2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open: Top Round 3 DraftKings Showdown Plays
We are on to the weekend at the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open. With Round 2 in the books, 75 players have advanced through the cut at -2 or better. With 36 holes of data at our disposal, we’ll adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 3 gets underway on Saturday. Conditions were far more benign on Friday, resulting in a much more score-friendly version of Memorial Park. We should expect the course to get firmer and more difficult as the week continues.
With a similar forecast in store for Saturday, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 3 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for Texas Children’s Houston Open DFS contests.
DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 3 Texas Children’s Houston Open Showdown Pillar Plays
At the 2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open, there is a particular focus on players who rate out well in Driving Distance, Par-5 Scoring and Proximity 200+, as the Par 5s present the greatest opportunity to card birdies-or-better, and this lengthy layout produces ample long iron approaches. Players who can find birdies on these difficult par 4s and par 5s offer the greatest upside for DraftKings Showdown scoring. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 3 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Min Woo Lee ($10,500)
Min Woo Lee was featured as a Round 2 staple Showdown play, and proceeded to climb to T4 on the leaderboard with a red-hot -7 showing. I don’t always expect a player to follow up one very low round with another, but Min Woo will still be in chasing mode this moving day. Gary Woodland remains four strokes ahead of Min Woo after a -7 round of his own on Friday, so he’ll need to keep the pedal down.
There was plenty to like about Min Woo Lee’s form leading into this week, especially considering he was the betting favorite following Scottie Scheffler’s withdrawal. He’s backed those expectations up so far, ranking 10th in SG: T2G.
Aldrich Potgieter ($7,300)
It’s been a slow start to the year for Potgieter, but the 2025 Rocket Mortgage Classic winner has proven time and time again that he loves himself a long, open, and driver-heavy golf course. Potgieter ranked top-5 in Driving Distance leading into this week, and that driver has remained a weapon for him at Memorial Park. He ranks top-3 in the field in terms of SG: OTT, SG: APP, and SG: T2G through the first two rounds.
A cold putter has kept Potgieter to a modest T20 position heading into the weekend, but he’s shown us earlier in his career that the putter can catch fire at a moment’s notice. If he gets anything going on the greens, his ball striking looks to be in top form to continue producing birdie looks.
Johnny Keefer ($6,700)
One of the most anticipated rookies we’ve seen on the PGA TOUR in years, Keefer may just be settling in to the pro golf scene with seven starts under his belt this season. Despite entering with three consecutive missed cuts, he seems to have found something at Memorial Park, entering the weekend at T20 on the leaderboard.
No one has been better than Keefer from tee to green through the first two rounds. Unfortunately for him, only three have been worse in terms of SG: Putting. Eventually, the putts will begin to fall for a player as skilled as Keefer. His elevated ballstriking form should continue to generate birdie opportunities on Saturday.
Best of luck if you choose to roster these Houston Open DFS picks.
2026 Texas Children’s Houston Open Odds
If you want to add sportsbook bets to your Houston Open DFS picks this week, you can shop the best odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for PGA Tour sleepers and more highly touted players using the pulldown menu. Best of luck if you choose to bet on these golf DFS picks! Click to bet below.
Photo Credit: AP/Caroline Brehman
