A new slot on the fall schedule has caused a problem for the Houston Open, which gets underway this week at the Golf Club of Houston Tournament Course. Coming off an 18-month hiatus and no longer the lead-in tournament to The Masters, the talent level has faded with only two players ranked among the OWGR top-50 scheduled to compete. Henrik Stenson, the top ranked player at No. 37 and the headliner, is the betting favorite. The betting odds suggest a wide-open field that will make for crazy times in head-to-head matchups. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Houston Open Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Nick Watney -110 vs. Brice Garnett -110
Doc Redman -110 vs. Peter Uihlein -110
Jhonattan Vegas -105 vs. Kevin Chappell -115
Denny McCarthy -115 vs. Kyle Stanley -105
Tom Hoge -120 vs. Scott Stallings +100
Robby Shelton -105 vs. Aaron Baddeley -115
Brian Harman -110 vs. Daniel Berger -110
Mark Hubbard -105 vs. Tom Lewis -115
Cameron Champ +110 vs. Russell Henley -130
Henrik Stenson -170 vs. Daniel Berger +150
Scottie Scheffler -115 vs. Kyle Stanley -105
Cameron Champ -120 vs. Pat Perez +100
Cameron Tringale -105 vs. Sam Ryder -115
Henrik Stenson -170 vs. Brian Harman +150
Beau Hossler +115 vs. Bronson Burgoon -135
Brendan Steele -120 vs. Sam Burns +100
Russell Knox -125 vs. Keegan Bradley +105
Matt Jones +100 vs. Bud Cauley -120
Scottie Scheffler -115 vs. Denny McCarthy -105
Russell Henley -130 vs. Pat Perez +110
Harris English +110 vs. Sebastian Munoz -130
Carlos Ortiz -115 vs. Martin Laird -105
Luke List +100 vs. Lanto Griffin -120
Xinjun Zhang -115 vs, Austin Cook -105
Brian Gay +110 vs. Andrew Landry -130
Harry Higgs -120 vs. Lucas Bjerregaard -110
Cameron Davis -105 vs. David Hearn -125
Jason Dufner -120 vs. Joseph Bramlett -110
Matt Every -110 vs. Michael Thompson -120
Patrick Rodgers -110 vs. Patton Kizzire -120
Robert Streb +105 vs. Roger Sloan -135
Ryan Armour -120 vs. Sepp Straka -110
Stewart Cink -110 vs. Zac Blair -120
Dominic Bozzelli -120 vs. Doug Ghim -110
Grayson Murray +105 vs. J.J. Spaun -135
Need to Know
This will be the last Houston Open held at the Golf Club of Houston with a new venue on the way for 2020. Past tournaments saw the course set up to look and play like Augusta, since it was the last event before The Masters. With that out the window we could see a different look on the 7,441-yard, par-72 Tournament Course. There are five par-4s that each play over 460 yards and a few reachable par-5s on the home stretch. The final hole on this course will eat golf balls with a big body of water that runs along the left side. After a player dropped three tee shots in the drink during the 2006 tournament, his caddie nicknamed the hole “big ball washer.” At least we’ll know the event isn’t truly over until the leaders pass the final test. The field this week is much different than what we saw in Las Vegas making it tough to predict matchups. I will go on record noting my 3-1-1 record at the Shriners, including a matchup win with plus-odds Scottie Scheffler.
Houston Open Matchup Picks
Jhonattan Vegas -105 vs. Kevin Chappell
I backed Vegas last week since the event was in Vegas, and that didn’t turn out so well with him missing the cut. You could say I didn’t learn my lesson by going back to him, but I say otherwise. Vegas had a stirring comeback with a R2 69, though it wasn’t enough to get him to the weekend. He’s returning to Houston where there are “always good vibes in this place.” Despite his fondness for the area the results haven’t always been there, but I have a good vibe on him this week.
Lanto Griffin -120 vs. Luke List
Only one player on Tour has opened the season with four top-20s and that’s Griffin. He hasn’t gone lower than T11 in those events, so there is room for improvement. And this is a field to his liking. Heck, he has good odds that I would even consider throwing down on him for the individual title. If I’m willing to do that, I certainly have no problem taking him in this matchup.
Keegan Bradley +105 vs. Russell Knox
Seeing Bradley at plus-odds in this matchup made me wonder if I was overlooking something. A quick check confirmed I wasn’t, so I have to back the second-highest ranked player in the field in this matchup. That final round 74 in Vegas wasn’t good, but Bradley showed consistency in his game prior to that. He likes Houston because he’s had success with a pair of top-5s and two other top-15s in his seven starts. He’s also been spot on with his driver which will help on those long par-5s.
Henrik Stenson -170 vs. Brian Harman
Easily the top player in the field I thought about leaving Stenson off my list altogether. The more I thought about it the more I liked backing a winner, so here we are. The one thing that’s missing out of all the great finishes at this event is a win, so there’s added motivation. Two runner-up finishes, a T3 and a T6 in seven career starts are enough to make me overlook the odds.
Denny McCarthy -115 vs. Kyle Stanley
After seeing what McCarthy has done recently it’s hard not to at least consider him in any matchup pick. He’s one of the top putters on Tour this season and he enjoyed a stellar weekend off the tee in Las Vegas leading to a T9. Over the last two rounds McCarthy hit 22 of 28 fairways and his GIR percentage was among the tops in the field. Another showing like that makes him a sure winner in this matchup.
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