One of the biggest PGA Tour stories this season has been the return of players from LIV Golf, with the highest-profile player being Brooks Koepka. Koepka returned to the Tour this year after four seasons with LIV, a move that was shocking at the time. He has had a solid start to the year as well and continues to add to his pre-Masters schedule, with him headed to the Texas Children's Houston Open.
On Tuesday, Brooks Koepka committed to play in the Texas Children's Houston Open. This will be Koepka's sixth event before The Masters. The event, hosted by Houston's Memorial Park Golf Course, will take place between March 26 and 29, two weeks before The Masters.
It will also see the defending champion, Min Woo Lee, in attendance. Another group of PGA Tour golfers that will help make the event star-studded includes Gary Woodland, Si Woo Kim, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im, Chris Gotterup, and Will Zalatoris.
The world's best golfer, Scottie Scheffler, has been a regular at the Texas Children's Houston Open, finishing T2nd in three of four consecutive starts to date. Still, he has not yet confirmed whether he will participate in the event.
The competition for Koepka in Houston will provide him with a massive opportunity to test himself before Augusta. It is also something he was not able to do as well when he was with LIV.
In 2023, 2024, and 2025, Koepka played five competitive tournaments before heading to Augusta, whereas this will be the first season since 2022, when he teed it up eight times, that he appears in six or more.
There was significant fanfare over Koepka's return, but so far his season has been inconsistent, with some good golf but also bad rounds. He narrowly made the cut at Torrey Pines after speaking of his anxiety over the reception he would receive from fans. Still, Koepka did not perform as hoped in his next PGA Tour appearance when he missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Another issue for Koepka was his putting once again.
