March 24, 2026
Sam Stevens did not have the best time on the Florida swing. The American golfer missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Stevens did not fare much better at THE PLAYERS Championship adding to his streak of 72 or worse. Currently, this stands at six rounds. The expectation is that Stevens winds up under par after Round 1 in Houston. He finished T-18 at this event in 2025. Avoiding slow starts is vital as he has been bogged down in his past three events (72-74-74). One mitigating worry is his Par 5 birdie or better rate which is only 44.23% which ranks 128th. Other than that, Stevens is a player that could appear on some Top 20 betting radars this weekend.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Keith Mitchell did not have the best time at THE PLAYERS Championship. The American golfer was in decent position for the weekend but a final round 76 dropped him all the way to T-46. The good news for Mitchell is that Houston does suit some of his strengths including driving distance (311.2 yards - 29th). Memorial Park does not require accuracy so much as other courses (55.36% - 124th). Scoring average and birdie average are both inside the Top 50. One concern is the middle rounds when it comes to putts per round at 30.13 and 29.25 respectively. If Mitchell manages his putts and makes a few, he could be a decent DFS choice for the Houston Open.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Will Zalatoris has not played on the PGA Tour since late January. The American golfer suffered an ankle injury which has kept him out for almost two months. Zalatoris has had quite an unfortunate time with injury and surgery (back). He did finish T-18 at The American Express before a 75 caused him to miss the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. Before surgery last year, Zalatoris had numerous issues with putting losing at least one stroke or more in five of his final eight events of 2025. It will be intriguing to see where Zalatoris is with his recovery. He has not qualified for The Masters yet so the urgency to perform well this week will be elevated.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Wyndham Clark was in contention for one event in 2026. The American golfer was inside the Top 10 at The American Express before a 72 derailed his weekend. Clark does drive the ball well at 310.3 yards which ranks 35th. Overall putting has been troubling as Clark has lost strokes to putting in four straight events including the Valspar where he missed the cut. He averages 29 putts per round in the opening round of events which is not great either. If anyone needs to get off to a good start, it is Clark. Memorial Park expects to feature breezy weather with no rain chances so that may help Clark from a DFS perspective.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Shane Lowry had the Cognizant Classic all but won until he did not. The Irish golfer collapsed on the back nine that Sunday and finished tied for second. Since then, he missed back-to-back cuts and has not looked the same losing 1.75 strokes overall at the Arnold Palmer and THE PLAYERS Championship. The last time Lowry played in Houston was 2022 where he missed the cut but in 2021, he finished T-11. Lowry has been accurate with his drives at 63.39% (30th) but only driving an average of 295.8 yards (141st). The latter is a problem at the Memorial Park Golf Course. Lowry may not be a viable option this week in Houston as he tries to get his game back in form in time for The Masters.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Kurt Kitayama missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship. The American golfer took the following week off to focus on the Houston Open. This is a course that sets up well as Kitayama has played well in 2026. He has one runner-up and three Top 25 results. Kitayama drives the ball pretty well (307.8 yards - 47th). His accuracy rate is 60.86% which ranks 59th. Putting has been a little more hit and miss at 29.16 putts per round (120th). Do not look at THE PLAYERS where Kitayama lost 2.57 strokes. While the golfer may be a fade for betting, he could be a reasonable DFS choice this week.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Jake Knapp had five straight top-25 results to start 2026. The American golfer missed the cut at The Players Championship but is poised to rebound at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston. This course rewards long drives and scoring well on par-fives. Knapp ranks eighth in driving distance at 317 yards and second in strokes gained to putting at 1.291. He carries a one-putt percentage of 45.71%, which also ranks eighth. From a DFS and betting standpoint, Knapp becomes a really good bet, especially for first-round lead wagers. One final reason why is his scoring average of 68.23, which leads the entire PGA Tour.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
March 24, 2026
Tony Finau finished tied for 18th at last week's Valspar Championship, and that was followed by a tied for 70th finish at the PLAYERS Championship. Finau will now turn his focus to preparing for this week's Texas Children's Houston Open held at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. Finau has rebounded nicely from his disappointing 2025 season. He has three top-25 finishes in eight starts this season, but has also missed the cut three times. Over the past 12 months, Finau ranks in the 74th percentile in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 150-200 yards in the fairway. This is worth pointing out because at last year's Texas Children's Houston Open over 36% of approach shots came from this distance.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
March 24, 2026
Scottie Scheffler finished tied for 22nd at the PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago, following a tied for 24th finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler will now turn his focus to preparing for this week's Texas Children's Houston Open held at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. Scheffler has secured six straight top-25 finishes in six starts this season. He finished tied for second at last year's Texas Children's Houston Open. Over the past 12 months, Scheffler ranks in the 98th percentile in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 150-200 yards in the fairway. This is important because at last year's Texas Children's Houston Open over 36% of approach shots came from this distance.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
March 24, 2026
After back-to-back missed cuts in his two prior events, Sam Burns bounced back in a big way at THE PLAYERS, finishing T13. He looks to build on that performance at the Texas Children's Houston Open, where he has recorded two T7 finishes, a missed cut, and a withdrawal in four appearances. Success here does not require precision off the tee, which benefits Burns, who ranks 116th in driving accuracy and 26th in distance. His biggest issue this season has been ball striking, sitting 105th on approach (-0.138 strokes per round) and 102nd tee to green (-0.260). Burns' putter had not been up to his usual standard to start the year, but gaining over 7.6 strokes with the flat stick at TPC Sawgrass catapulted him into 14th on Tour. This type of course, where power is rewarded over accuracy and contenders are often separated by elite putting, sets up well for him. He can be confidently started at $9,700 on DraftKings.
