PGA Tour Brunch | Houston Open
Expert Preview of the 2026 Texas Children's Houston Open
By TERRY LYONS, Editor: Digital Sports Desk
HOUSTON - The Texas Children’s Houston Open is being played in the spring for the third consecutive season after a four-year stint in the Fall from 2019-2022. The tournament is being hosted at Memorial Park Golf Course for the sixth consecutive time after the course underwent a renovation in 2019 led by the Astros Golf Foundation to prepare it for PGA TOUR competition.
This week’s field includes 18 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, headlined by No. 10 Chris Gotterup. Thirty players in this week’s field are qualified for the Masters Tournament. The Top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking through the Texas Children’s Houston Open will qualify for the Masters Tournament if not already exempt.
The winners of the next two PGA TOUR events will also qualify for the Masters, if not otherwise exempt. Next week is the Valero Texas Open.
Players in the field between Nos. 40-65 in the OWGR who have not qualified for the Masters: Jake Knapp (No. 42), Nicolai Højgaard (No. 47), Pierceson Coody (No. 51), Michael Thorbjornsen (No. 56), Rickie Fowler (No. 61) and Jordan Smith (No. 65).
Should he go on to qualify, Plano, Texas native Pierceson Coody, grandson of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody, would become the first grandson of a Masters champion to compete in the major tournament. After finishing the 2025 calendar year No. 96 in the world, Coody opened the 2026 season with four consecutive Top-20 finishes, highlighted by back-to-back Top-10s at the Farmers Insurance Open (T2) and WM Phoenix Open (T10).
Tournament Facts
THIS WEEK on the PGA Tour: Texas Children’s Houston Open
COURSE: Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
TOURNAMENT SITE: (link)
TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW: (link)
HOUSTON OPEN PAST RESULTS: (link)
ARCHITECT: John Bredemus
YARDS/PAR: 7,475 yards/Par 70
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $9,900,000/$1,782,000
DEFENDING Champion: Min Woo Lee
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500
Tee Times, Field, Updates and Weather | A Quick Look
Tee Times: (link) - Tee times are scheduled for Thursday at 8:20am to 3:21pm EDT.
Field: (link)
Updates:
Sunday, March 22
Austin Smotherman (WD), Danny Willett (IN)
Cam Davis (WD), Jimmy Stanger (IN)
Ryo Hisatsune (WD), Paul Waring (IN)
Michael Kim (WD), Jesper Svensson (IN)
Monday, March 23
Matt McCarty (WD), Doug Ghim (IN)
Field expanded from 133 players to 135 to round out threesomes:
Andrew Putnam (IN)
Kris Ventura (IN)
Tuesday, March 24
Bud Cauley (WD), Seamus Poer (IN)
Scottie Scheffler (WD), Matt Kuchar (IN)
Weather: Thursday’s forecast: Sunny, 84 degrees. A 22% chance of rain with winds 14 mph.
2026 Houston Open | Odds
Odds Courtesy: CBS Sports
Min Woo Lee +1300
Chris Gotterup +1800
Jake Knapp +2000
Sam Burns +2200
Brooks Koepka +2200
Nicolai Højgaard +2500
Marco Penge +2700
Michael Thorbjornsen +2700
Kurt Kitayama +2700
Rickie Fowler +3000
Ben Griffin +3300
Ryan Gerard +3300
Harris English +3500
Adam Scott +4000
Pierceson Coody +4000
Rasmus Højgaard +4000
Shane Lowry +4000
Keith Mitchell +4000
Wyndham Clark +4000
Harry Hall +4000
Taylor Pendrith +4500
Sahith Theegala +4500
Samuel Stevens +4500
Jason Day +5000
Ryan Fox +6000
Alex Smalley +6000
Ricky Castillo +6000
Jordan Smith +6000
Tony Finau +6000
Stephan Jaeger +6000
Kristoffer Reitan +6500
Sudarshan Yellamaraju +6500
Max Greyserman +6500
Davis Thompson +6500
Mac Meissner +7000
Sungjae Im +7000
Aaron Rai +7000
Patrick Rodgers +7000
Nico Echavarria +8000
Gary Woodland +8000
Will Zalatoris +8000
Mackenzie Hughes +8000
TLs Wedge for an Edge: Playing: Gotterup, Koepka, Nicolai Højgaard and Marco Penge. Reserves: Nico Echavarria and Knapp.
Media Coverage of 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Thursday, March 26, 2026 - (All Times Eastern Daylight)
8:15am-7:00pm, PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ Streaming
1:00pm - 7:00pm, SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio and Online
3:00pm-7:00pm, Golf Channel
How to Watch (PGATourCom)
What They’re Saying
First Look: Texas Two-Step (PGATourCom)
Power Rankings for HOU (PGATourCom)
Need Ws at the Houston Open for Masters (PGATourCom)
How to Watch Houston Open (PGATourCom)
Scheffler WDs/Child No. 2 on the Way (ESPN)
Golf Industry, Gambling & Daily Fantasy News
LA Defeats Jupiter, Tiger for TGL title (PGATourCom)
Expert Picks (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks (Covers)
Long Island Distillery vs LIV Golf (ESPNCom)
On This Day in Golf History
March 25, 2001 - Despite a bogey finish, Tiger Woods won the PLAYERS Championship by one stroke over Vijay Singh. Woods finished with a final round (67) in the Monday conclusion of the rain-delayed tournament. The victory was the first of two PLAYERS Championships for Woods, the other came in 2013. Woods also had a 1994 U.S. Amateur Championship at TPC Sawgrass. (Courtesy of Randy Walker), Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putts
This Week
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