Golf Glance: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy collide in Houston
March 26 - Field Level Media's Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Valspar Championship (Viktor Hovland)
THIS WEEK: Texas Children's Houston Open, March 27-30
Course: Memorial Park Golf Course (Par 70, 7,475 Yards)
Purse: $9.5M (Winner: $1.71M)
Defending Champion: Stephan Jaeger
FedExCup leader: Rory McIlroy
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. ET
X: @TCHouOpen
NOTES: Memorial Park will play host to the event for the fifth consecutive year. ... The field includes 20 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. The top 50 players in the OWGR after this week who are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into next month's Masters. In the field this week are No. 52 Michael Kim, No. 53 Ben Griffin, No. 61 Eric Cole and No. 66 Si Woo Kim. ... Houston native Matthew Riedel will make his event debut as a PGA Tour rookie. It's his seventh start since earning his card with a T4 at last year's Q-School, with his best finish to date a T26 in Puerto Rico.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+350 at DraftKings) finished one shot off the pace here last year and is seeking his first victory of 2025. ... Rory McIlroy (+650) has already won twice in 2025, but is making his debut at Memorial Park. ... Tony Finau (+3000) won the event in 2022 and tied for second last year. ... Min Woo Lee (+3500). ... Stephan Jaeger (+4500) has already won at Memorial Park and has a T6 in Mexico and a T20 at The Players among his past four starts. ... Alex Smalley (+5500) has yet to win on tour, but has been knocking on the door with six T21 or better finishes in his past eight starts. The other two were MCs.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Valero Texas Open, San Antonio, Texas, April 3-6
LPGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Blue Bay LPGA (Rio Takeda)
THIS WEEK: Ford Championship, Chandler, Ariz., March 27-30
Course: Whirlwind Golf Club, Cattail Course (Par 72, 6,661 Yards)
Purse: $2.25M (Winner: $337,500)
Defending Champion: Nelly Korda
Race to the CME Globe leader: A Lim Kim
HOW TO WATCH:
TV/Streaming: Thursday-Friday: 6-7 p.m. ET (NBC Digital), 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Digital); Saturday-Sunday: 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Digital)
X: @LPGA
NOTES: The 144-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. ... All five winners on tour this year are in the field. ... Last year's inaugural edition of the event was contested at Seville Golf and Country Club. Whirlwind previously played host to a Korn Ferry Tour event from 2001-05. ... Korda has a pair of top-10 finishes in two starts this year, including a runner-up at the Tournament of Champions. She has six consecutive top-7 finishes dating back to last season. ... Gabby Barker, the first female Native American professional golfer, received a sponsor invitation this week along with seven-year LPGA Tour veteran Maria Fassi.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: T-Mobile Match Play, Las Vegas, April 2-6
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
LAST TOURNAMENT: Hoag Classic (Miguel Angel Jimenez)
THIS WEEK: The Galleri Classic, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Course: Mission Hills Country Club (Par 72, 7,165 Yards)
Purse: $2.2M (Winner: $330,000)
Defending Champion: Retief Goosen
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Jimenez
HOW TO WATCH:
TV: Friday: 10 p.m.-1 a.m. ET (Golf Channel - Tape Delay); Saturday-Sunday: 3-6 p.m. (GC)
X: @GalleriClassic
NOTES: The 54-hole event features a 79-player field with a combined 310 PGA Tour titles. ... Goosen is one of seven World Golf Hall of Fame members in the field. He is joined by Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh. ... David Toms set the tournament scoring record of 200 while winning the inaugural event two years ago.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational, Boca Raton, Fla., April 4-6
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
LAST TOURNAMENT: Singapore (Individual: Joaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF
Season Leaders: Individual: Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC
NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Miami, April 4-6
--Field Level Media
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
PGA Tour star was tackled to ground by security guard at Canadian Open
Adam Hadwin was rugby tackled by a security guard at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, moments after Nick Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt to win the tournament Adam Hadwin was back in the mix at this year's Canadian Open, ready to leave behind a rather embarrassing moment from 2023's tournament that still lingers in the minds of golf fans. The Moose Jaw-born star notched a commendable T11 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club that year alongside Harry Higgs, Jonathan Byrd, Harrison Endycott and Doug Ghim. But when close friend and fellow countryman Nick Taylor ended a 69-year drought in terms of a Canadian winning the tournament, Hadwin was eager to join in the celebrations. The drama reached its peak when Taylor holed an incredible 72-foot eagle putt during a play-off on the 18th, dashing Tommy Fleetwood's hopes of clinching his maiden PGA Tour title. But the action didn't stop there. As Hadwin made a beeline to congratulate Taylor, he found himself unexpectedly tackled by an overzealous security guard unaware of his identity. Footage of Hadwin being floored just after spraying the winner with bubbly took social media by storm. Taylor's caddie, Dave Markle, could be seen shouting "hey" in astonishment as he recognised Hadwin amidst the commotion. Reminiscing about the chaotic celebration, Hadwin told media: "The moment itself and what Nick accomplished was amazing. "I definitely did not want to be a part of what transpired after that, but it has been a lot of fun reading through and seeing what people had to say," reports the Mirror US. He added: "Honestly, I don't have any memory of what took place. I blacked out there for 15-20 seconds. "At the time there was so much adrenaline running through, I don't think I would feel anything. I'm glad everything worked out. We can have a good laugh about it now. Just a big misunderstanding." The golfer emerged relatively unscathed from the unusual event and, in the spirit of humour, he even turned a snapshot of himself being body-slammed into his profile picture and header on X (formerly known as Twitter). With a touch of wit, he also shared the image with his feed, writing: "Put in the Louvre." On the flip side, the security guard involved has also recounted the ordeal. Speaking to TSN last year with anonymity, he said: "I was on the other side of Nick and his caddie which meant I had to come around him. "There were a lot of people moving and I saw this person heading directly towards Nick. I saw it as if it was in slow motion, this guy coming towards Nick with a bottle and no credentials." The guard further described it as a "soft takedown" and pointed out that Hadwin's feet "never left the ground," before explaining that it was Markle who told him the error of his ways. He added: "Bryan Crawford [RBC Canadian Open tournament director] came over and it was over quickly. We got up and laughed, said sorry to each other, and it was all over."
