Can an emotionally-charged Gary Woodland get the job done as odds-on favourite going into the final round of the Houston Open? Matt Cooper suggests maybe not.
Golf betting tips: Houston Open final round
1pt win Min Woo Lee at 25/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook)
1pt Sudarshan Yellamaraju & Stephan Jaeger to win three-balls at 5/1 (bet365, Paddy Power)
Tom Weiskopf, a golfer of great talent who never quite won as many titles as he perhaps should have done, once mused on the qualities required to be an elite golfer.
“To be that good you have to be the most arrogant, nasty, self-centred son of a bitch there is,” he told Golf Digest in 1991. “Isn’t Curtis (Strange) or (Nick) Faldo that way? And wasn’t Jack (Nicklaus) that way? Arnold (Palmer) was that way, but he had a better way of concealing it. (Ben) Hogan, (Sam) Snead, they were all that way.”
While Weiskopf was almost certainly correct, it is also surely the case that the very greatest are only subtly more self-centred than most tour professionals – certainly when compared to those of us watching who like a nice story. Time and time again we watch the finale of events in which, from an emotional perspective, one of the protagonists is quite clearly the most deserving winner – and yet the fella he is up against overlooks the sympathy vote and grabs the glory.
It’s a factor that is, of course, at play in the final round of the Texas Open as Gary Woodland takes on Nicolai Hojgaard in a top of the leaderboard duel.
Woodland, the 2019 US Open champion, leads at Memorial Park on 18-under with the Dane Hojgaard one shot behind but five blows clear of the defending champion Min Woo Lee and Ben Coley’s pre-tournament 33/1 pick Michael Thorbjornsen.
The leader, remember, underwent brain surgery in 2023 and revealed earlier this month that he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I can’t waste energy any more hiding this, and I’m blessed with a lot of support out here on the Tour,” he explained in a Golf Channel interview. “Everyone’s just been amazing. Every week I come out and everyone’s so excited and happy that I’m back. I hear that every week and I appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I’m dying, and I feel like I’m living a lie."
What in the past were mere details of an ordinary life – scorers walking behind him, galleries clapping – have become triggers for blurred vision and panic. Upon finishing rounds he has fled to the bathroom to cry.
It’s safe to say that everyone in golf will be supporting Woodland in his victory quest. If it happens, many will rush to social media to post well-meant notions of triumph righting the ship. Alas, such thoughts will almost certainly be naive and simplistic, but the win would nonetheless be welcome (just as being in this position in the first place is).
So imagine being Hojgaard. Crikey.
Woodland spoke of being lighter this month having opened up about his difficulties and he came into this tournament with good memories. He was T9 at the course in 2022, T21 in 2024 and closed with a 62 for second last year.
He changed the shafts in his irons ahead of the first round and has seen an immediate improvement in his approach play. He also worked profitably on his putting on the TPC Sawgrass practice green two weeks ago. And he was encouraged when finishing T14 at last week’s Valspar Championship.
He knows he is on the brink of something special, he can feel that the galleries and probably all but one golfer on the PGA Tour is pulling for him.
“I’ve just got to take a deep breath,” he said after the third round. “I’m here, I put myself in this position for a reason, so take a deep breath and maintain what I’m doing.”
Hojgaard has a double target. He’s chasing a first PGA Tour win but also needs to be in the world’s top 50 to land a late invitation to the Masters. He entered this week in 47th so he’s pretty much guaranteed that bonus.
“It would mean a lot,” he said of the prospect of winning. “That’s what we play for. I’m happy where the game is at.”
All neat and tidy stuff. No-one asked him about the prospect of becoming the pantomime villain. Is he nasty enough? Of course, it might not require that. If Woodland trips up it might be the case that Hojgaard just takes advantage.
The market has Woodland at 10/11 and the Dane 1/1, and it’s difficult to build a case of either representing value but the 25/1 available about MIN WOO LEE giving them a fright might do.
For one thing, he’s as short as 14/1 elsewhere. He’s also playing in the final group with the pacesetters. If they get stuck early on, the defending champion could pounce.
We’ll add a small three-ball double to the staking plan, starting with previous tournament winner STEPHAN JAEGER.
He closed last week with a 66 for T7 and his last three final rounds at this venue have been 67s. He’s up against Jhonattan Vegas who is yet to land a top 20 on the course and has struggled this year, and Bronson Burgoon who is on a run of six top 20s but they all came on the second tier.
Add SUDARSHAN YELLAMARAJU to maintain his run of form.
The Canadian was T17 in the Cognizant Classic and T5 at the Players Championship. He’s hungry and up against Paul Waring who is having a good week as he chases a lot of points on very few medical starts, and Sahith Theegala who is capable of low and high numbers. The double pays a touch over 5/1.
Posted at 10:15 BST on 29/03/26
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