After a windy, rainy opening round, players were greeted with ideal conditions Friday morning as the 2025 Houston Open continued. A soft Memorial Park course, lift-clean-and-place rules in effect and almost no wind in the morning hours created a green light for players, and no one took better advantage of great scoring conditions than Scottie Scheffler.
The world's No. 1 player started the day at 3 under, two back of the leaders, but surged to the top of the leaderboard by tying his own course record with an 8-under 62. (Tony Finau has also shot 62 twice at Memorial Park.) Scheffler made birdies on his first two holes (Nos. 10 and 11) and dialed it in all day from tee-to-green, hitting 9 of 13 fairways, finding 17 of 18 greens in regulation and pouring in 112 feet of putts on his way to a blemish-free round with eight birdies and 10 pars.
Through 36 holes, Scheffler has not made a bogey, and after some lean weeks with the putter to start the season, he finally matched up speed and line perfectly Friday. With the Masters just two weeks away, Scheffler certainly looks to be peaking at the right time. If he can keep building confidence with the flat stick over the weekend, he will head to Augusta National as the strong favorite to win a third green jacket, even with Rory McIlroy's early season surge.
While Scheffler was seizing control of the tournament, McIlroy was battling just to make the weekend. The soft conditions meant scoring was much better in the second round, and after an even-par 70 on Thursday, Rory had lots of work to do. It looked like he might follow Scheffler's lead and go low after two birdies across his first three holes, but McIlroy stalled out from there, unable to get hot with the putter.
After reaching the par-5 8th in two, the horn blew for storms in the area. When play resumed, McIlroy three-putted for par. He stayed stuck in first gear through the 14th hole sitting two shots off the projected cut line while standing on the 15th tee at 1 under for the round and tournament.
From that point, McIlroy went on a heater with birdies from 15-17, moving to 4 under and comfortably inside the cut line (which kept bouncing back and forth between 2 under and 3 under). McIlroy parred the 18th right as the round got suspended for darkness; he posted a 66 to ensure he plays 36 more holes, giving him a chance to build some momentum going into Augusta -- even if it's highly unlikely he can catch Scheffler from seven back this weekend.
The leader
1. Scottie Scheffler (-11)
Scheffler put on a masterclass Friday, and those 18 holes were all it took to quiet the "What's wrong with Scottie?!" murmurs that had been following him to start the season. That even being a topic of conversation for a guy who hasn't finished outside the top 25 in 2025 is a testament to the level of golf we've grown to expect him to play, but it was fair to wonder whether he had lost the magic with the putter that made him unstoppable around this time last year.
The greens at Memorial Park clearly suit his eye, and his first two birdie rolls of the day were a clear indication of his confidence with the putter. Chasing down Scheffler on a course he loves is going to require a Herculean effort from someone because he's not likely to come back to the field.
Contenders
T2. Taylor Pendrith, Min Woo Lee, Ryan Gerard (-10)
T5. Jackson Suber, Trey Mullinax, Nico Echavarria (-8)
Scheffler's brilliance Friday morning overshadowed Pendrith's round, but the Canadian put up his second straight 65 to keep touch with Scheffler going into the weekend. Echavarria, meanwhile, went out in 29 and had it to 9 under, needing just two pars to break the course record; instead, he splashed his drive in the water on the 17th just before play got called for darkness on Friday, returned on Saturday morning and made bogey on both 17 and 18 to slide back to 8 under with a 63.
Min Woo Lee and Ryan Gerard also had to come back to finish their second rounds Saturday morning due to the two-hour rain delay, but were able to carry their positive momentum into Saturday and move even further up the leaderboard to T2 at 10 under. Suber and Mullinax each backed up Thursday 66s with identical Friday scores as they hang around just a few back of Scheffler going to the weekend.
Cut line drama
While McIlroy didn't have to sweat Saturday morning, there are plenty of players who spent Friday night and Saturday morning stressed about whether they'll get to play the weekend. The top 65 and ties make it to the third round, and at the time play was suspended, 67 players were 3 under or better. However, four players at 3 under (another five at 4 under) had to come back on Saturday to finish their second rounds, while there were eight players at 2 under and seven at 1 under looking to move up.
The course remained soft in the morning and the winds stayed down, which kept the cut line at 3 under and saw 69 players make it to the weekend to play in threesomes off split tees. Some of the notables to miss the cut:
- J.J. Spaun
- Jacob Bridgeman
- Alex Smalley
- Joe Highsmith
- Si Woo Kim
- Nick Taylor
- Aaron Rai
2025 Houston Open updated odds, picks
- Scottie Scheffler (4-5)
- Min Woo Lee (13-2)
- Taylor Pendrith (7-1)
- Ryan Gerard (12-1)
- Nico Echavarria (35-1)
Scheffler being an odds-on favorite with a one-shot lead feels right. It's so hard to see someone catching him, but if you're going to look for someone who can, you have to pick a player you believe can pile up birdies because you can't expect Scheffler to help your cause. For that reason, Lee is probably the best option. Further down the board, Jackson Suber at 55-1 is playable given he's just three shots back. Still, it's hard to take anyone other than Scottie and feel confident.