2021 Houston Open: Top 10 power rankings at Memorial Park

The PGA Tour is back in the U.S.A. after a two-week sojourn to Bermuda and Mexico.

The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open is the penultimate full-field event until the Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

There are 132 players teeing it up looking to make the traditional cut of top 65 and ties.

There’s a respectable eight players from the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking in Texas this week, though none from the top 10.

We’re in the second year of competition at Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course. The tournament was previously at Golf Club of Houston, among other locales.

Memorial Park has been lauded not only for its location near downtown Houston, but for shining a spotlight on public golf.

The course underwent renovations prior to 2020 led by Tom Doak and with player consultation from Brooks Koepka.

It’s a 7,432 yard layout that plays to a par-72. Unlike recent weeks on the PGA Tour where the course is short and tight, this one is longer and has more room off the tee.

You still need to hit a lot of fairways to score well, though. The course is Bermuda from tee to green. The greens are undulating and tough to attack out of the rough.

The wind can pick up, too, to make it a tough test befitting of private club status.

Carlos Ortiz’ won last year at 13-under and was one of just three players to reach double digits under par.

The weather for this week looks benign. No rain is in the forecast with temperatures in the 50s-70s. The wind is expected to gust into the low double digits miles per hour, but it won’t be anything out of the ordinary for these pros.

This event and Sea Island next week are good ways to build momentum heading into what little of an offseason the PGA Tour schedule offers.

Here are 10 players who could thrive this week in the Lone Star State: