HP 🍑 for the 2024 Houston Open

First Look: Memorial Park Golf Course @ Houston, Texas

Check out DB’s full Course Breakdown for everything you need to know about this week’s venue including in-depth stats and data from Bet The Number.

For the first time in nearly a month, I can say Scottie Scheffler did NOT win last week (namely because he didn’t play). Instead, his absence left the door open for one the most heartwarming stories of the 2024 season as career journeyman and bucket hat aficionado Peter Malnati claimed his first win since 2015 and with it, his first invitation to the Masters. He may not know just how close we are to the year’s first major, but the rest of the TOUR is aware they are running out of time to book their tickets to Augusta if they haven’t already, and this week’s action in Houston offers another chance to do so. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Let’s get into it!

Welcome to the Show:
Get to Know the 2024 PGA Tour Rookies

Thanks to recent eligibility changes from the PGA Tour, 45 newly minted Tour Cards were handed out ahead of the 2024 season. Each week, we’ll spotlight a few up-and-comers whose names will be important to know as the year progresses.

• Grayson Murray - Raleigh, NC

  If you hadn’t heard of Grayson Murray before his win at the Sony Open back in January, you probably have by now. For the last couple of seasons, the 30-year-old split his time between the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour while hanging around the bottom of the FedEx Cup standings. His win at the Sony locks up fully exempt status through the 2026 season and secures his place in all four majors and the rest of the signature events in 2024. The former Arizona State Sun Devil bombed his way off the tee to the victory in Hawaii, and the big stick has continued to work for him as he’s 3rd on TOUR in Total Driving so far this season. However, in his six starts since the win, his best finish is a T25 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational — so he’s probably best left off the betting card unless on a course that’s a true bomber’s paradise.

• Scott Gutchewski - Omaha, NE

  Gutschewski finished 28th in the KFT season-long points list to narrowly graduate to the PGA TOUR for the second time in three years and the fifth time in his long career. At 47 years old, he became the fourth-oldest KFT graduate in history in 2023. The University of Nebraska alum won the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the KFT last season, closing the second-largest gap between wins in Tour history (14 years, 10 months, 15 days). Gutschewski has yet to make a single cut in five starts so far on the PGA TOUR in 2024.

• Roger Sloan - Canada

  The 36-year-old returns to the PGA TOUR, where he played five of the last seven seasons and made two FedExCup Playoffs appearances in 2019 and 2021. Sloan grabbed the second-to-last spot in the KFT top 30 to earn his TOUR card thanks to a win at the Utah Championship, his first victory since the 2014 Nova Scotia Open. The Canadian has struggled so far in his return to the top with three missed cuts in five starts and a best finish of T49 at the Valspar Championship.

1. SG: Off the Tee Leaders last 24 rounds: 1. Scheffler  2. Dougherty  3. Kim, Si Woo 4. Tosti 5. Mitchell 6. Hoey 7. Champ 8. Bennett 9. Dahmen 10. Vegas

2. SG: Approach Leaders last 24 rounds: 1. Hoge 2. Mitchell 3. Scheffler 4. Knapp 5. Finau  6. Dahmen 7. Clark  8. Moore, Ryan 9. Perez 10. Zalatoris

3. SG: ARG Leaders on Overseed chipping areas last 24 rounds:  1. Blair 2. Griffin, Ben 3. Baddeley 4. Skinns  5. Day 6. Shelton 7. Montgomery 8. Cauley  9. MacIntyre 10. Scheffler

4. SG: Putting last 24 rounds on Overseed greens:  1. Ryder 2. Montgomery 3. Griffin, Ben  4. Suh  5. Ramey 6. Bjork 7. Theegala  8. Lee, K.H  9. Baddeley 10. Malnati

5. Top 10 in GIR % last 24 rounds: 1. Scheffler 2. Noren 3. Long 4. Horschel  5. Kizzire 6. Norlander 7. Mitchell 8. Lindheim 9. Perez 10. Clark

6. Top 10 in Ball Speed last 24 rounds: 1. Champ 2. Gotterup 3. Clark 4. Dougherty 5. Tosti  6. Woodland 7. Vegas 8. Tarren  9. Knapp 10. Finau

7. SG: APP from 125-185 last 24 rounds: 1. Rai  2. Stallings  3. Bhatia 4. Perez  5. Cauley  6. Harrington 7. Scheffler 8. Lindheim  9. Zalatoris 10. Mitchell

8. SG: APP from 200+ last 24 rounds: 1. Norlander 2. Campos  3. Hoge  4. Griffin, Lanto  5. Mitchell 6. Noren 7. Hubbard  8. Endycott  9. List 10. Vegas

9. Top 10 in Data Golf Positive Course History vs. Expectation: 1. Alexander 2. Taylor, Ben  3. Hammer 4. Kizzire  5. Trainer 6. Griffin, Ben 7. Smalley 8. Dahmen 9. Rai  10. Whaley

10. SG: Total (Per Rd vs Field) at Memorial Park last 12 rounds: 1. Finau 2. Dahmen 3. Smalley  4. Scheffler  5. Rai 6. Hughes 7. Jaeger 8. Day 9. Cook 10. Noren

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