2026-03-26 The Houston Open – Majors Challenge

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

Tournament: Texas Children’s Houston Open
Date: March 26 – March 29, 2026
Venue: Memorial Park Golf Course — Houston, Texas
Purse: $9,900,000 (winner $1.78 million)
Cut Rule: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
Course Details: This week’s event takes place on a Tom Doak–designed layout with player‑consultant input from Brooks Koepka, giving it a modern championship feel that blends strategic width off the tee with demanding green complexes. Stretching to 7,475 yards and playing as a par 70, the setup rewards players who can handle long‑iron approaches and stay patient on firm, fast putting surfaces. From a fantasy perspective, the course tends to favor strong Strokes Gained: Approach players—precise iron play has historically separated contenders from the pack. The routing also forces players to navigate several risk‑reward decisions, especially on the longer par 4s that can stretch past 480 yards. No major adjustments to the setup have been reported for this year, meaning players should expect conditions consistent with recent editions—tough but fair, with scoring opportunities only for those striking it well.
Weather: Expect sunny to partly cloudy conditions with warm temperatures throughout the week, with winds running stronger than usual and potentially affecting ball flight. Forecast models also indicate consistently breezy conditions over all four rounds, which could challenge players’ precision even without significant rain in the area.
FedEx Points: 500 points to the winner.

The Texas Children’s Houston Open has long been one of the PGA TOUR’s signature pre‑Masters tune‑ups, a historic event dating back to 1946 that attracts players looking to sharpen their form before Augusta. While the event still boasts recognizable star power—including Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im, Will Zalatoris, and defending champion Min Woo Lee—this year’s field is not stacked with top‑10 global players. That’s largely due to the withdrawal of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who pulled out earlier in the week for family reasons. The top of the field is instead anchored by World No. 7 Chris Gotterup, the lone top‑10 presence, alongside steady top‑30 performers like World No. 26 Si Woo Kim, giving the tournament strong depth but not premier global firepower. It’s a quality field with competitive balance—plenty of viable fantasy options, just without the usual cluster of elite top‑10 names you’d expect this close to Augusta.

Past Champions:

2025 – Min Woo Lee (–20)
2024 – Stephan Jaeger (–12)
2023 – No Tournament (event not played)
2022 – Tony Finau (–16)
2021 – Jason Kokrak (–10)
2020 – Carlos Ortiz (–13)

Play This Week on Majors Challenge

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

This week’s field brings an interesting competitive texture: while it isn’t overloaded with top‑10 stars, it features a deep collection of players who have either surged recently or shown flashes of elite form on layouts like this one. With Scottie Scheffler withdrawing earlier in the week, the hierarchy at the top becomes far less defined, opening the door for volatility and potential breakout performances. The presence of several past champions and multiple players returning to a course they’ve handled well in previous years gives this event a distinctly “wide‑open” feel—one where course fit, historical comfort, and trending tee‑to‑green metrics may prove more predictive than pure world‑ranking strength. And with only a single top‑10 player in the field fantasy players are likely to find a rare blend of value opportunities and mid‑tier upside plays throughout the slate.

Here are some notable names to consider—and a few to be wary of:

Min Woo Lee – The defending champion dominated here in 2025, shooting –20 and setting a tournament scoring record. His ability to separate from the field last year makes him one of the most reliable targets in both fantasy and betting formats.
Tony Finau – A past winner at this event (–16 in 2022), Finau also finished runner‑up the following year, showing exceptional comfort with the layout. His blend of length and approach precision tends to translate well at this venue.
Chris Gotterup – Not a past winner here, but as the highest‑ranked player in the field, he carries upside simply via form and talent. With so few top‑10 players competing, Gotterup enters as a statistical standout.

Potential Fades:

Brooks Koepka – While Koepka helped consult on the course design and has a strong T5 finish here in 2020, his past missed cut in 2021 and the narrative‑driven price inflation this week make him a volatile play. Experts have noted concern over his putter holding him back at this venue.
Jake Knapp – Knapp enters as one of the betting notables, but has no recent tournament history or course‑specific success. With several returning past winners and proven performers in the field, Knapp profiles as a high‑variance play due solely to limited historical context rather than demonstrated course fit.
Sam Burns – A strong player overall, but similar to Knapp, there is no documented history of standout performance at this event or layout. Given how many contenders this week do have confirmed success on this course, Burns becomes a tougher fantasy investment without data pointing to an edge here.

🧐 Did You Know?

