2015 Shell Houston Open Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup with your 2015 Shell Houston Open betting odds courtesy of Sportsbook.ag. Golf Club of Houston – Humble, TX
Shell Houston Open
Golf Club of Houston – Humble, TX
Sportsbook.ag Odds to Win Tournament
The PGA stays in Texas with the Shell Houston Open this week, the final tournament leading up to the Masters. The par-72, 7,441-yard course attempts to replicate Augusta as best as it can since it was given this notch in the schedule, but solid play here doesn’t necessarily mean a strong showing in the chase for the “Green Jacket.” Four of the top-10 players from the Official World Golf Rankings will be teeing it off this week, with Henrik Stenson leading the charge along with Texan Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Jimmy Walker. Another eight players from the top-25 will also be in the field as Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Victor Dubuisson are a few of those names that are coming from overseas.
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Last week, the aforementioned Jimmy Walker took the trophy in San Antonio, a course 30 minutes from his home, and in the process became the first multiple winner of the year while also breaking a curse of leaders going into Sunday losing, which lasted more than two months.
It is going to be tough for this year’s event to be much better than what we saw last year as Aussie Matt Jones came from six shots down on Sunday and shot a 66, including a very long birdie putt on 18, to force a playoff. He then went on to go pin hunting with a chip-in birdie on the same hole, downing Matt Kuchar with the tremendous shot. His score of 15-under-par was the worst winning mark since 2010 as there is typically plenty of scoring here with the victor being in double-digits under par in each installment since 1999. Not many have dominated this course recently and there are no golfers in the field that have multiple wins here.
Let’s take a look over a few names who could distance themselves from the rest of the field once Sunday afternoon rolls around.
Matt Kuchar: (+1500) Kuchar had a very disappointing loss here last season but has still been dominant at this course with a top-eight finish in each of his past three starts. He hit an amazing 86.1% of GIR last year before throwing up a 72 on Sunday and losing in the playoff. Overall he is 34-under-par in those three events and shot 70 or better in 10-of-12 rounds.
He already has seven top-25s in his nine outings this year and is coming off a solid 69 on Sunday to finish 15th in San Antonio. His short game has been great this year with 0.616 strokes gained putting (15th on tour), a scrambling percentage of 68.1% (5th on tour) and a sand save percentage of 72.4% (best on tour); all of which will be vital in Houston as he goes for his eighth career PGA win
Louis Oosthuizen: (+2900) Oosthuizen has played a mere four events on the PGA tour thus far on the season, making 3-of-4 cuts with a top-14 finish each time. The former Open Championship winner may have missed the cut here last year with a 72-73 on the first two days, but he rattled off three consecutive top-16 showings in his previous three visits with his best showing coming in 2012 as he ranked third after leading heading into Sunday, but coming up short with a final day 75. Look for the South African to do well once again on a course that fits him very well.
Lee Westwood: (+3000) Westwood is certainly not the player that he once was, winning just once on the European tour since mid-2012 and failing to get a victory on American soil since 2010, but he has come around of late with six consecutive made cuts to start off this season. He placed in the top-25 at each of those events as his 70.00 scoring average has him ranked 12th on tour. He has been a consistent finisher here as well and has done no worse than 30th when going back to 2010. His great putting (0.609 strokes gained putting (17th on tour) should keep his solid play here going once again this week.
Carlos Ortiz: (+8000) The rookies showed some impressive skills last week in San Antonio as he rebounded from an opening round 79 to make the cut and eventually finish with a one-over, 15th-place finish; his sixth top-25 placing of the year. He was also in the top-25 at Bay Hill and continues to show up with his long drive (297.0 yards per, 33rd on tour) from week-to-week. He parlays that length with a solid putting game (0.441 strokes gained putting, 34th on tour) and a top-50 ranking in sand save percentage (58.7%, 31st on tour) to be on his way to a first career PGA victory. Look out for this youngster as he gets more comfortable among his peers.
Brice Garnett: (+40000) Garnett has only two career top-10 finishes and one of them came here last season when he posted a score of eight-under and tied for seventh. He hit 76.4% of GIR and 69.6% of fairways in the solid showing and has done well this year with 67.4% of greens hit in regulation (55th) as he’s made the cut in 8-of-14 tourneys. This is certainly a big long shot of a pick, but Garnett plays on the weekend more often than not and could repeat with a second straight great performance when all is said and done in Houston.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