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Major statement from US Open after Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau revelation
The US Open is renowned for its brutal conditions, and this year's edition at Oakmont will be no different with the USGA setting up the course to be an even tougher test US Open hopefuls will face a formidable challenge at Oakmont next week, with the United States Golf Association (USGA) unveiling its plans for the greens. And they're promising to make things tough on the game's very best. The US Open is notorious for its punishing rough and slick greens, that make low scoring a rare feat for the world's elite. It's the most difficult Major to score low. Now this year the USGA are seemingly upping the ante at Oakmont, where the 125th edition of the tournament kicks off on Thursday. The Pennsylvania course that led to the invention of the stimpmeter – a device measuring green speeds – 90 years ago, has long been a benchmark for challenging play, with the USGA traditionally setting green speeds well above the PGA Tour average of 10-12. Next week, however, players will be contending with greens so fast they're likened to glass. According to the Golf Channel's Todd Lewis, the USGA aims for them to run between 14.5 and 14.9 on the stimpmeter over the four days. And to further add to the difficulty, the rough at Oakmont has been described as "dense and uniformed at five inches," meaning players will be punished for any slight misjudgment in any part of their games. Certainly, it has some of the game's very best worried already. Both Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau have already made reconnaissance trips to acquaint themselves with Oakmont, where Angel Cabrera won in 2007 with a score of five-over-par. It is likely to be a similar score that wins here again. Reignign US Open champ DeChambeau has already given his fans a glimpse into the gruelling rough, documenting his practice round on his YouTube channel. He couldn't hide his shock at the sight of his ball nestled in the deep grass. "Oh my gosh," he said as he saw a flicker of his ball hidden in the jungle that lines the fairways and greens. "That is cooked beyond belief. That's more than half-baked there. It's burnt to a crisp. Oh my gosh." Despite the challenging conditions, the LIV Golf star wowed viewers by lofting the ball onto the green, although he was left with a daunting putt for par. DeChambeau didn't mince words on the difficulty he faced, informing his audience: "I've got nothing. That's what Oakmont does to you. That's some thick rough." Later in the video, he added: "This place ate my lunch today. Glad to get a little practice round in. The history of this place is amazing and what an honor to play." McIlroy tackled Oakmont on Monday, getting to grips with the course. He revealed just how difficult he found it to Golf Channel's Eamon Lynch. Lynch said McIlroy made a triple bogey at the par-four second despite hitting "three good shots." The Masters champion also had to pull out a 3-wood for the fiendishly long 298-yard par-three eighth hole, resulting in a bogey. Lynch also claimed McIlroy wasn't the only golfer to struggle with the challenging course, noting that 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott shot three-over-par for his front nine in practice, despite hitting every fairway. But those in charge at the US Open will be ramping up the difficulty no matter the pre-tournament struggles of golf's stars.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
PGA Tour is 'concerned' about Rory McIlroy's behavior since winning the Masters, golf insider claims
Rory McIlroy 's recent insistence on not talking to the media at tournaments has left the PGA Tour concerned, according to one high-profile golf insider. It has been a year to remember for the Northern Irishman already, with his Masters triumph completing his career Grand Slam after a decade of trying. Away from the course, though, McIlroy has butted heads with reporters after repeatedly refusing to speak to them between rounds. Speaking this week at the Canadian Open - which saw him fail to make the cut after a woeful first round - the world No 2 said: 'I've been beating this drum for a long time. 'If they want to make it mandatory, that's fine, but in our rules, it says that it's not, and until the day that that's maybe written into the regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time, and that's well within our rights.' McIlroy's decision has created negative headlines around the world and according to The Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard, it has left the PGA Tour concerned - given McIlroy is perhaps its biggest star. 'Until there is something concrete, until there is something mandatory in the PGA Tour regulations, Rory said this is just going to be the way of life on the PGA Tour in the media,' Ryan Lavner began on The Golf Channel podcast. 'Certainly, this is something that Rory has thought about,' Hoggard then replied. 'Certainly, this is something that the PGA Tour has thought about. 'And I can say, in conversations with the tour since this happened, I tend to be in agreement with those in the communications department that have the same concerns as you and I in the media have. When you have a player of Rory McIlroy's stature that skips all four days, it's not great. 'But the bigger issue here is that it sets a standard for every other player on the PGA Tour. The other 155 players at Quail Hollow were looking and saying to themselves… "Well, if that guy isn't going to do it, why in the world would I talk to the media after a round?" 'That is disturbing; that's concerning for all of us in the media. The flip side of that would be what you are alluding to. The idea that maybe, like most sports, maybe the PGA Tour should have a policy that demands players should have media availability after each round.' So far, the PGA Tour has not made any move to force its players to speak to the media, but the door remains open. McIlroy is due to play next week at the US Open, which begins at Quail Hollow on Thursday.
