One final tuneup ahead of the rescheduled Masters has the PGA Tour in the Lone Star State for this week’s Vivint Houston Open. And we’ll see a number of big-name players attempt to work out the kinks before the final major championship of 2020. Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott are making their first starts since testing positive for COVID and they are among six players in the OWGR top-20 set to play. Despite recent inactivity and battling the virus, DJ is the prohibitive favorite on the oddsboard, though he’ll be challenged by Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Tyrell Hatton among others. Lanto Griffin is back to defend his title that he won on a different course in 2019. Visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
Vivint Houston Open Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Dustin Johnson -160 vs. Brooks Koepka +140
Henrik Norlander -115 vs. Ollie Schniederjans -105
Luke List -110 vs. Kristoffer Ventura -110
Sam Burns -135 vs. Russell Knox +115
Scott Piercy +110 vs. Keegan Bradley -130
Cameron Tringale -140 vs. Charley Hoffman +120
Kevin Streelman -105 vs. Dylan Frittelli -115
Tony Finau -125 vs. Russell Henley +105
Russell Henley +105 vs. Scottie Scheffler -125
Aaron Wise +100 vs. JT Poston -120
Tyrell Hatton -120 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +100
Jason Day -125 vs. Lanto Griffin +105
Zach Johnson +105 vs. Brian Harman -125
Erik Van Rooyen -135 vs. James Hahn +115
Viktor Hovland -130 vs. Adam Scott +110
Jordan Spieth -105 vs. Cameron Davis -115
Talor Gooch -120 vs. Emiliano Grillo +100
Dustin Johnson -145 vs. Tyrell Hatton +125
Sergio Garcia -110 vs. Jason Day -110
Dustin Johnson -150 vs. Hideki Matsuyama +130
Sergio Garcia -120 vs. Lanto Griffin +100
Kim Si Woo -115 vs. Shane Lowry -105
Brandt Snedeker +105 vs. Adam Schenk -125
Harold Varner III -120 vs. Alexander Noren +100
Lee Westwood -115 vs. Wyndham Clark -105
Viktor Hovland -110 vs. Sungjae Im -110
Phil Mickelson +100 vs. Matt Jones -120
Sungjae Im -125 vs. Adam Scott +105
Mackenzie Hughes -125 vs. Henrik Stenson +105
Doc Redman +100 vs. Corey Conners -120
Tony Finau -115 vs. Scottie Scheffler -105
Brooks Koepka +115 vs. Hideki Matsuyama -135
Stewart Cink +130 vs. Denny McCarthy -150
Tyrell Hatton -150 vs. Brooks Koepka +130
Need to Know
The Houston Open gets a new venue this year with Memorial Park Golf Course taking over hosting duties. The municipal course hasn’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 1963, but it shouldn’t scare the field. It stretches to 7,432 yards at par 72 and will cater to big hitters. There is water that comes into play and tricky slopes on and around the greens that could make things difficult. The course was redesigned a few years ago with input from Brooks Koepka with bunkers trees and water removed. The idea was to make the course playable for the public while still presenting enough of a challenge for the pros. Unfamiliar, bumpy greens require accuracy on approach, but distance off the tee will shrink the layout for big hitters.
Vivint Houston Open Matchup Picks
Doc Redman +100 vs. Corey Conners
I’ve won a few matchups this season backing Redman and I find myself going back to him for good reason. A T4 last week was his second top-5 in four starts this season and he didn’t play poorly in his MC going 5-under at the Shriners. His lack of distance off the tee could be a factor on the lengthy Memorial layout, but Redman makes up for it on approach and his GIR is among the best on Tour. He’s been playing consistent golf for a few months and I’ll back him as long as that continues.
Lanto Griffin +100 vs. Sergio Garcia
He’s not the biggest name in the tournament but Griffin is the last player to win this event, albeit on a different course, and he’s in fine form coming in with a T7 at the CJ CUP and T11 at the ZOZO with a scoring average of 68.4 over those eight rounds. Garcia has more name recognition on, but the enigmatic Spaniard has gone back into a funk after his win at the Sanderson Farms, which is why I’m backing Griffin this week.
Tyrell Hatton +125 vs. Dustin Johnson
After serious consideration I elected to back Hatton over the tournament favorite. The biggest reason is DJ’s return from a positive COVID test and the inactivity that came along with it. Johnson is using this week to prepare for the Masters and although he always wants to win, getting the swing down is more important. And Hatton is no cupcake as he’s shown with three wins and eight top-10s worldwide over the last year. The price for a guy on a heater is too good to pass up, even if he’s is competing against the No. 1 ranked player.
Russell Henley +105 vs. Scottie Scheffler
Talk about being on a roll, how about what Henley’s done. He’s coming off back-to-back top-5s at Shadow Creek and Sherwood, which is an extension of how he finished the previous season with three top-10s in his last seven starts. He’s also played four rounds in each of his last seven starts while ranking among the top-10 in GIR and scrambling.
Brooks Koepka +115 vs. Hideki Matsuyama
I had to at least consider backing Brooks in a matchup, and the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea. Another player looking to chisel off some rust ahead of the Masters, Koepka is intriguing in that he had a voice in the course redesign. Any insider information is likely to help and Koepka did get some work in recently testing out the knee with a T28 at the CJ CUP where he gained 3.3 strokes on approach.
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