LIV Houston marks the first time we’ll see the new league in the State of Texas coming back together for the first time since Singapore. Heading into a major, it’s not expected to be as much of a test as the PGA Tour players will face up in Ohio, but we’ll still get to see the “renegade” part of next week’s U.S. Open field in action this week.
This is not a complete unknown of a course, the Houston Open was played here several times before moving to Memorial Park (and to the spring). In fact, current LIV golfer Ian Poulter won one of the Houston Open’s contended here back in 2018.
LIV Houston 2024
- When: Thursday, June 7th – Sunday, June 9th
- Where: Golf Club of Houston, Houston, Texas
- Competition: Three rounds/54 holes of stroke play
- Field: 54 players – 13 teams of four players each, and two wild cards
- Purse: $25 million US ($20 million individual, $5 million team)
- Winner’s Share: $4 million USD (individual), $3 million USD (team)
- Local Tee Times: Shotgun Start for Rds. 1-2 at 12:15 pm local; Rd. 3 at 12:05 pm local
The Course: Golf Club of Houston
Overview of the Venue for LIV Houston
From the official LIV Website:
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,403
- Designed by famed architect Rees Jones and major champion David Toms, the Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston opened in 2005 and was created to host elite professional golf tournaments
- The course becomes the first in Texas to host a LIV Golf tournament
- Golf Digest ranks the course as one of the top 50 in Texas and one of the best public courses in the state
- The Golf Club of Houston hosted the Houston Open until 2019, with LIV Golf players Paul Casey (Crushers GC), Anthony Kim (Wild Card), Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), Matt Jones (Ripper GC) and Ian Poulter (Majesticks GC) winning titles
- The course features multi-tiered greens, strategic bunkers, and several water hazards
- The 315-yard par-4 12th should be drivable each day
- The 485-yard par-4 18th is guarded by a lake down the left side of the fairway and bordering the entire left side of the green
- The course uses Mini Verde grass on the greens and Tif Sport in all other spots. Projected green speed is 12 on the stimpmeter
In the 2017-2018 versions of the Houston Open, we saw a pretty high percentage of found fairways and greens in regulation. While it’s playing longer now, guys are hitting longer as well and I’m not sure we’ll see that come down any. If things are dry and fast, maybe, but otherwise this could turn into a birdie fest again.
Winning Scores those years were -19 and -20 (granted those were four rounds rather than three)
Key stats are still likely just going to be approach and putting here despite the length. If the course turns out to be easier than expected, we may see some names from the pack emerge if they find their putters, but I’ll be looking at guys who can gain in all the categories with an emphasis on Approach (Jaco, Brooks)
LIV Houston Playing Conditions
I think the biggest difference we’ll see here is the fact that it’s early June rather than the fall, maybe I spoke too soon about how tough it could play.
The temperatures are expected to hit the mid-nineties every day without much chance of precipitation. I’d expect they’ll be watering plenty, but the greens could still become quite firm and fast as they dry out in the afternoons.
The LIV Houston Field
| Jon Rahm | +700 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +800 |
| Joaquin Niemann | +800 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +1200 |
| Abraham Ancer | +1600 |
| Brooks Koepka | +1600 |
| Cameron Smith | +1600 |
| Dean Burmester | +1600 |
| Talor Gooch | +1600 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +2000 |
| Dustin Johnson | +2200 |
| Carlos Ortiz | +3000 |
| Marc Leishman | +3000 |
| Patrick Reed | +3000 |
| Adrian Meronk | +3500 |
| Sergio Garcia | +3500 |
| Cameron Tringale | +4000 |
| Paul Casey | +4000 |
| Richard Bland | +4000 |
| Charles Howell III | +4500 |
| Thomas Pieters | +5000 |
| Kevin Na | +6500 |
| Lucas Herbert | +6500 |
| Matthew Wolff | +6500 |
| Mito Pereira | +6500 |
| Peter Uihlein | +6500 |
| Sebastian Munoz | +6500 |
| Anirban Lahiri | +8000 |
| Brendan Steele | +8000 |
| David Puig | +8000 |
| Henrik Stenson | +8000 |
| Jason Kokrak | +8000 |
| Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra | +10000 |
| Harold Varner III | +10000 |
| Matt Jones | +13000 |
| Scott Vincent | +13000 |
| Charl Schwartzel | +15000 |
| Ian Poulter | +15000 |
| Andy Ogletree | +20000 |
| Branden Grace | +20000 |
| Bubba Watson | +20000 |
| Graeme McDowell | +20000 |
| Kalle Samooja | +20000 |
| Martin Kaymer | +20000 |
| Phil Mickelson | +20000 |
| Sam Horsfield | +20000 |
| Pat Perez | +30000 |
| Danny Lee | +40000 |
| Jinichiro Kozuma | +40000 |
| Kieran Vincent | +40000 |
| Lee Westwood | +50000 |
| Anthony Kim | +100000 |
| Hudson Swafford | +100000 |
How to Watch LIV Houston
Broadcasting Partners and Streaming Services
- The CW, The CW App and LIV Golf Plus, with Friday rounds carried on The CW App, LIV Golf Plus and Caffeine