RADIO
The LIV Golf League will hold this week’s event at The Golf Club of Houston in Harris County, Texas. This will be LIV Golf’s first event since the first weekend in May when Brooks Koepka took home the victory in Singapore. It will also be the final tune-up for players competing in next week’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. With just six events remaining in the 2024 LIV individual schedule, players have limited opportunities left to position themselves toward a potential individual title or secure their spots for next season.
The Golf Club of Houston was established in 2002 and hosted the PGA Tour’s Houston Open from 2003-2019. LIV Golfers Ian Poulter, Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Matt Jones, and Anthony Kim were all victorious at this event during their time on the PGA Tour. The winning score over four days on the PGA Tour ranged between -11 and -21; however, seven of those sixteen winning scores fell between -15 and -17.
The event will be played Friday-Sunday and will air on the CW Network, as well as the CW App and LIV Golf Plus. Globally, the event will be broadcast in over 160 international territories, Live and On-Demand, free of charge, via LIV Golf Plus.
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LIV Golf Houston Course Breakdown
Below is the official Round 1 scorecard provided by LIV Golf.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| Yardage | 395 | 429 | 392 | 565 | 467 | 460 | 173 | 564 | 238 | 3683 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Yardage | 382 | 440 | 335 | 588 | 215 | 609 | 199 | 487 | 487 | 3742 |
The Golf Club of Houston will play as a 7,425-yard par-72. Despite the length of the course, this is not a pure bombers track but rather a total driving track. Between strategically placed bunkering and dog-legged fairways in some instances, players will not simply be overpowering this course. Ian Poulter and Jim Herman winning two of the last three years of the Houston Open’s existence further proves this point. The main objective off the tee will be for players to put themselves in a position to score, whether that be hitting the driver and having less club into the green or hitting less than the driver off the tee and having a longer club into the green.
Players won’t have a chance this week if they are scrambling around. The last three winners of the Houston Open gained 9.7, 5.7, and 6.7 strokes in ball striking on the week, and only one of the three gained more than half a stroke around the green. Scrambling simply won't be a necessary component for players who have a chance to win. The name of the game this week will be hitting greens and making putts, as I believe we are going to see a winner around -14/-15 this week. I’ll be looking for birdie makers, not grinders.
LIV Golf Betting Odds - Houston
Below are the current odds to win LIV Houston as posted by BetUs. Odds on different sportsbooks are subject to change, so I would recommend finding the best numbers available.
This week, we're going with two guys toward the top of the board and two longer shots. I think the nature of the course and event opens the door for more guys down the board to have a shot to win this week. That said, the top players have won a majority of the events so far in 2024, and don't necessarily expect that trend to slow down.
Talor Gooch +1800
The 2023 LIV individual champion has yet to win an event in 2024 despite having four top-ten and three top-six finishes on the season. Gooch finished T60 at the PGA Championship last time he teed it up and finished fourth in Singapore in his last LIV start a month ago. While the number on Gooch isn’t anything special this week, you’re getting one of the best players on the LIV Golf Tour at a course that should fit his game perfectly.
Talor Gooch approaches his swing training before he even touches the greens, he breaks down his pre-round performance training for you to bring to your game.
Reach new levels, watch LIV Lessons EP 1 now ❗️https://t.co/nSnJ45f5Bg pic.twitter.com/Qxnodqwhdi
— Smash GC (@SmashGC) May 22, 2024
Gooch has a consistent all-around game, which will be needed this week, and the ability to make birdies, which players will need to do a good bit of in order to win. Gooch has finished inside the top 14 in total birdies in five of his last six LIV starts and inside the top nine in four of those. He’s not a bomber but has driven the ball well since joining LIV and has the ability to get hot with his putter. Good drives gained, and a hot putter has historically been the key to success at the Golf Club of Houston.
Despite a ton of criticism, Gooch has planted his flag in the ground that he will not go out of his way to qualify for the majors. He believes that he will earn his way into the majors through LIV. It worked at the PGA Championship, and now there are discussions about LIV players getting into the U.S. Open in the future. However, if Gooch wants to continue to go down this path, he needs to back it up with wins. This feels like a great week for him to get the monkey off the back in 2024.
Patrick Reed +3000
I’ve said it before, but it’s nearly impossible to believe that Patrick Reed does not have a LIV Golf win under his belt. He has knocked on the door of victory fairly consistently since joining LIV, and despite many close calls, he has not been able to get one across the finish line. It’s surprising since Reed was known as a closer on the PGA Tour. He won nine times between 2013-2021 and was a force to be reckoned with when in the mix. Captain America now heads home to Houston in search of his first win, and it feels like a perfect spot for him to deliver.
Native Houstonian Patrick Reed excited to play at LIV Golf Houston https://t.co/7n8eO7a9y5
— CW39 (@CW39Houston) May 21, 2024
Each winner in the last three years of the Houston Open was propelled to victory by a strong putter, gaining at least 4.4 strokes on the greens. If there’s one thing Reed at his peak is elite at, it’s putting. We haven’t seen the peak P Reed putting experience in a while where he just holes everything, but what better place to bring it back than his own backyard?
Reed seems to get up for the biggest events. He’s now made the cut at ten straight majors and 18 of his last 19, finishing inside the top 20 in ten of them. His hometown event with family and friends in the gallery feels like another event he’d peak for.
Kevin Na +6000
It’s worth noting that I’m not the biggest Kevin Na fan. In fact, I’ve had a bit of an ongoing rivalry with his fan base on Twitter over the years. Taking that into account, when Na ends up on the card, you know there’s something to it. The guy is undeniably playing some pretty good golf right now; he has two top-seven finishes in his last four LIV starts. While the finishes are good, the stats are even more impressive.
Tough scene walking in the miss Kevin Na pic.twitter.com/MxgSxh6zRM
— Matt Miller (@MattyMillz85) October 28, 2022
In his last four LIV starts, here are Na’s finishes in Green in Regulation % in the field: Singapore Second, Adelaide T5, Miami 48th, Hong Kong T1. In three of his last four starts, the Iron Heads Captain has finished inside the top five in the field in GIR percentage. Furthermore, I’m willing to sort of toss out Miami since that is not his type of track to begin with and nothing close to what we’re looking at this week.
If the iron play can continue, Na is going to have a chance this week. It is all going to come down to how many putts he’s able to hole over the weekend. So far this season, he’s T14 in LIV in total putting, and we know it’s a part of his game that he has historically had confidence in. I’m normally not a fan of Na walking in his putts, but I’m hoping to see it all weekend in Houston.
David Puig +7000
Full disclosure: this isn’t my first time betting on Puig, and I’ve never gotten him right. 2024 has been a bit of a head-scratcher for him, in my opinion. Puig has had five straight top-ten finishes, including a win, in non-LIV events but has not finished better than T27 in his last four LIV starts. In fact, Puig has yet to finish better than T15 all year in a LIV event. The 22-year-old had some high finishes last season and had high expectations for 2024 after joining the Fireballs to play alongside his fellow countrymen Garcia and Chacarra.
Still, I hold the belief that Puig is due to contend for a LIV event soon. He’s been a pretty good putter this year but has had trouble with his approach game. However, he’s heading into this week with some momentum after qualifying for the U.S. Open on Monday. I’m hoping that momentum gives him the confidence to finally bring some of what we’ve seen outside of LIV to fruition in a LIV event.
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