Texas Children's Houston Open Golf Power Rankings: Scottie Scheffler a sudden withdrawal

The latest PGA TOUR power rankings from Dimers are in ahead of the Texas Children's Houston Open, the first of two back-to-back stops in the state along the PGA TOUR schedule.

The 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open tees it up at Memorial Park Golf Course, a venue stretching to 7,475 yards as just a par 70, the longest par-70 layout players will see all year, and it demands a power-first approach off the tee.

With wide fairways, minimal penalty for misses, and a thin rough, players can lean heavily on the driver as distance has consistently outweighed accuracy here, making this an ideal setup for bombers looking to fine-tune their game ahead of the Masters in a few weeks.

Memorial Park strips away traditional defenses like bunkers in favor of runoff areas and complex, segmented greens. These multi-dimensional greens average around 7,000 square feet but play smaller due to their contours, benefitting sharp iron play on approach, reflected in Dimers' golf predictions for the week.

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While Memorial Park offers some leniency around the greens and off the tee, converting opportunities is where the real challenge lies, and players with a good putter should be seen as a bonus. With five par 3s, just three par 5s, and limited water in play, this is a tee-to-green test that rewards complete ball-striking over short-game magic.

As a result, players who excel off the tee and on approach, particularly those with elite distance, should once again rise to the top in Houston as the TOUR makes its final push toward the season’s first major.

For model-backed picks to win, including high-probability plays, ladders, and longshot sleepers, check out our Texas Children's Houston Open Best Bets coming soon or our full golf tournament predictions.

Texas Children's Houston Open golf power rankings

These golf Power Rankings are built using three key data points, each weighted differently, and the result is a composite score that surfaces golfers who are not only playing the best golf right now, but are also statistically likely to be fighting for placements or a win on Sunday at Memorial Park.

7 of the golfers featured in our debut power rankings finished T13 or better, and last week saw three of our top 10 golfers finishing in that range, including the winner Matt Fitzpatrick, validating this three-source approach that combines Dimers golf predictions, our in-house Golf Rankings, and the official FedExCup standings to identify the players best positioned to contend.

#1 Scottie Scheffler - Scheffler's 29.3% win probability stands alone in a class of its own, roughly seven times higher than the second name on this list, and the world No. 1 arrives at Memorial Park having finished runner-up here in three of the past four years. He's also the course record holder at Memorial Park, having shot a 62 in round two in both 2021 and 2025 and could get back to his usual ceiling this week.

*Note: Scottie Scheffler has since withdrawn from the Texas Children's Houston Open

#2 Jake Knapp - Knapp sits atop the PGA Tour in scoring average this season and has one finish worse than 11th in six starts, a remarkable stretch of consistency for the 31-year-old. He missed the cut at THE PLAYERS and will be looking for a bounce-back at a course tailor-made for his power game and elite putting.

#3 Min Woo Lee - Lee returns to defend his title at Memorial Park, having made the cut in all three tournaments played in 2026 and nearly winning a second career title at Pebble Beach, where he finished tied for second. The defending champion knows this layout better than almost anyone and has the firepower to go back-to-back, something no one has done in Houston since Vijay Singh in 2004–05.

#4 Rickie Fowler - Fowler has been a model of consistency to start 2026, posting three top-25 finishes including T18 at The American Express and the WM Phoenix Open, and T19 at Pebble Beach. The Memorial Park layout, wide, long, and designed to reward ball-strikers, is one of the better fits on the calendar for a player who has been building toward a big result.

#5 Chris Gotterup - The hottest player on TOUR this season, Gotterup won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and then claimed the WM Phoenix Open in a sudden-death playoff over Hideki Matsuyama, making him the only two-time winner in 2026. His power is ideally suited to Memorial Park's wide corridors.

#6 Sam Burns - Burns and his FedExCup #35 ranking look like a season of steady point accumulation without breaking through, but it's more like peaks and valleys, with a T6 and T13 among three missed cuts and a T27. He will look to the long, birdie-friendly layout at Memorial Park as a chance to post a signature result before Augusta.

#7 Adam Scott - Scott came into the season off a down 2025 and has shown the 45-year-old still has plenty of game. Four of his 14 career wins have come in the state of Texas and his long-iron precision remains one of the best tools for navigating Memorial Park's demanding approach shots.

#8 Harry Hall - Hall has been a rollercoaster this season with a pair of Top 10s, two Top 25s and a trio of missed cuts, but shows plenty of upside in his putting and around-the-green game to put him on the map.

#9 Ryan Gerard - Gerard has emerged as one of the most exciting young players in the world after finishing second at the Sony Open behind Gotterup, then securing his first Masters invitation with a run that has moved him toward the top 30 in the world. One of the top five ball-strikers in 2026, his accuracy off the tee is a significant weapon at a course where power and precision coexist.

#10 Kurt Kitayama - Kitayama is a reliable, under-the-radar presence at Memorial Park. He won the 3M Open last year and has continued to rack up FedExCup points with the efficiency of a veteran. One of the best ball-strikers in the field.

#11 Shane Lowry - Lowry had a surprising close call at the Cognizant Classic and, missing the cut twice since his opening run of T8, T24 and T2, looking to get back to his season-opening form before the Masters arrives.

#12 Patrick Rodgers - Rodgers has been knocking on the door of a maiden Tour victory for years, and his third-place finish at the Sony Open earlier this season is a reminder that he has the game to contend when everything clicks.

#13 Nicolai Hojgaard - Hojgaard hasn't finished worse than T27 at any event this season outside of last week's Valspar, with a T3 at the WM Phoenix Open and a T6 at the Cognizant Classic among his highlights. He can overpower Memorial Park with power, making him an optimal sleeper candidate outside the top 10.

#14 Sahith Theegala - Theegala sneaks into the top 15 thanks largely to his FedExCup #22 ranking, which signals a more productive season than his modest 1.0% win probability suggests the oddsmakers believe. He's a creative shotmaker who can get hot quickly and has shown the ability to post low numbers in bunches.

#15 Harris English -  English rounds out the top 15 with a 2.3% win probability that puts him in a tier of midrange contenders. His FedExCup ranking of #57 is the weakest credential on this list, but Memorial Park's generous landing areas favor a player who ranks Top 20 off the tee.

The PGA TOUR heads to Texas for a two-week stretch. ⛳️

Scottie Scheffler leads the field with a few edges on our other top contenders to pick up a Top 20 finish. pic.twitter.com/ys9r0MlUaJ

— Dimers (@DimersCom) March 24, 2026

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