Brooks Koepka played a direct role in shaping this week’s course, having served as a player consultant during its redesign—one of the rare PGA TOUR venues where a competing pro helped influence the architecture.
Texas Children’s uses tournament week to bring hospital programs into the spotlight—sometimes literally. Events like “Cooking Up a Cure” and even a playful putt‑putt course at the hospital feature during Houston Open festivities, blending golf with fundraising and patient‑support activities in true Houston fashion.
When the event debuted in 1946, Byron Nelson won the inaugural edition, tying this modern tournament directly back to one of golf’s most legendary figures.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

With only a single top‑10 player in the field and a course that consistently rewards disciplined ball‑striking over short‑game magic, this week sets up as an ideal spot to lean into smart roster construction rather than star‑chasing. The strength of the field is flatter than usual, which means the real edge comes from identifying golfers whose skill sets match the long‑iron demands and strategic routing of this layout. Because the 135‑player field heightens cut pressure, diversifying lineups across multiple archetypes—steady tee‑to‑green grinders, aggressive ball‑strikers capable of spike rounds, and veteran course‑managers who avoid big numbers—can significantly boost your odds. With volatility expected and proven course horses alongside under‑the‑radar sleepers, this is one of those rare weeks where mid‑tier builds and upside hunting may outperform a traditional “stars‑and‑scrubs” approach.

Sleepers to Consider:

Doug Ghim – A Texas native with a strong tee‑to‑green foundation, Ghim tends to pop on tougher‑than‑average setups that reward precision off the tee and disciplined approach play. His statistical profile (ball‑striking first, putting second) fits the way this course has separated contenders from the pack. Low ownership upside makes him a sharp differentiator.
Emiliano Grillo – Known for streaky but occasionally elite iron play, Grillo is precisely the kind of volatile mid‑tier golfer who benefits in fields lacking stacked top‑10 talent. When the course demands long‑iron control and patience—both strengths when he’s on—he becomes a potential top‑15 spoiler.
Ben Griffin – Griffin profiles as a high‑floor, moderate‑ceiling option for fantasy owners who need stability. He tends to outperform expectations on courses with wide driving areas but challenging approach zones, making him an ideal plug‑and‑play for balanced lineups.
Matt Kuchar – Inserted into the field after Scheffler’s withdrawal, Kuchar brings veteran savvy and a proven ability to manage scoring on strategic, less penal layouts. His recent form has been quietly steady, and his course‑management style tends to play up where bogey avoidance matters.
Nicolai Højgaard – A high‑variance bomber who thrives on par‑70 courses with length, Højgaard is a prototypical upside play. His aggressive approach can generate spikes in birdie production—an angle especially valuable if winds pick up and lower‑trajectory players struggle.

⭐️ Pro Tip: With only one top‑10 player in the field and several past champions showing strong course history, lean heavily on ball‑strikers with proven success here and don’t hesitate to load up on mid‑tier sleepers, as this week’s wide‑open setup creates more volatility and upside than usual.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

CREATE A LEAGUE

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Houston Open has a total prize purse of $9,900,000. The winner receives $1,710,000.

The purse size ranks middle-of-the-pack on the standard One and Done schedule (Tier 3 by prize money). The upcoming Valero Texas Open, along with both the Byron Nelson and Charles Schwab Challenge in May, are all at a similar prize tier.

View this week as an opportunity to deploy a mid‑tier, high‑floor player who’s capable of a top‑10 finish but not someone you’d save for a major or signature event.

It’s a week for long drivers where distance really matters. The Memorial Park course is almost 7,500 yards while playing as a par 70. Driving distance is pretty important, but there is less penalty for missing the fairway here. The last two winners (Lee and Stephan Jager) ranked inside the Top 25 in driving distance but outside the top 100 in driving accuracy in the year they won. Target golfers driving 310+ on average. You can also pay attention to the few golfers with Texas ties.

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Min Woo Lee +1300
Chris Gotterup +1800
Jake Knapp +2000
Sam Burns +2200
Brooks Koepka +2200

Mid Tier Contenders
Shane Lowry +4000
Keith Mitchell +4000
Wyndham Clark +4000
Harry Hall +4000
Taylor Pendrith +4500

Long Shots
Aaron Rai +7000
Patrick Rodgers +7000
Nico Echavarria +8000
Gary Woodland +8000
Will Zalatoris +8000

Golfmerce – a marketplace built by golfers, for golfers.

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Discover more from Majors Challenge