{"id":10182,"date":"2024-03-25T07:49:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T07:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/?post_type=article&p=10182"},"modified":"2024-03-27T15:40:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T15:40:59","slug":"texas-childrens-houston-open-at-memorial-park-2024-preview","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/article\/texas-childrens-houston-open-at-memorial-park-2024-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park \u2013 2024 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
With the Florida Swing concluded, and only two weeks before the Masters, the PGA Tour heads west to Memorial Park Golf Course and the Houston Open. One of the country’s best public, municipal courses, Memorial Park is a long par 70 that measures 7,412 yards and can trace its origins back to 1912.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The course features five par 3s and three par 5s. There are only 21 bunkers on the entire course and only four water danger holes. The defense of the course is the unique green complexes that feature plenty of undulations and short-grass runoffs with false fronts. \u201cNothing is hidden, it\u2019s all out in front of you. But these green complexes can be treacherous if they don\u2019t hit their target,\u201d said course superintendent, Parker Henry. Playing almost an entire stroke over par after its first three editions, Memorial Park emphasizes the importance of a well-rounded game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Due to the tournament moving from its fall slot (where it has been held since 2020) to the spring for this year’s event, the agronomy is completely different. What was once a wall-to-wall bermudagrass course is now overseeded with Poa trivialis on the greens. But the biggest change is switching from penal 2.5″ Bermuda rough to the much easier and shorter 1.25″ ryegrass rough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is important because what was once one of the toughest non-major courses on Tour appears to be much easier off the tee thanks to this switch in turf necessitated by the tournament’s seasonal change. Players can take more aggressive shots coming out of the rough than in years past without having to worry about “fliers” or bad lies from difficult Bermuda rough. Expect the average score this year to be around a full stroke easier than the +0.80 per round from the first three events here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Headlining the 144-player field are six of the top-30 ranked players in the world led by No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Houston resident Sahith Theegala, Will Zalatoris and Jason Day. Tony Finau also returns to defend his 2022 title. Scheffler and Clark have been two of the hottest golfers on the planet and have finished 1-2 in each of the last two Signature events. A native Texan, Scheffler has finished ninth and second here in the last two events and also owns the course record with a 62 in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also a decent mid-tier group of golfers in attendance this week including Si Woo Kim, Jake Knapp, Kurt Kitayama, Tom Hoge, Cameron Davis, and Luke List. The first two Houston Open champions at Memorial Park, Carlos Ortiz and Jason Kokrak will be absent this week as each is on the LIV Tour. There is a 36-hole cut on Friday with the top-65 and ties making it through to the weekend to compete for the $9.1 million purse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Memorial Park Golf Course – History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Memorial Park Golf Course had its official beginning in 1912 when a rudimentary 9-hole course with sand greens was laid out and intended for soldiers who were staying nearby at Camp Logan. In 1935, architect John Bredemus redesigned the course and added a second nine. The course hosted the Houston Open 14 times from 1947-1965 before the event moved to different state courses in both Humble and The Woodlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2017, after Shell did not renew its deal after 25 years of sponsoring the Houston Open, Astros owner Jim Crane began planning to have the event return to the city of Houston. While Memorial Park underwent a complete restoration in 1994, it was still not suitable enough for PGA Tour standards. So fast forward to 2019 when Crane hired famed course designer Tom Doak to dramatically change the course with the goal of keeping it playable for the average golfer, and yet making it a more demanding challenge for Tour professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though the routing remained unchanged, the course was transformed in numerous ways. The course has a much more wide-open look thanks to the elimination of underbrush and many of the overhanging trees in certain areas. The ravine that runs through the front nine was incorporated into more holes. Eight of the original greens were moved and certain other holes were altered in different ways. Tour player, Brooks Koepka was brought on as a consultant to Doak’s team. His contributions included getting rid of half of the bunkers, incorporating more short grass around the greens, and creating additional water hazards on the closing stretch of holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the aforementioned agronomic changes, there is one major hole change for this year’s event. The green on the 17th hole was moved 30 yards farther back along the water, creating a landing pad to where the old green was, in an effort for the players to attempt to carry the ball over the water. That should create some excitement on the hole by adding pressure down the stretch. Two bunkers were also added to the left of the green. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been small tweaks to a couple of par 3s. On the 9th hole, the green surface was brought in closer to the right-hand side of the front along the water to allow for a well-struck shot to remain on the green instead of rolling off into the water. The same was done on the left side of the 15th green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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