As we return to the land of shot tracker, the PGA TOUR makes its way to Houston to play the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the third consecutive year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host.

Memorial Park is a Par 70 layout, measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course will be fairly thick rough and tightly mowed runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3 holes.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston including Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama.

2022 Cadence Houston Open Best Bets

Jason Day (+3300, Caesars):

I’ve been on Jason Day for his last few starts, and he’s done nothing that gives me any reason to jump off now. In fact, his play has been quite encouraging. He’s finished 8th, 11th and 21st in his past three starts and seven of his past eight rounds have been in the 60’s. His opening round at El Camaleón (73) last week was the outlier and proved to be too much to overcome. He responded by shooting 64,67,66 over the next three rounds. 

Day’s betting odds have been slashed this week, and I believe it’s for good reason. Memorial Park should be a much better fit for Day’s skill set and the winning scores have been -10 and -13 in the two events at the course. The difficult conditions should give the 34-year-old an advantage, especially with around the green prowess being such a big factor.

In Day’s first start at Memorial Park, he finished in a tie for 7th. The former world number one is finally showing that he’s healthy and can play consistently from week to week. He’s worth one more shot this week in Houston.

Taylor Pendrith (+5000, Bet365):

I have some concerns about Pendrith’s short game and putting at Memorial Park, but I believe this number is too big for his talent. Additionally, there are multiple ways to get it done at the course, and players like Dustin Johnson and Sam Burns have used their power to contend in the event.

Despite struggling in some other areas, Pendrith is still absolutely elite off the tee. He’s gained strokes on the field in the category in ten consecutive events and ranks 3rd in the field in his past 24 rounds. He also ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, so it’s certainly possible the Canadian can overcome his poor short game and ball strike his way to victory.

Dean Burmester (+8000, Caesars):

Although he may be lesser known due to playing primarily on the DP World Tour throughout his career, Dean Burmester is one of the most talented players in the field this week. The 33-year-old hits the ball a mile, and in a short sample size has done great work on Bermudagrass greens.

Burmester got in the mix earlier this fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship, using his strong off the tee game and ability to get hot with the putter to finish in the top five of the event. He also has displayed a strong around the green game which is important for the difficult setup at Memorial Park.

Although he hasn’t played much on the PGA TOUR, I believe Burmester is capable of winning if he gets into contention. He’s won two DP World Tour events and nine Sunshine Tour events, so he’s at least got the taste of pressure if he finds himself in a good spot over the weekend.

Sepp Straka (+8000, DraftKings):

Sepp Straka feels outrageously mispriced this week. He has three top-7 finishes in his past seven starts, including two 2nds. The 29-year-old has struggled in his past two starts, but neither of the events seemed to be a real fit for what he does best.

Straka has played his best golf on Bermudagrass greens and has also contended in some difficult events. He won the Honda classic which is a tough course with Bermudagrass greens and recently contended at the FedEx St. Jude which also fits that theme.

Throughout the short history of the Houston Open, players who have dominated on the par 5’s have had the most success. In the field, Straka ranks 11th in his past 24 rounds in Strokes Gained: Par 5 and also ranks 6th in Strokes Gained: Putting when the greens are fast.

Francesco Molinari (+12500, BetRivers): 

It’s been a tough couple of years for Francesco Molinari. After winning the 2018 Open Championship, the Italian was one of the best players in the world. He was a Ryder Cup hero who’d also won two other starts in addition to the Open. Once again, he found himself in a great spot to win a major when he found the water on the 12th and 15th hole at the 2019 Masters. Since then, he’s yet to have another top 5 finish on the PGA TOUR.

After being untouchable on the betting board for the better part of three years, I believe it’s time to start taking some shots on Molinari again at long odds. We’ll probably never see the 2018 Francesco again, but he’s a better player than he’s shown from 2019-2022. Recently, he’s shown some flashes of getting back into form. He finished in a tie for 9th in a loaded BMW PGA Championship and then finished 28th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Last week, he got off to a hot start before a bad weekend dropped him towards the bottom of the leaderboard.

If he’s indeed back in form, Memorial Park should be a good fit for the 39-year-old. Four of Molinari’s nine wins have come at tournaments where the winning score is -12 or worse. Considering those winning scores are quite rare in today’s game, it’s clear that the tougher the event, the better chance Moli has to win.

At triple digits, it’s worth a shot in a fairly weak field. Molinari’s odds should be monitored for a possible resurgence as we head into 2023.