Texas Children’s Houston Open
Purse: €8.4 million (€1.5m to the winner)
Where: Houston, Texas, USA
The course: Memorial Park Golf Course – 7,435 yards par 70 – was originally designed by John Bredemus but has undergone significant upgrading (at a cost of $35m) under noted architect Tom Doak with player input from Brooks Koepka. It is a public course located in downtown Houston and has proven a popular stop on the PGA Tour. The layout includes a very strong finishing stretch, with the 16th and 17th holes located on either side of a lake with peninsula greens, while the par 4 18th measures more than 500 yards with three greenside bunkers.
The field: With world number one Scottie Scheffler – looking for a third win in a row on tour, following his Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players successes – and US Open champion Wyndham Clark, whose horse-shoed effort on the 72nd hole at Sawgrass saw Scheffler win in regulation, are the headline acts in a strong field. There is also the subplot of a number of players currently outside the world’s top-50 looking to break inside with the April 1st cut-off date for the final eligibility off that ranking for the Masters. Tom Hoge and Mackenzie Hughes are among those looking for the late Augusta invitation.
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Quote-Unquote: “I’ve been working hard at my game, I’m as strong as I’ve ever been as far as getting in the gym and doing the work. I know at some point the results will come. The work is there and the body of work is there and I just know sometimes you go through spurts where you just don’t score nearly as well as when you do at other times throughout the season” – defending champion Tony Finau looking for an upturn in form after a missed cut at the Valspar on the back of a 45th place finish in The Players.
Irish in the field: Pádraig Harrington returns to the PGA Tour with momentum from his win in the Hoag Classic on the Champions Tour in California. The 52-year-old Dubliner is the only Irish player competing in Houston, where he is in a group alongside Jason Day and Sahith Theegala (off the first at 6.04pm Irish time).
Betting: Scheffler has moved into the old Tiger Woods territory of being favourite every time he tees up and the Texan – 1-1 in his last two tournament outings – is looking for a third straight tournament win reflected in the tight odds of 5-2 as market leader with Wyndham Clark a 12-1 chance. The each-way market looks more tempting, with Jake Knapp a 40-1 shot and Doug Ghim at 60-1.
On TV: Sky Sports main event (from 12.30pm), Sky Sports Golf (from 8pm).
Ford Championship
Purse: €2,075,000 (€290,000 to the winner)
Where: Gilbert, Arizona, USA
The course: Seville Country Club – less than an hour’s drive from Phoenix – is an exclusive resort development playing host to a new tournament on the schedule. Designed by Gary Panks – 6,734 yards par 72 – the home stretch features a similar par 3 island hole to that of the 17th at Sawgrass and which is set to provide a thrilling run-in.
The field: With the first Major of the women’s season – The Chevron – fast-approaching, there is a very strong field for the inaugural Ford tournament headed by newly returned world number one Nelly Korda. In fact, the field features the top five on the Rolex rankings for the visit to the desert.
Quote-Unquote: “I feel like I’m really starting over every season. Last year was definitely a really good one for the books, so I’m not really trying to top that or even tie it. I’m just trying to give myself as many chances. I know some of them I will pull off and some of them I won’t. That’s just the nature of the sport” – Céline Boutier, on returning to Arizona where she kick-started her fabulous 2023 season in which she had four tournament wins.
Irish in the field: Leona Maguire is in a group with Xiyu Lin and Bailey Tardy (off the 10th at 2.55pm Irish time); Stephanie Meadow – after being forced to withdraw before last week’s Seri Pak tournament – returns to action in a group alongside Roberta Liti and Gina Kim (off the 10th at 8.18pm Irish time).
Betting: Nelly Korda is the in-form player on the LPGA Tour – with back-to-back wins on tour, seven weeks apart – and heads the market as 15-2 favourite with Lydia Ko, still chasing the one more win that would earn her a place in the Hall of Fame, rated a 16-1 shot. Minjee Lee looks decently priced at 20-1, while Leona Maguire is worth an each-way look at 40-1.
On TV: Sky Sports YouTube channel.
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