After last week’s brief, but enjoyable, match-play interlude in Austin, normal service is resumed on the PGA Tour with this week’s Shell Houston Open.
And although WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play winner Dustin Johnson has understandably withdrawn after playing seven matches in five days to claim his third win in succession, a top-class field has still assembled at the Golf Club of Houston.
The way the course is set up to try to resemble conditions at Augusta means that Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are in the field, which is duly reflected in the Shell Houston Open betting market.
Texas native Spieth is a 13/2 favourite ahead of Jon Rahm and led after 54 holes two years ago before losing out to JB Holmes in a play-off, while the world number six was 13th in 2016.
Spieth already has a victory to his name this season but can be forgiven for focusing more on Augusta than the task at hand, so we’re hoping it’s a case of third time lucky for our first Shell Houston Open tip, Henrik Stenson.
Stenson has failed to deliver any returns for us on his last two starts in the Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational, although he was a respectable seventh in the former.
However, the Open champion should be back to full fitness after opting to miss last week’s event and was second to shock winner Jim Herman 12 months ago. He also was also runner-up in 2013 and third back in 2009 and can be backed at 12/1.
Tony Finau is another player hopefully keen to get back into our good books and, no doubt more importantly, keen to make up for last week’s double whammy.
Finau gambled on missing the defence of his Puerto Rico Open as he was first reserve for the far more lucrative WGC event, only to miss out on a place in the latter as soon as the last group match started on Wednesday.
To add insult to injury, defending champion Jason Day then pulled out just six holes into his match – albeit for understandable reasons – and was later followed on the road to the airport by Gary Woodland and Francesco Molinari.
Finau, who was fifth and 28th on his last two starts, should be suited by the relatively generous fairways in Houston and is available at odds of 40/1.
Good performances in Puerto Rico secured a place in the field in Houston and our last two Shell Houston Open predictions come from that category in Bryson DeChambeau and Whee Kim.
DeChambeau had fallen off the radar after battling with the USGA over his side-saddle putting stroke but finished second last week and is 66/1 here, while Kim was only a shot further back but is available at 200/1.
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