Texas Children’s Houston Open Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch

With only two weeks until the Masters, many players are using the Houston Open as a way to punch a last-minute ticket to Augusta. Here's what you need to know.

Min Woo Lee set the Houston Open's 72-hole scoring record in his victory last year. | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

To H-Town, we go. 

The Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course will kick off the two-event Texas swing leading into the Masters, boasting Scottie Scheffler and a $9.9 million purse, with the winner collecting $1,782,000. 

The 79-year-old event has moved around on the PGA Tour schedule, from the fall to the spring. After not being contested in 2023, it now sits two weeks before the Masters, giving players who aren’t already exempt one of the final few chances to punch their ticket to Augusta. 

From its 135-player field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s what you need to know for the 2026 Houston Open. 

The field: A key late WD

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler withdrew Tuesday due to the impending birth of his second child.

That means Chris Gotterup, a two-time winner this season, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 10 in the world. Following him is No. 16 Ben Griffin, No. 20 Harris English, No. 27 Ryan Gerard, No. 31 Min Woo Lee, the defending champion, No. 32 Shane Lowry and No. 33 Sam Burns. 

Past champions in the field are Adam Scott (2007), Tony Finau (2022), Stephan Jaeger (2024) and Lee (2025). 

Sponsor exemptions include: Texas A&M alum Bronson Burgoon, Houston native and University of Texas alum Cole Hammer, 18-year-old high school senior and University of Georgia commit Mason Howell and Trey Mullinax, winner of the 2022 ISCO Championship. 

And this is the last chance for players looking to earn a last-minute spot in the Masters. Some notable names between Nos. 40-65 in the world rankings looking for that opportunity are: Jake Knapp (No. 42), Nicolai Højgaard (No. 47), Pierceson Coody (No. 51), Michael Thorbjornsen (No. 56), Rickie Fowler (No. 61) and Jordan Smith (No. 65). 

Brooks Koepka is also in the field, coming off three consecutive top-20 finishes.

The winning moment for @MinWoo27Lee was all-time 😂 pic.twitter.com/p5F2lGj8Ln

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 30, 2025

Course: Memorial Park

The public Memorial Park has hosted the Houston Open 14 times, from 1947 to 1963 and then returned in 2020 after a Tom Doak renovation led by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane. 

It’s a par-70, 7,475-yard layout with 7,000-square-foot greens, 21 bunkers and water in play on two holes. 

“The last few years playing around this place there was a big premium on driving accuracy, which I think for a long golf course like this was really good,” Scheffler said in 2024, after the rough was cut and overseeded. “This year it’s a bit different with the overseed, they really did not put in much rough at all, which is a bit different. It used to be some holes where it was really, really important to hit the fairway, especially with the Bermuda rough and now there’s not as much of a premium placed on that. You’ll see a lot more drivers, people hitting it really far and it will be much more of I’d say a second shot golf course this time around.”

In 2025, Memorial Park was the 28th hardest course on Tour (out of 49), with a scoring average of 68.86. Its hardest hole last season was the 529-yard par-4 1st, which played 0.212 strokes over par, making it the 94th hardest hole on Tour. The easiest hole, meanwhile, was the par-5 3rd, playing 0.623 strokes under par, making it the 38th easiest hole on Tour. 

This won’t be the last time the golf world sees Memorial Park this year. The Chevron Championship, the first of five LPGA major championships, will be played there next month for the first time. 

History: For Renay 

The emotions were prevalent in Stuart Appleby’s 1999 Houston Open victory. 

Just nine months prior, his wife, Renay, was killed in an accident outside a London train station. That caused Stuart Appleby to question if he would return to the sport, but he would at the 1998 PGA Championship. 

Fast forward to May 1999 at TPC Woodlands, Appleby, on the weekend of his 28th birthday, entered the final round three strokes back of Hal Sutton. 

Appleby would take the lead on the 71st hole by sinking a 15-foot putt and never relinquished it with a final-round 71 for a one-stroke triumph over Sutton and John Cook. 

His late wife was with him every step of the way. 

“She gave me the strength today,” the Aussie said afterward. “It’s not just a golf game which makes you win a tournament.”

And despite the defeat, Sutton couldn’t have been happier for Appleby. 

“If somebody had to beat me, I was happy it was Stuart,” Sutton said. “He has been through a lot and I can certainly understand how much meaning this has for him.

“I’m sure there’s somebody smiling on him right now.”

Appleby ended his Tour career with nine victories, including another Houston Open win in 2006. But the tragedy he endured gave him a different perspective on his career—and life. 

“Victories are nice on a personal satisfaction level but only for a fleeting moment,” he wrote on PGATour.com in 2024. “You hold a trophy for five minutes. It’s nothing much else after that. But when you’re on your deathbed, you’re not going to say to your children, “Oh my gosh, do you remember that putt I made on the 72nd hole back 50 years ago? There are much more important things in life.”

How to watch (all times EST)

• Thursday-Friday: 3–7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday-Sunday: 1–3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3–6 p.m. (NBC)

ESPN+ will also have coverage during each round. 

First- and second-round tee times 

Tee times for the first and second round of the Texas Children's Houston Open pic.twitter.com/EhvvyjZJ0B

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 24, 2026