2025 Houston Open leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler opens in contention making final start before Masters

Rainy, windy conditions were the story of the day in the opening round of the 2025 Houston Open as players struggled to score around Memorial Park Golf Course. Handling the on-and-off rain clouds and an annoying breeze most effectively were a group of four players, including Taylor Pendrith and Keith Mitchell, who rose to the top of the leaderboard thanks to first-round 65s.

While four names stand tied atop the leaderboard, it is Scottie Scheffler who is atop most minds. Slowly but surely playing his way back into form following an offseason hand injury, Scheffler sauntered around the par 70 in a bogey-free fashion on Thursday and finds himself two off the early pace at 3 under.

“I felt like I started to play a little bit better on the back nine,” Scheffler said. “The first nine, I was kind of getting it around a little bit, but still posted a score today. Conditions were pretty tough out there today with the rain and the wind, so overall nice to keep a clean card.”

Scheffler’s 67 represents his third bogey-free effort of the season, but as he mentioned, it was not without some stress. He missed four out of five greens in regulation from Nos. 7-11 and was forced to convert par efforts from both 6 feet and 13 feet to remain in red figures.

The par putts turned into birdie opportunities on his second nine, and Scheffler cashed in his fair share. The native Texan tacked on back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13-14 from 20 feet and 37 feet, respectively, to shoot up the leaderboard amid some of the most difficult conditions of the entire round.

While much has been made of the status of Scheffler’s game these last couple months, it is easy to forgot this week in Houston represents just his sixth start of the season. In his sixth start of 2024, Scheffler notched his first victory of what turned out to be a historic year. If he plays like he did on Thursday across the next three days, he may well replicate that cadence and more fuel to the fire in his final start before his Masters defense.

“I’m always hoping there’s some good golf around the corner, but I think today I did a good job. Keeping a clean card is always really nice, and [I] posted a solid number,” Scheffler said. “Obviously, I think in every round you can always feel like you can do a little bit more out there, but overall, 3 under, bogey free is a good solid start to the week.”

Leaders

T1. Alejandro Tosti, Ryan Gerard, Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith (-5)

There is just something about Memorial Park that speaks to Tosti. The fiery Argentinian nearly crossed the finish line in 2024 and returned wanting more in the early parts of the 2025 tournament thanks to a sensational bogey-free effort on Thursday. Tosti ranked third from tee to green and second in strokes gained off the tee following a string of three straight missed cuts.

Tosti understands how monumental this weekend could be. He had to regain his PGA Tour playing privileges through Q-School last season and finds himself outside the top 130 in the FedEx Cup standings. With only 100 full-time cards up for grabs, Tosti’s week in Houston has the potential to propel his career forward and right a wrong from last year.

“A lot of emotions,” Tosti said when asked about his runner-up finish last season. “I mean, first time contending in a PGA Tour tournament and ending in that bitter way, it wasn’t really good. It just crazy to see that one shot can change your career … or the year at least. I reflecting at the end of the year, that one shot ended up costing me getting in majors and elevated events, my card for two years, and at the end of the year, I ended up losing my card. It’s crazy how one shot can change everything.”

Other contenders

T5. Jackson Suber, Trey Mullinax, Mac Meissner, Min Woo Lee, Sam Ryder, Victor Perez, Rasmus Højgaard, Eric Cole (-4)
T13. Ryo Hisatsune, Jesper Svensson, Adam Svensson, Scottie Scheffler, Taylor Dickson (-3)

In addition to Scheffler, there is a nice international contingent making up the chasing pack. It is spearheaded by Lee, who held a share of the 36-hole lead at The Players Championship before back tracking over the week en route to a T20 finish. The Australian had originally planned for that to be his final start before the Masters, but a last-minute decision saw him add Houston to the schedule. It is proving to be a wise decision as he carded seven birdies on Thursday and holds in position to contend once again.

“Really solid,” Lee said about The Players. “Didn’t think I had the full four rounds there most weeks, but I managed to, you know, have some top 20s. Obviously you’d like to finish high up, but the consistency and the overall solidness is getting better. 

“It’s something I kind of struggled with for pretty much my whole golfing pro career, so it’s quite nice to the ball kind of going where you’re looking. And yeah, hopefully one day I can be like Viktor [Hovland] and somehow seem bad but the ball goes straight. Try and put four rounds together and yeah, it was a learning curve Sunday and Saturday at The Players.”

Rory McIlroy’s march to Augusta National

In his last start before his latest attempt at completing the career grand slam, McIlroy opened with an even-par 70. He did so while juggling a couple added variables he typically does not as his first competitive stroll around Memorial Park featured heavy rain in the early stages. 

The conditions clearly had an effect on him as McIlroy missed four straight greens in the beginning of his round and dropped to 1 over. He scrambled well to keep his head above water, but short misses on the greens offset a steady improvement with his ball striking and hindered his chances of finishing in red figures. He looked as strong as ever from tee to green but lost two strokes to the field with the putter in hand.

“A little pedestrian, I guess, a good way to describe it,” McIlroy said. “We sort of had to deal with those conditions early on — rainy and not too pleasant to play in. Made a few par saves early on that I needed to, and then had quite a few chances on the second nine there that I didn’t convert. Sort of a tale of two halves — felt like I was scrambling for the most part on the first nine and then felt like I left a couple out there on the last nine.”

2025 Houston Open updated odds, picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Scottie Scheffler: 3-1
• Taylor Pendrith: 10-1
• Keith Mitchell: 14-1
• Min Woo Lee: 14-1
• Rory McIlroy: 18-1
• Ryan Gerard: 22-1

The ugly weather will carry into Friday, and Scheffler surely looked up to the task on Thursday. The world No. 1 was the selection at the onset of the tournament, and he remains the top option after 18 holes of action. Højgaard at 30-1 and only one back would be my second pick, however, as the smooth swinging Dane was able to sign for a 66 without his best ball striking.