--Dakota Legg - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
March 23, 2026
It was an off week for Sahith Theegala at Innisbrook, and it seemed to negate everything we thought about where his game was after a handful of inspiring events. The 28-year-old lost over three strokes on approach, and over two strokes around the greens and putting to miss the cut by a healthy margin. It feels like a fluke with so many good weeks already under his belt. There has to be some burnout lingering, given he's only taken one week off this entire season, because the talent for big-time golf is certainly there. He also ranked inside the top-35 for the season in the three metrics before last week. Theegala is elite from 150 yards and out, which is what he'll see all week long. Putting has been a strength through most of his starts, also. As frustrating as it was for those who committed to him at Valspar, jumping ship now is ill-advised.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
March 23, 2026
It has been a tougher road in 2026 than it was a year ago at this point in the year for Stephan Jaeger, but he'll have another chance or two at getting things in shape before the year's first major. This week in Houston has been a beloved spot for the 36-year-old, winning here in 2024 along with T9 and T11 finishes sandwiched on either side. The bomb-and-gouge strategy has been successful for him. Superior length off the tee and the ability to consistently make putts will work this week. The German is also coming off a T7 last week at Innisbrook, averaging 0.59 strokes gained on approach and 0.44 putting. It's time to jump on the Jaeger train before everyone tries to, if it isn't too late already.
--Todd McGillSource: Data Golf
March 23, 2026
It was a bit surprising to see Adam Scott struggle at TPC Sawgrass after how he's played to start the year. He was the third-best player on tour in strokes gained off the tee through his first four events, and has since fallen to 50th (0.272) through last week. The Australian has still been dialed with his iron play, ranking second in all of professional golf in strokes gained in approach shots from 150-200. This will come into play a ton at Memorial Park this week, as 36.5% of predicted approach shots will come from this area. Scott has played in this event numerous times, but he hasn't been to this particular venue during its spring timing. The former Masters champion should be able to do enough from tee to green to give him a chance, even with the driving slump. It will be the ever-streaky performance on and around the greens that will determine how useful he is for fantasy purposes, but the upside is there.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
March 23, 2026
It has been a while since Sungjae Im was in a position to capture a win on the PGA Tour. He finally found another opportunity last week at Innisbrook, after shooting rounds of 64-69-69 over the first three days to be the outright leader going into Sunday. However, an all-too-familiar day transpired for the 27-year-old in the final round, as he bogeyed four of his opening nine holes to take himself out of any real contention down the stretch. It was still a successful week in the grand scheme of things for the South Korean, having posted his best finish in over a year. He'll tee it up in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children's Houston Open. It's his fourth appearance in this event, with a T19 in 2022, when this event was held in the fall. After showing some signs of life, Im may start to become one of the elite DFS plays again. However, this isn't the most intriguing place for him to shine, given the lack of length and inability to make putts at times.
--Todd McGillSource: Data Golf
March 23, 2026
With finishes of T27 and T55 in his last four events, Nicolai Hojgaard has undeniably cooled off from the hot run he had put together to begin the season. It is also back-to-back weeks of incredibly tough venues. Memorial Park isn't a piece of cake by any stretch, but it lacks the quirkiness to get the ball in play that they had. Teeing it high and letting it fly is the strategy of choice for players like this 25-year-old. His 14th-ranked driving distance (315.2) should give him a big advantage over the field. He's also one of the best iron players from more than 150 yards. If the hot putter (averaging 0.506) finds its way to Houston, Hojgaard should be in line for a solid bounce-back performance.
--Todd McGillSource: PGA Tour
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