The world’s top golfers will tee it off at the Golf Club of Houston this coming week for the 2015 edition of the Shell Houston Open. All eyes will be on Texans Jimmy Walker and Jordan Spieth after engaging in a thrilling final-round shootout at the Valero Texas Open just last week.
They might be the outright favorites to win this event but a host of other golfers are ready to steal their thunder in this final PGA Tour stop before the year’s opening major. Read on below as we list down three high-value sleeper picks for this prestigious tournament and while you’re at it, you can check out our complete preview of the 2015 Shell Houston Open here.
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Shell Houston Open Sleeper Picks and Predictions
Where: Golf Club of Houston, Humble, Texas
When: April 2-5, 2015
Matt Kuchar
[sc:Golf240banner ]Can Matt Kuchar finally get over the hump? The 36-year-old had a four-shot lead heading into the final round of the Houston Open last year but suffered a stunning collapse, losing in a playoff to eventual champion Matt Jones who holed a miraculous chip in the first playoff hole.
Kuchar will look to bounce back from that final-round meltdown and chances are he will be able to do so this coming week. He has cracked the top-10 in his last three visits to the Golf Club of Houston and he has been playing some sublime golf this season. He has finished in the top 3 already twice this year, ending up tied for third at the Sony Open and tied for second at the Humana Challenge.
Kuchar is 14th in the PGA Tour in scoring this season, averaging 70.123 strokes per round. With his familiarity with the golf course and the form that he is in right now, look for Kuchar to get some low scores and be in contention once again this weekend.
Hunter Mahan
2015 has been a rough year thus far for Hunter Mahan, who has yet to finish in the top 10 in his first six PGA Tour events. In fact, his best finish this year came in his opening tour event in January when he finished in a tie for 17th at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Since then, he has only cracked the top 20 once, finishing tied for 20th at the Northern Trust Open. But if there’s one tournament that can turn around Mahan’s fortunes, it’s got to be the Houston Open. He has already won this event once before, grabbing the championship back in 2011. He shot a 16-under-par total of 272, beating Carl Pettersson by one shot.
There are some signs that his game is slowly rounding into form. After shooting a whopping 14-over-par total at the WGC-Cadillac Championship earlier this month, Mahan shot a two-under-par total of 286 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to finish in a tie for 57th. Given his previous success in Houston, look for Mahan to be in the hunt once again come Sunday afternoon.
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J.B. Holmes
One golfer who’s overdue for a tournament victory this season is J.B. Holmes. The 32-year-old has finished second already twice this year, grabbing runner-up finishes at the Farmers Insurance Open and the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Key to Holmes’ success this season has been his excellent driving. He is 11th in the PGA Tour in driving distance, averaging 304.3 yards per drive. That tremendous length off the tee will be a valuable asset for Holmes in tackling the long 7,441 yard, par-72 course.
He has also come close to winning the Houston Open before, losing in a playoff to Paul Casey back in 2009. He is a good bet to go one better this time around and grab his fourth career PGA Tour win this week.
