Golf Glance: PGA Tour in Houston; 4 Battle for Charles Schwab Cup Title

Sam Burns hits his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson, Miss., on Oct 3, 2021. Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA Tour

Last Tournament: World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (Viktor Hovland)

This Week: Houston Open, Houston, Nov. 11–14

Course: Memorial Park Golf Course (Par 70, 7,412 yards)

Purse: $7.5M (Winner: $1.35M)

Defending Champion: Carlos Ortiz

FedEx Cup Leader: Sam Burns

How to Watch

TV: Thursday–Sunday, 1–4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel).

PGA Tour Live: Thursday–Friday, 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m. (Featured Groups)

Notes: Only two events remain in the 2021 PGA Tour calendar year.

Brooks Koepka had a hand in the $34 million redesign of Memorial Park Golf Course, which returned as a tour venue in 2020 for the first time in nearly six decades.

Sponsors exemptions include Koepka’s brother, Chase, along with Houston-area residents MJ Daffue and Shawn Stefani. Arizona State senior Cameron Sisk is also in the field as a sponsors exemption after winning the Maridoe Intercollegiate.

Ortiz finished runner-up last week and now seeks to become the first player to successfully defend a Houston Open title since Vijay Singh in 2004–05. Ortiz became the first Mexican player to win on the PGA Tour in 42 years.

The Houston Open sold 2,000 tickets per day last year as the first domestic event to allow spectators since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Best Bets

Burns (+1200 at DraftKings) won earlier this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship and has not finished lower than T21 in his past seven starts.

Texas native Scottie Scheffler (+1800) is coming off a solo fourth in Mexico. He finished T32 in this event last year.

Cameron Smith (+1800) has four top-10s in his past six events, including a T9 at The CJ Cup in his last start.

Sung-Jae Im (+2000) won two starts ago at the Shriners Children’s Open and backed it up with a T9 at The CJ Cup.

Matthew Wolff (+2500) was the 36-hole leader last week before posting a 74 on Saturday. He rebounded to close with a 64.

Brooks Koepka (+2800) is coming off a missed cut as he attempts to grind his way out of a slump. He did post a T5 here last year and is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 15.

Next Week: The RSM Classic, Sea Island, Ga., Nov. 18–21

Matthew Wolff of the United States plays his shot from the second tee plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on the El Camaleon course in Playa del Carmen, on Nov. 4, 2021. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

LPGA Tour

Last Tournament: BMW Ladies Championship (Jin Young Ko)

This Week: Pelican Women’s Championship, Belleair, Fla., Nov. 11–14

Course: Pelican Golf Club (Par 70, 6,353 yards)

Purse: $1.75M (Winner: $262,500)

Defending Champion: Sei Young Kim

Race to the CME Globe leader: Ko

How to Watch

TV: Thursday–Friday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday–Sunday, 7:30–10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel, tape delay)

Streaming: Thursday–Friday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. ET; Saturday–Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (NBC Sports App, golfchannel.com)

Notes: Kim won the inaugural event by three shots over Ally Ewing with a score of 14-under 266.

Nelly Korda leads the tour in 2021 money ($1.975M) and scoring average (69.074) but has been passed by Ko in the Race for the CME Globe and Rolex Player of the Year standings with only two events remaining.

Ko leads the tour with four wins this year as she enters with consecutive victories and three in her past five events.

Lexi Thompson leads the tour in greens in regulation at 78.4 percent.

Next Week: CME Group Tour Championship, Naples, Fla., Nov. 18-21

Nelly Korda hits a tee shot on the 14th hole during the final round of the Meijer LPA Classic golf tournament, in Grand Rapids, Mich., on June 20, 2021. Al Goldis/AP Photo

Champions Tour

Last Tournament: TimberTech Championship (Steven Alker)

This Week: Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix, Ariz., Nov. 11–14

Course: Phoenix Country Club (Par 71, 6,853 yards)

Purse: $2.5M

Defending Champion: Kevin Sutherland

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Bernhard Langer

TV: Thursday–Sunday, 4–6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Notes: The top 30 players in the standings advanced to the season-ending event.

However, only Langer, Jim Furyk, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els have a chance to win the Charles Schwab Cup.

With 880,000 points on the line, only Langer and Furyk can guarantee the title with a win this week.

The other two would need to win along with Langer finishing at least T6 or worse.

Among various scenarios, Langer can also claim the title with a solo second as long as Furyk does not win.

Next Tournament: PNC Championship, Orlando, Dec. 17-19

Jim Furyk watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 7, 2014. Mike Groll/AP Photo