SportsLine's model simulated the Texas Children's Houston Open 2026 10,000 times and revealed its surprising PGA picks this week after Scottie Scheffler withdrew on Tuesday
By Daniel Lewis Mar 24, 2026 at 12:48 pm ET • 3 min read 
Imagn Images A two-week stop in Texas leads into the Masters, and up first is the 2026 Houston Open beginning on Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course. Texas native Scottie Scheffler originally planned to be in the 2026 Houston Open field, but he withdrew on Tuesday. The latest 2026 Houston Open odds now list defending champion Min Woo Lee as the new favorite at +1300 after he opened at +2200.
Other Houston Open contenders include Chris Gotterup (+1800), Jake Knapp (+2000), Sam Burns (+2200) and Brooks Koepka (+2200), who has just one top-10 finish this season in five tournaments since returning to the PGA. Before locking in any 2026 Houston Open picks, entering any Houston Open one and done contests, or making any PGA DFS picks on sites like FanDuel or DraftKings, be sure to see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 16 majors entering the weekend, including the 2025 Masters -- its fourth Masters in a row -- as well as last year's PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites.
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Now that the 2026 Houston Open field is locked in, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard, which you can use for PGA picks, one and done contests or Houston Open DFS lineups.
2026 Houston Open predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Houston Open 2026: Lee, the defending champion and the favorite, barely cracks the top 5. He's a golfer to fade this week. The 27-year-old Australian has had a strong season, but his last outing at The Players Championship was more of a struggle. He shot 70 or higher in each round, including a fourth-round 74 as he finished T32. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: The model says Nicolai Hojgaard is a top-three favorite this week despite his longer odds at +2500. He had a tough weekend at the Valspar Championship last week, but hasn't finished worst than T27 at any other event this season. That includes a T3 at the WM Phoenix Open and a T6 at the Cognizant Classic. See who else to pick here.
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How to make 2026 Houston Open picks
The model is also targeting three other golfers going off at +4000 or higher to make a strong run, including a massive +6000 longshot. You can only see the model's picks here.
Who will win the 2026 Houston Open, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Houston Open odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 16 golf majors, including three in 2025.
2026 Houston Open odds, favorites
Get full 2026 Houston Open picks, best bets and predictions here. (odds via FanDuel and subject to change)
Min Woo Lee +1300 Chris Gotterup +1800 Jake Knapp +2000 Sam Burns +2200 Brooks Koepka +2200 Nicolai Højgaard +2500 Marco Penge +2700 Michael Thorbjornsen +2700 Kurt Kitayama +2700 Rickie Fowler +3000 Ben Griffin +3300 Ryan Gerard +3300 Harris English +3500 Adam Scott +4000 Pierceson Coody +4000 Rasmus Højgaard +4000 Shane Lowry +4000 Keith Mitchell +4000 Wyndham Clark +4000 Harry Hall +4000 Taylor Pendrith +4500 Sahith Theegala +4500 Samuel Stevens +4500 Jason Day +5000 Ryan Fox +6000 Alex Smalley +6000 Ricky Castillo +6000 Jordan Smith +6000 Tony Finau +6000 Stephan Jaeger +6000 Kristoffer Reitan +6500 Sudarshan Yellamaraju +6500 Max Greyserman +6500 Davis Thompson +6500 Mac Meissner +7000 Sungjae Im +7000 Aaron Rai +7000 Patrick Rodgers +7000 Nico Echavarria +8000 Gary Woodland +8000 Will Zalatoris +8000 Mackenzie Hughes +8000
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