The 2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open, set to take place at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, promises once again to test golfers as we approach the first Major of the year.
This tournament has gained a reputation for producing thrilling finishes and will feature the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and defending champion Stephan Jaeger; fans can expect a memorable week of golf.
Memorial Park Golf Course, the venue for this year’s event, is one of the premier golf courses in the Houston area and presents a stern test for players. The par-70, 7,400-yard layout features a mix of challenging par fours, sweeping doglegs, and long par fives. The course demands both power and precision from players, as the long par fours, particularly those over 500 yards, require strategic shot placement and the ability to hit accurate long irons into large greens.
Our PGA Tour predictions have continued to perform over the last few weeks, with Lucas Glover finishing tied for eighth at the Valspar Championship. While Will Zalatoris made the cut, but finished 47th, it’s the fourth consecutive week we’ve picked a player that has finished in the top 12 places. Let’s look at making it a fifth this week in Houston.
Aaron Rai – 25/1
Our first pick to perform at Memorial this week is Aaron Rai. The Englishman is straight off the back of a T14 finish at The Players Championship, carding an impressive five-under par through four rounds.
With three consecutive top-15 finishes in his last three events, Rai is in good form coming into this week in Houston. He finished T4, two shots away from the champion, in Mexico and only narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish at Bay Hill.
Although his first and only PGA Tour win came in 2024 at the Wyndham Championship, we feel Rai has a great chance in his 100th PGA Tour event this week. During that time, he’s made 73% of cuts, finished in the top 10 on 12 occasions, and has earned over $10 million.
His game is trending and there’s no doubt he’ll be in the mix this week, with a weaker field than usual.
J.J. Spaun – 33/1
Our alternative pick this week for the Houston Open is runner-up of The Players, J.J. Spaun. After narrowly losing out to Rory McIlroy at TPC Sawgrass, Spaun proved he could compete at the very top, contesting in a playoff with the world number two. This experience of pressure and spotlight will make him a stronger golfer, now he has had a taste of what it’s like to be at the top of the leaderboard.
Spaun has been solid so far this year, making 100% of cuts in events he’s played at least two rounds in. Notable results include finishing T2 and T3 at the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of the year, and at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beaches a few weeks ago.
He’s also stepping back onto winning soil; Spaun won the Valero Texas Open back in 2022. As a player also in solid form, we’re counting on J.J Spaun to bounce back from The Players in style and finish strongly in Houston.
