HOUSTON, Texas – After spending the last four weeks crisscrossing the Sunshine State, the PGA Tour packed its bags and headed west, across the Gulf Coast to the Lone Star State, specifically to Houston for the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open.
This was the first time the Houston Open returned to a spring date at the Memorial Park Golf Course since 2018. The Open was not held in 2023 due to the PGA Tour changing back to a calendar year schedule in 2024.
The total 2024 Houston Open purse was $9.1 million, with the winner collecting $1.638 million and 500 FedEx Cup points. The champion also receives an invite to the 2024 Masters, if not already qualified.
Houston Open History
The Houston Open was first played in 1946 with its wall of champions including icons such as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Payne Stewart and Texas native Byron Nelson.
The tournament has always been contested in the Houston area but has bounced around between different venues with The Woodlands (1975-2002), and The Golf Club of Houston (2003-2019) being the mainstays in the modern era. In 2020, it moved to a renovated and restored Memorial Park Golf Course, which hosted the tournament for the first time in 1947 and again from 1951-1963.
Houston Open Course
Memorial Park, a municipal golf course near downtown Houston, was awarded the Houston Open starting in 2020. The golf course underwent a $15 million transformation that was completed in late 2019.
The Astros Golf Foundation raised the money for the project and commissioned architect Tom Doak and player consultant Brooks Koepka to totally redesign the entire 18 holes.
The current layout features a par 70 7,292-yard design with five par 5s, including a risk-reward 16th hole with a large man-made collection pond guarding the entire front. This addition, coupled with the nearly-impossible-to-hold 15th green, made the home stretch a “fun to watch” finish amid a tightly contested tournament.
Round 1
Wilson Furr had a strong finish to shoot a 6-under 64 and tie Taylor Moore for the lead after the opening round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Furr, a PGA Tour rookie, started out slowly on the back nine before finding his groove on the front. He birdied No. 3, holed out from the 5th fairway for an eagle-2 and closed his round birdie-birdie, highlighted by a lengthy at the par-3 9th hole.
“It’s a dream come true” to be on the PGA Tour, Furr said. “Just being surrounded by the best golfers in the world, it’s kind of inspiring day to day, can’t ask for a better job than that…”
Moore recovered from an opening-hole bogey by chipping in for eagle at the par-5 3rd hole. He added five more birdies to close on 6-under 64. The winner of the 2023 Valspar Championship is in good position to contend for his second career win.
Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler began his quest for three wins in three starts by shooting a 5-under 65. He was tied for third alongside Davis Riley and Joe Highsmith.
Tony Finau, the defending (2022) Houston Open Champion, opened with a 1-under 69.
Round 1: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 1)
1. Wilson Furr -6 (64)
1. Taylor Moore -6 (64)
3. Joe Highsmith -5 (65)
3. Davis Riley -5 (65)
3. Scottie Scheffler -5 (65)
Round 2
Tony Finau shifted gears towards the end of his second round to post 8-under 62, good for the 36-hole lead at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Starting his second day on the back nine at Memorial Park, Finau reeled off three birdies to turn on 32. After a bogey at the No. 1 hole (his 10th), he proceeded to roll in birdies on Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 7 before chipping in for an eagle at the par-5 8th to post 5-under 30 and reach 9 under for the tournament.
The rookie, Alejandro Tosti, started his round with birdies on Nos. 12, 16, and 1, before dropping back with consecutive bogeys on the 3rd and 4th holes. He birdied the 6th to right the ship before draining a long putt on the 9th for a closing birdie to post 67, leaving him alone in 2nd place at 7-under par.
Thomas Detry shot a 64 to secure the solo third spot.
A double bogey on the par 4 18th hole dropped Scottie Scheffler (70) to the 4th position at 5 under, alongside Taylor Moore (71), Chad Ramey (66), Akshay Bhatia (68), Joe Highsmith (70) and Stephan Jaeger (66).
