker expect the fan support to lift him to a 65 at Memorial Park Golf, which made its return as host of the Houston Open for the first time since 1963?
“No, I didn’t,” Snedeker said. “This course is a long, tough golf course, so to play well you need to take advantage of the scoring holes, which I did a great job of today.”
Snedeker made birdie on all three of Memorial Park’s par 5s and canned a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 2 to get into red figures early. His ball striking was superb, none better than when he wedged to 3 feet on 13. Snedeker ranked second in Strokes Gained: tee to green and also second in Strokes Gained: around the green. He took just 24 putts, which sounds about right for Snedeker, regarded as one of the best with the flatstick on Tour, but that actually only ranked 31st in Strokes Gained: putting on Thursday. There may be no better sign that his game is turning a corner than shooting the low score of the day without his putter being red hot.
Snedeker is coming off a subpar season, during which he recorded just one top-10 finish, dropped to No. 106 in the FedEx Cup and has slipped to No. 84 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Between the Northern Trust, where he was bounced from the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and his first start of the new season at the Safeway Open, he made a series of changes that included hiring a new caddie – Mike Hicks, who is best known for being on the bag of Payne Stewart when he won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 – and parting with instructor Todd Anderson in favor of Bradley Hughes.
Back-to-back birdies and three in his last four.@BrandtSnedeker leads by 2 @HouOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/aiAyhGirGH
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 5, 2020
Snedeker, 39, said he was in need of a fresh set of eyes and was impressed with how Hughes has resuscitated the game of Brendon Todd. Despite missing his first two cuts this season, Snedeker leaped into contention at the Sanderson Farms Championship last month. He shot 73 in the final round there and also backed up on Sunday with a 74 in Las Vegas at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, but the seeds of success have him convinced that he’s on the right track to better days and potentially his 10th PGA Tour victory. To do so, he’ll need to bring his ‘A game’ or something close to it for four days, not just three.
“It’s going to be a long week, this golf course is a big, tough golf course and so I’m excited I got a low one in me, which is good,” he said. “The lead means nothing right now, we have a lot of golf to go.”
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Tyrrell Hatton is many things — sarcastic and self-deprecating come to mind — but at his golfing core, he’s a tremendous ball-striker.
HOUSTON — To hear Tyrrell Hatton tell it — and the PGA Tour microphones are always rolling — he’s erratic, unsettled, and responsible for some of the worst golf shots in the history of the game.
In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Hatton has been a model of consistency over the last year, playing numerous events on both sides of the Atlantic with equally impressive results.
In just 14 events on the PGA Tour since the start of last season, the 29-year-old Englishman has seven top-10 finishes, including a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He’s been just as good on the European Tour, winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, a tournament he started attending when he was just six, just last month.
But as consistent as Hatton’s game has been over the last calendar year, his reactions and emotions continue to be wildly unpredictable. Hatton continues to convert fans through his hilarious antics — often skewering himself after a bad shot or making subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) gestures during his typically steady rounds.
Houston Open: Leaderboard | Best photos | Friday tee times
“I guess it has its positives and negatives. It can be an issue if you start getting a fine, which is never good,” Hatton said with the wry smile that often accompanies him on the course. “But generally like it’s just a reaction. I kind of wear my heart on my sleeve, you know how I’m feeling, so I don’t try and hide that. I don’t see it as being an issue.”
.@TyrrellHatton at the 1996 @BMWPGA.#BMWPGA #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/jLGESIINWU
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 11, 2020
During Thursday’s opening round of the Vivint Houston Open, for example, Hatton pushed a ball on No. 4 (he started on the back), then angrily swung his club and talked his way down the fairway while motioning that he couldn’t get through an opening. After a tough break created a bad lie meaning he couldn’t control his chip, however, he still saved bogey with a testy putt.
Then on No. 7, after a poor tee shot and a flub from the deep rough led to a triple-bogey, Hatton gave the ball a thumbs up as he walked up before tapping in. Not exactly the reaction you’d expect from an emotional player who had just gone from 1-under par and just off the lead to 2 over and perhaps fighting to make the cut.
Vivint Houston Open: Leaderboard | Photo gallery
He later finished with a 71 after sinking an 11-foot par putt on the day’s final hole. Not spectacular, by any means, but certainly within striking distance on a course that didn’t yield many birdies in its return to the PGA Tour after 57 years.
Hatton is many things — sarcastic and self-deprecating come to mind — but at his golfing core, he’s a tremendous ball-striker who seems to maintain his focus, even in the face of adverse conditions.
Amazing win at Wentworth for @TyrrellHatton, who should be mic’d up every time he tees it up. pic.twitter.com/ELWAhsjeMa
— Skratch (@Skratch) October 11, 2020
And yes, he’s emotional, but he respects his playing partners in the process. That respect seems to be mutual, as evidenced by the reciprocal reactions he gets from fellow players. For example, Hatton, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson shared numerous lighthearted moments during Thursday’s round at Memorial Park Golf Course, even as the action got heated.
“It’s only an issue if I’m affecting my playing partners from it. Obviously, I would feel really bad about that. It’s definitely not my intention, I’m just — I’m obviously kind of venting,” Hatton said. “I managed to, I guess, produce some funny moments on the golf course so far with some of my reactions.
“You know, I’m just being me. I’m just kind of, it’s a reaction without thinking and sometimes that can be bad, so you have to give me a little bit of slack sometimes.”
