Houston Open: Top 10 power rankings at CC of Houston

The Houston Open moves from its old pre-Masters slot to become a fall event beginning in 2019.

The Houston Open long held the distinction of being the last chance to get into the Masters with a win the week prior.

While some big names opted to get to Augusta early, plenty used this event as a warmup while the rest of the field was filled out by golfers hungry for a win.

Now with the PGA Tour reshuffling their schedule beginning in 2018-19, the Houston Open is one of the events that got a worse draw.

The tournament was not technically a part of the 2018-19 season having last been held March 2018 (2017-18). It’s now buried in the fall portion of the schedule as the fifth overall event and the last before the Tour’s Asian swing.

Those Asian events feature guaranteed money, so a lot of prominent players are resting this week before globe-trotting. It doesn’t help that there were appetizing events in the week prior in Las Vegas and Napa.

With that said, the field is pretty weak here at the Country Club of Houston. There are past major champions like Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, and Jimmy Walker present. The world No. 2 amateur Cole Hammer will tee it up in his home state.

Champions from this season, Cameron Champ and Sebastian Munoz, will look for another big payday.

These players are taking on a venue that tried to somewhat emulate Augusta National given its former spot on the schedule. The turf is rye/bentgrass. Areas around the green are closely mown, though the greens themselves are not as sloping and speedy as at AGNC.

Positioning off the tee is important not only to find the proper side of the fairway, but to avoid the 60 bunkers and eight water hazards that litter this 7,441-yard par 72 track.

We’ve seen short and long hitters win here. A long hitter like JB Holmes won in 2015 while hitting less than half his fairways. Jim Herman won the year after using more of a tactician’s strategy.

Either way, strokes gained approach is an important stat to watch. With approaches, proximity from 150-plus yards is key as there are several holes where long iron shots come into play.

Winning score has fallen between 12-under and 20-under each year this decade and usually settles in the mid-teens.

There could be some rain early in the weekend, but otherwise the weather forecast looks hot and dry, which could lead to firm conditions.

Let’s dig into who’s got a chance to hoist the trophy: