Texas Children's Houston Open 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

With The Masters just around the corner, world number one Scottie Scheffler has opted to play in this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park.

This was one of the tournaments Scheffler failed to win in 2024, with the title being claimed by Germany’s Stephan Jaegar. It was his maiden PGA Tour victory but the 35-year-old, from Munich, knows how to win.

He had claimed six titles on the Korn Ferry Tour. But in his 135th start on the PGA Tour he finally made the biggest breakthrough of all, winning the Houston Open after Scheffler missed a five-foot putt on the final green to force a playoff.

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The German denied Scheffler a third successive win on the PGA Tour as he tuned up for The Masters. There was a five-way tie for second, with Thomas Detry, Tony Finau, Alejandro Tosti and Taylor Moore finishing alongside Scheffler.

Jaeger said: "Scottie has been playing some unbelievable golf. I played the Arnold Palmer and the Players with him and he's such a great dude as well.

"I just tried to stay within myself, tried to make some birdies. Birdies eluded me on the back nine but this golf course plays a little difficult especially if you're right around the lead. There's so much trouble and I'm super happy obviously with the day."

Fellow PGA Tour player Joel Dahmen, who was waiting to congratulate Jaeger, said: "If you win on the Korn Ferry Tour, you can win on the PGA Tour, and to do it six times, it’s not an accident. That means that when you get in that position, you know how to win. You’re not afraid of it. He’s not afraid of it, and he showed that today. The drive he hit on 17, over the water and sent it right at it, that’s just what he does now."

Although Jaeger has failed to add to that title, the win gave him a huge amount of confidence and he has become a consistent performer. He finished tied third at the Sony Open and tied sixth at the Mexico Open and, crucially, has retained his place in the top 50 in the world rankings.

He turned professional in 2012 and qualified for the 2015 US Open, where he shot 74-80 to miss the cut.

At the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic, Jaeger shot a 12-under-par 58 in the first round and followed it up with rounds of 65-64-63 to claim his first Web.com Tour victory. He set the 72-hole aggregate record with his 250 and tied the to-par record, at 30 under par, and won by seven strokes. He also set the 36-hole and 54-hole records. Despite the win, Jaeger finished 28th on the regular season money list, three spots short of a guaranteed PGA Tour card.

In 2017, Jaeger won twice on the Web.com Tour, finishing fifth on the regular-season money list and earning a PGA Tour card for the 2017-18 season. In May 2018, ranked 161st in the FedEx Cup and having failed to qualify for The Players Championship, Jaeger played in and won the Web.com Tour’s Knoxville, his fourth victory on that tour. After failing to finish in either the top 125 of the FedEx Cup or the Web.com Tour's top 25, Jaeger regained his PGA Tour card through the Web.com Tour Finals.

Back on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, Jaeger picked up his fifth title at the Albertsons Boise Open. It helped gain him exemption into the 2020 US Open as one of the leading points scorers in the final three Championship Series events, and into four alternate events on the PGA Tour in 2021 by virtue of being in the top 10 of the tour standings after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He won the Korn Ferry Tour player of the year award for the 2020-21 season.

Wyndham Clark is another whose form has been pretty indifferent but, unlike Fitzpatrick, he has shown recent signs of an upturn in fortunes and he will be looking to continue his process this week. He is a wonderful ball striker but can be a streaky putter and admits that he still struggles to keep his cool when things go wrong. He has worked hard with a psychologist and when he is able to keep things in check he looks world class.

Rory McIlroy, fresh from his playoff win at the Players Championship has also chosen this week as his final warm-up event before teeing it up at Augusta National. He will be looking for a good week but would probably prefer not to win.

Tournament Winners:

It was won in 2015 by JB Holmes, in 2016 by Jim Herman, in 2017 by Russell Henley, in 2018 by Ian Poulter, in 2019 by Lanto Griffin, in 2020 by Carlos Ortiz, in 2021 by Jason Kokrak, in 2022 by Tony Finau and last year by Stephan Jaeger. There was no tournament in 2023.

The Course:

Memorial Park underwent a major renovation programme in 2019, overseen by Tom Doak. One of the most intriguing features of the course is the state-of-the-art storm water irrigation system designed to capture and retain 80 million gallons of storm water for irrigation purposes removing the golf course's irrigation from the city's potable water system. It is a public course - locals pay just $30 for 18 holes.

Form Guide:

Scottie Scheffler suffered a rare disappointment here 12 months ago, narrowly missing out on a playoff, and will be looking to win ahead of his Masters defence. Players champion Rory McIlroy will settle for a top-10 finish.

Prize Money:

The winner will collect around $1.7m, along with 500 FedEx Cup points.

How to Watch:

Thursday, March 27, Friday, March 28, Sky Sports Golf, 8pm; Saturday, March 29, Sky Sports Golf, 5pm Sunday, March 30, Sky Sports Golf, 6pm.

To Win:

Scottie Scheffler. Looking grumpy

Each Way:

Wyndham Clark. Magnificent ball striker

Each Way:

Tony Finau. Wonderfully consistent

Five to Follow:

Scottie Scheffler. Will surely win again soon

Wyndham Clark. Has shown some positive signs of late

Tony Finau. Always there or thereabouts

Rory McIlroy. Would probably prefer not to win

Jason Day. Has had injury troubles again