Show us how you really feel @TyrrellHatton 😂#BMWPGA #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/kmyKREe3zX
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 9, 2020
Whatever the method to his madness, it’s working. Hatton came into this week’s event in Houston as the field’s second-highest ranked golfer, behind only World No. 1 Dustin Johnson. He sits at No. 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has jumped to No. 12 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Although he’s yet to win a major, Hatton has fared well in the three not played in Augusta, recording a top 10 in each. But his best finish at the Masters was 44th, something he hopes to improve on next week. That’s one of the reasons he’s here in Houston.
When asked about what he can do to prepare for Augusta National, Hatton responded with an answer that only he would.
“It’s just golf, isn’t it? We’re trying our best every week, it’s just some weeks work out better than others. I like the golf course, it’s just you try your best and it, like, doesn’t happen,” he said. “Normally, putting is generally a strength of my game and I have never really had a good putting week at the Masters. I remember last year my short game was horrible. So they’re very important things that week.
“You are going to miss greens, it’s difficult to get up and down especially with the grass kind of growing into you, so yeah, you need to be pretty on it on those points and just previously I’ve struggled there.”
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Jordan Spieth, the three-time major champ, went off early with what has become a familiar pattern: alternating amazing and horrific shots.
HOUSTON — He’s back in his home state and Jordan Spieth certainly looks comfortable.
The three-time major champ went off early at Memorial Park Golf Course on Thursday and the final event before the Masters started with what has become a familiar pattern for Spieth: alternating amazing and horrific shots.
For example, at the 522-yard par-4 first hole, Spieth pushed his opening drive of the day wildly right. No problem, however, as the 11-time PGA Tour winner rebounded with a solid approach and then stuck a chip to three feet to save par.
Spieth hasn’t cracked the top 35 in the first four events of the new season, missing cuts at both the Safeway Open and U.S. Open. He finished T-38 at the CJ Cup and then T-41 at the Zozo Championship and has slipped to 75th in the Official World Golf Ranking and 99th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
But Spieth looked like the former World No. 1 as he crafted a beautiful iron into a trick green, then dropped the putt.
Give it to him. 🐦@JordanSpieth with an early birdie to get his day going. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/Mo527BDqDo
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 5, 2020
Spieth followed with another birdie on No. 3 to take the early lead out of the gate. Of course, with Spieth’s recent track record, it’s difficult to know what will come next. Spieth entered the week as a 50-1 longshot to win the Vivint Houston Open, which is being played at Memorial Park for the first time since 1963.
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In advance of the Vivint Houston Open, the former World No. 1 beamed while discussing the project at Memorial Park.
HOUSTON — Don’t mistake Brooks Koepka’s involvement in the Memorial Park Golf Course renovation project as meaning the four-time major champion was an equal partner in converting the Houston municipal course into the gem it is today.
The $34 million reboot funded through a foundation headed by Houston Astros owner and Koepka’s friend Jim Crane was largely handled by Tom Doak, the masterful architect who has a bevy of top courses on his resume, including a pair at Bandon Dunes.
But Koepka was indeed a team member on the project, which took nearly a year to execute once shovels entered the ground. And when asked about it on Wednesday in advance of the Vivint Houston Open, the former World No. 1 bragged at length about the process — before quickly explaining his part in this production was minimal.
“I’ll be honest, I give Tom all the credit. He came up with 99.9 percent of (the ideas) and I just kind of threw in a couple ideas here and there,” Koepka said. “He’s a hell of an architect and designer, so it was fun to work with him.”
OK, so Koepka can’t take credit for many of the details about the revamp, one that has converted Memorial Park into the second municipal golf course on the PGA Tour schedule.
But the Florida State product admits something stirred in him while seeing the process through. Koepka took the gig simply to appease his buddy Crane, but as it wore on, he warmed to the concept of watching the course mature.
“To be honest with you, I had no aspirations of ever being like, ‘I want to design golf courses,’ — nothing,” Koepka said. “But then being asked to do this, it’s a really cool idea. Obviously, I wanted to help Jim out. I think any time you can play a hand in having some opinion on a course that we’re going to play out here, I think it’s unique, it doesn’t happen very often.
“And it’s been cool just to see it evolve. I know this golf course is quite difficult. It’s quite long. You’ll see some high numbers especially if the wind gets up, it kind of resembles a little bit of a U.S. Open I think some people would say, which I feel like I’ve done pretty good at.”
Of course, Koepka’s not in Houston to simply marvel at the work he’s helped produce. This week’s event is largely a tune-up for next week’s Masters, and Koepka believes his body is finally in a place where it can help him secure that coveted green jacket.
He’s played just one Tour event since August, finishing T-27 at the CJ Cup in Las Vegas two weeks ago, but said on Wednesday that all systems are go for this week and beyond.
“I feel great, I feel better than I did even three weeks ago, two weeks ago, whatever I did at Vegas. That’s behind me now. I feel as good as ever and just go out and play,” he said. “I need some reps just because it feels like it’s been so long. That’s why we’re playing this week.”
But since he’s here, Koepka will certainly enjoy playing holes he helped craft. For example, his idea was to make a strong finishing stretch that could tighten up a leaderboard on Sunday. Doak helped make that vision a reality — No. 15 is a short par 3 that will punish players who miss the green, 16 is a reachable par 5 and 17 is a risk-reward short par 4.
And for someone who never saw course design or management in his future, Koepka certainly talked like an architect when he discussed some of Memorial Park’s best features.
“I’ve seen so many different versions of this place from the first, I guess, architectural designs to basically playing it today. I mean, there’s been I don’t know how many versions of it, but it’s been quite interesting to see the little things change, the subtleties that maybe a lot of people would never notice,” he said. “It’s been fun, I’ve enjoyed the process. It’s been cool just to put my, I guess, hand in something else other than just playing golf.”
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