Shane Lowry Aims to Regain Form at Houston Open

Shane Lowry seeks to regain form at Memorial Park during the Houston Open. He arrives after two missed cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players. Lowry is playing six weeks in seven as he prepares for the Masters in two weeks.

Séamus Power has different motivations. He gained entry after Bud Cauley withdrew. Power wants to strengthen his standing inside the FedEx Cup, where he sits 89th.

Motivations and recent form

Lowry had chances to win earlier this season in Dubai and at the Cognizant Classic. At the Cognizant Classic he fell short after two double-bogeys on holes 16 and 17 in the final round. That collapse contributed to difficult weeks that followed.

Power is not currently in the Masters field. A win this week would, however, provide an important exemption. He faces an opportunity to advance his bid to regain a full PGA Tour card.

Event details and course

The tournament is the Texas Children’s Houston Open in Houston, Texas. The purse is €8.5 million ($9.9 million). The winner’s share is €1.55 million ($1.78 million).

Memorial Park Golf Course measures 7,475 yards and plays to a par 70. The original design was by John Bredemus. Recent upgrades were led by Tom Doak with input from Brooks Koepka.

The back stretch is formidable. The par-5 16th plays 616 yards. Holes 16 and 17 sit around a lake and feature peninsula greens. The 18th is a 503-yard par 4 with three greenside bunkers.

Field composition and favourites

Scottie Scheffler withdrew at the start of the week. Rory McIlroy also opted not to play. Only Chris Gotterup remains from the world top-10.

Defending champion Min Woo Lee returns to Memorial Park. He beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and saw Rory McIlroy in contention last year. Lee holds the 72-hole record of 260 (-20) set in 2025.

Scottie Scheffler and Tony Finau share the course record at 62. Brooks Koepka, who helped shape the redesign, is also in the field. He seeks a PGA Tour win since returning from LIV Golf.

Irish entries and tee times

• Shane Lowry tees off in a group with Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler. They start off the 10th at 12.42pm Irish time.
• Séamus Power tees with Emilo Grillo and Trey Mullinax. Their group starts off the 10th at 5.42pm Irish time.

Betting and broadcast

Min Woo Lee leads the market at 10-1. Chris Gotterup is around 14-1. Brooks Koepka is priced near 22-1. Sahith Theegala is available each-way at 35s.

The event will be shown live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.30pm.

Other tour notes

On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire and Lauren Walsh look to bounce back after missed cuts at last week’s Founders Cup. Nelly Korda has her sister Jessica playing this week. Jessica returns to LPGA competition for the first time in three years.

This preview is published by Filmogaz.com. The Houston Open presents a final preparation week before the majors for many players.