With only 10 players in the OWGR’s top 50 in the Houston Open field, notable names to miss the cut at 1 over included Jason Day (+2), Padraig Harrington (+4) and Luke List (+5).
Round 2: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 2)
1. Tony Finau -9 (-8)
2. Alejandro Tosti -7 (-3)
3. Thomas Detry -6 (-6)
4. 6 players tied at -5.
Round 3
Scottie Scheffler will have a chance at history on Sunday while the other four players tied for the lead could earn their first PGA Tour win.
With 18 holes remaining, five players were tied for the lead at 9 under.
The players tore up the front nine early on a cloudy Saturday, but the back nine fought back, including the shortest hole (par 3 15th) on the course.
Leaders included Scheffler, who had a roller coaster ride through the back nine with four birdies, one bogey, and a double (on the par 3 15th), en route to a 66.
Joining the world No. 1 atop the leaderboard in Houston were David Skinns (65), Stephan Jaeger (66), Thomas Detry (67) and Alejandro Tosti (68).
Round 3: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Rd 3)
1. David Skinns -9 (-5)
1. Stephan Jaeger -9 (-4)
1. Scottie Scheffler -9 (-4)
1. Thomas Detry -9 (-3)
1. Alejandro Tosti -9 (-2)
Final Round
The Houston Open leaderboard was dynamic on Sunday, as players seemingly changed places just about every minute with no one able to stay on top for very long.
Peter Malnati (last week’s Valspar Champion) did manage to grab himself the spotlight for a very brief moment when he aced the 223-yard, par-3 7th hole.
As the last threesome headed to the 16th green, Stephan Jaeger (67) and Alejandro Tosti (68) were tied at the top of the leaderboard at 12 under with five more players tied on 11 under, including Scottie Scheffler (68).
Tony Finau was the leader in the clubhouse at 11-under par.
Tosti bogeyed the 18th to drop out of the lead, while Jaeger’s tee shot was sitting in the middle of the 18th fairway.
Jaeger had the first putt for birdie on the 18th hole to clinch victory but missed to the right. He tapped in for par to finish 12 under. Scheffler, who was 11 under, had about a six-footer for birdie to send the match into extra holes. He missed, handing the title to Jaeger.
Final Round: Top 5
Pos-Player-Score (Final Rd)
1. Stephan Jaeger -12 (-3)
2. Tony Finau -11 (-4)
2. Taylor Moore -11 (-3)
2. Alejandro Tosti -11 (-2)
2. Scottie Scheffler -11 (-2)
2. Thomas Detry -11 (-2)
The Wrap Up
The winner of the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open was Stephan Jaeger at 12-under par. The 34-year-old German native received the Texas Children’s Houston Open trophy, a check for $1.638 million, and 500 FedEx Cup points.
Jaeger is now fully exempt thru the 2026 PGA Tour season and exempt into the remaining Signature Events in 2024, as well as the Masters and PGA Championship, among other tournaments.
NBC reporter Damon Hack caught up with Jaeger as he was walking off the green, and asked, “Your first win on the PGA Tour, you’re 34 years of age and you just held off the best player in the world. What did it take for you to scale this mountain today?”
Jaeger replied, “Yeah, you know, he’s been playing some unbelievable golf. I played the Arnold Palmer and The Players, obviously with him, and he’s such a great dude as well. So, it was such a blast the last couple days to kind of fight, and you just know, that he’s going to have some good stuff.
“I just kind of try to stay within myself and try to make some putts and make some birdies. Birdies kind of alluded me on the back nine there but this golf course, you know, plays a little difficult, especially if you’re running around the lead. There’s just so much trouble and I’m super happy obviously with the day.”
Final Money
Pos-Player-Money
1. Stephan Jaeger – $1.638m
2. Tony Finau – $554k
2. Taylor Moore – $554k
2. Alejandro Tosti – $554k
2. Scottie Scheffler – $554k
2. Thomas Detry – $554k
