2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open: Picks and Predictions for Memorial Park

The PGA Tour returns to the Lone Star State this week for the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open in Houston, Texas.

There are just two full-field events remaining on the PGA’s fall schedule, this week’s Houston Open, and the RSM Classic next week. As such, this week’s Cadence Bank Houston Open has attracted some big names including Scottie Scheffler, who can reclaim the number one spot in the OWGR this week with a victory in Texas.

Also joining Scheffler this week amongst the top twenty in the world contingent are, Sam Burns (12th), Tony Finau (15th), and Hideki Matsuyama (20th).

Memorial Park Golf Course, near downtown Houston, is rated as one of the best Municipal courses in the country and it is one of few public courses on the PGA’s current schedule to host an event each year.

Memorial Park was established back in 1936 and previously hosted the Tour’s Houston Open from the early 50s to mid-1960s. In 2019, Tom Doak along with player consultant, Brooks Koepka, renovated Memorial Park, turning it into what players will see this week. The course is a Par 71 which plays to 7,412 yards in length.

This will be just the third edition of the Houston Open at this locale since the redesign, but over the first two renditions, it has certainly provided a challenge for the pros with winning scores settling at -13 (Carlos Ortiz, 2020) and -10 (Jason Kokrak, 2021). Distance, long iron play, and the ability to scramble will all be pivotal for the field of 132 this week.

Last year’s Houston Open runner-up and world number two, Scottie Scheffler, is the clear favorite this week. Here is a look at how the rest of the top favorites for the Cadence Bank Houston Open shake out over on WynnBet.

2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open Favorites

(All odds courtesy of WynnBet. **Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.**)

• Scottie Scheffler (+550)
• Sam Burns (+1200)
• Aaron Wise (+1500)
• Tony Finau (+1750)
• Jason Day (+2250)
• Russell Henley (+2250)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+2250)
• Maverick McNealy (+2250)
• Taylor Montgomery (+2500)

Pick to Top 20: Brendan Steele (+275)

After a slow start to the new season, Brendan Steele has shown signs of life in his last two starts, his most recent being an 18th-place finish at The CJ CUP in South Carolina.

Brendan is a superb ball striker who just needs the putter to tag along in order to have a great week on most occasions. Last season on Tour the three-time PGA winner rated out 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, and 16th in greens in regulation percentage.

He also has historically played difficult courses well, this includes at this past May’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills where he finished 9th. Southern Hills, Silverado (Fortinet Championship), and TPC Scottsdale (WM Phoenix Open) are all listed as potential comp courses to Memorial Park according to Data Golf. 

This would bode well for Steele who in addition to his top-10 finish at the PGA Championship in May, has also won the Fortinet Championship twice and has recorded a handful of top 10s at TPC Scottsdale throughout his career.

Pick to Top 10: Sahith Theegala (+375)

Another player who has had success at some potentially comparable locales to this week’s Houston Open is Theegala. The talented young player has just begun his career, but he so very nearly won at the WM Phoenix Open this past February, and in two of three starts at the Fortinet has posted results of 14th and 6th.

It has very much been boom or bust for Sahith to begin the new PGA Tour season as he has either found himself in contention or missing the cut in four starts to date. The 24-year-old has top 10 finishes at the Fortinet and ZOZO Championship this fall.

It would seem as though it is only a matter of time before the talented youngster claims his first PGA Tour win and I’m willing to take a chance on Theegala finding himself in contention once again this week.

Pick to Win: Davis Riley (+4000)

Davis Riley is another who has had mixed results to begin the new PGA season, he has made five starts and finished no better than 19th (Sanderson Farms) so far. The stats don’t particularly pop for Riley, but he has gained strokes with his irons in three measured events during the new season.

The 25-year-old also added his second top-25 finish of the young season at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (21st) and looks to be coming into this week in relatively good form.  Davis will assuredly be looking forward to a return trip to the Lone Star State where he had finishes of 9th (Byron Nelson) and 4th (Charles Schwab Challenge) last season.

The University of Alabama product demonstrated throughout a good chunk of the summer how talented he is when everything is clicking.

Highlights included a runner-up finish to Sam Burns at the Valspar Championship, a 5th at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, 4th at the aforementioned Charles Schwab, and a pair of 13th-place finishes at the PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament respectively.

Whether or not he is back to that kind of form is still unknown, but I’m willing to take a chance on him back in Texas and find out.