Memorial Park Golf Course is the site for this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the betting favorites to win this event, despite neither having recorded an outright victory here.
My Valspar Championship DFS picks fared pretty well, despite no one recording a top-five finish. A shocking missed cut from Alex Smalley put a dent into lineups, while Lucas Glover (T8), Sam Ryder (T16), and Mac Meissner (T28) all had solid outings at Innisbrook.
I’m back with four golfers to insert into DraftKings and FanDuel lineups ahead of Round 1 at Memorial Park Golf Course on Thursday morning. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more DFS PGA and weekly golf analysis.
2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Primer
Previous Winners
- 2024 – Stephan Jaeger (-12)
- 2023 – Tony Finau (-16)
- 2022 – Jason Kokrak (-10)
- 2021 – Carlos Ortiz (-13)
- 2020 – Lanto Griffin (-14)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
- Driving Distance
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
- Strokes Gained: Approach
Course Overview
Memorial Park is a par 70 that runs 7,475 yards. Five par 3s and two par 5s create difficult scoring opportunities for golfers, however, it’s balanced with short rough at 1.25 inches and overseeded Bermudagrass greens. Stimpmeter speeds read up to 12 feet, while the Ryegrass fairways and rough are much less punishing than what was included during the Florida swing.
Fairways are long and wide at Memorial Park. Historically, golfers who can get distance with their driver off-the-tee position themselves for success at this golf course. However, approach and scrambling remain pivotal. Undulating greens will create tricky putting scenarios, despite the greens measuring 7,000 square feet on average.
Water hazards are not nearly as prevalent at the Houston Open. Sand bunkers are a frequent hazard, while lengthy par 4s and minimal par 5s are the real test. Two of the five par 3s run over 215 yards, so distance and precision will have to be fused to contend on this week’s leaderboard.
Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Thomas Detry: $8,600
Thomas Detry already has an outright win under his belt this season at the WM Phoenix Open. The Belgian carded a T2 finish at the 2024 Houston Open and is one of the best bombers off-the-tee on the PGA Tour.
He’s being undervalued at $8.6K on DraftKings. Make sure to prioritize him at this price to reap huge production.
Kurt Kitayama: $7,600
It’s been an up-and-down year for Kurt Kitayama, missing three of the past four cuts and failing to record a top-30 finish. Yet Kitayama ranks 12th in driving distance, 30th SG: Off-the-Tee, and 34th proximity.
He’s also 12th on approach shots further than 200 yards. I like how Kitayama profiles at Memorial Park, so bite on this discount at $7.6K.
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Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $60,000
Alex Smalley: $9,900
Alex Smalley burned us at Valspar with a rare missed cut but I expect a better effort from him at the Houston Open this week. Smalley has a lot of impressive metrics and he specializes off-the-tee, blending power and accuracy to create consistently good lies for himself.
It helps that Smalley is among the PGA Tour’s best scramblers and ranks highly in scoring average. I’m willing to pay a bit of a premium on Smalley at $9.9K on FanDuel, despite a missed cut here a year ago and a missed cut at Innisbrook last week.
Rickie Fowler: $9,000
Rickie Fowler’s off-the-tee game is usually good and very consistent. The short game has been a sore point to Fowler’s game this season but he could mask it with the layout at Memorial Park.
Fowler ranks 29th in total driving, 36th in birdie average, and 42nd on approach shots 200+ yards in 2025. He doesn’t have a ton of experience playing Memorial Park, so this is a bounce-back spot for Fowler.
He has a T21 and T18 as the best finishes in 2025. I expect a third T25, with the potential for a top-ten, if he can succeed by leaning on his driver at a bomber’s course like Memorial Park.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros and FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
