The 2026 Houston Open has turned into a two-man duel between Gary Woodland and Nicolai Højgaard, who broke free from the rest of the field on Moving Day at Memorial Park Golf Course. Woodland entered the day with a three-shot lead over Højgaard and Jackson Suber, but while Suber moved backwards on Saturday in the final group, Højgaard started to chip away at Woodland’s advantage with another superb round of golf — even as Woodland himself played well.
It should come as little surprise that two of the longest hitters in the field are putting on a scoring display at Memorial Park, where there’s little trouble to be found off the tee. Woodland and Højgaard sprayed it off the tee at times on Saturday, but with ball speeds in excess of 190 mph, they were often past the trouble in the short rough that presents little obstacle to attack pins.
Woodland got off to a rocky start with a bogey at the 1st, but he was able to scramble his way around the front nine to a 1-under 34 before fully settling back into a great rhythm with his swing on the back side. That was best evidenced by an absolute rocket of a 2-iron to find the 16th green in two, setting up a birdie as he went on to shoot a 5-under 65 and remain in sole possession of the lead going into Sunday.
Højgaard, meanwhile, played the best golf of anyone in the final two groups of the day. His effortless distance off the tee left him with a lot of wedges and short irons in, and he was dialed in with those clubs from all over the golf course on his way to a 7-under 63.
They went back and forth down the stretch, trading birdies and seeming to fuel each other as they pulled away from the field. Both players shot 4-under 31s on the back nine and put serious distance between themselves and the rest of the chase pack going into Sunday.
Højgaard is looking for his first career PGA Tour win after finding loads of success as a youngster on the DP World Tour. He’s yet to fulfill the full promise of his talent since moving stateside, but at Memorial Park, he’s found a course that seems to fit his aggressive tendencies and tremendous distance. His respective Friday and Saturday rounds of 62 and 63 are the best back-to-back efforts by any player in the 78-year history of the Houston Open, and that has put him one shot back of Woodland going into Sunday’s final round.
Woodland would love to replicate his Sunday performance from a year ago when he tied the course record with a 62 to post his best finish on the PGA Tour in six years with a T2. He and Højgaard will find themselves in a match play scenario for most of Sunday, barring something stunning from the group behind them.
Woodland hasn’t been in that position since 2019, which is also the year of his last victory at the U.S. Open. Højgaard has more experience in this situation of late, though it has mostly come in Europe. Not only are they playing for a PGA Tour victory, they are also trying to secure invitations to the Masters in two weeks, adding another layer of pressure.
On Saturday, the two were able to fuel each other to a pair of spectacular rounds of golf. Sunday, they’ll hope to do the same, but the nerves will be much stronger than what they felt on Saturday. Whoever handles those best can take control of the tournament and capture an elusive PGA Tour title — and punch their ticket to Augusta National.
Leader
1. Gary Woodland (-18): He had to settle himself in on Saturday, as he seemed to be moving a little too quickly with his swing early. However, while he’s known best for his distance, it was his short game and putting that got him through a rocky patch early without giving up any real ground to the chase pack. That comfort on and around the greens might be the most important piece of the puzzle for Woodland on Sunday if he’s going to pull off the improbable victory. He’s clearly comfortable on this golf course and playing much more freely over the past two weeks. As we saw on Saturday, it can take time to settle in with the full swings when the adrenaline is flowing, but he showed an impressive ability with his short game and putter to keep everything on track until he finally got back in a groove.
Contenders
2. Nicolai Højgaard (-17)
T3. Michael Thorbjornsen, Min Woo Lee (-12)
5. Sam Stevens, Jason Day (-11)
T6. Sahith Theegala, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Paul Waring (-10)
Højgaard’s last two rounds have been phenomenal, and he’s clearly playing with a ton of confidence in every facet of the game — as evidenced by a top 20 spot in all four strokes gained categories this week. The big question for Højgaard will be maintaining the freedom with which he’s played over the last two days as the nerves of chasing that first PGA Tour win start to creep in.
For the rest of the chase pack, it’s going to take something spectacular to prevent either Woodland or Højgaard from winning. We’ve seen players make a late run on Sunday — Woodland shot 62 last year to finish T2 — so there’s a chance on a course where low scores are possible, but they will need to be really special given the way the top two have separated.
Lee is still hoping to defend his title, and while he couldn’t get much going on Saturday to close the gap to the top, he did produce the shot of the day with this bunker shot from his knees on the drivable 17th to set up a birdie.
Thorbjornsen’s 66 was the best round of the penultimate group alongside Lee and Day, but he needed the final group to stall out to really make up ground. That trio will all know that going into Sunday, it’s all about making as many birdies as possible to have any chance at a win.
Updated Houston Open odds, picks
Odds via FanDuel
- Gary Woodland (-105)
- Nicolai Højgaard (+105)
- Min Woo Lee (27-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (33-1)
It would be shocking if it’s not one of Woodland or Højgaard hoisting the trophy on Sunday evening. Højgaard has been playing with a bit of fire recently considering how big some of his misses have been off the tee. He’s yet to get punished for that — and at Memorial Park, it’s certainly easier than most courses to avoid real penalty for misses off the tee — but on Sunday, if he doesn’t straighten it out, he might finally get burnt. It’s tough not to like the way Woodland responded to Højgaard’s charge on Saturday and feel like this is headed towards a tremendous redemptive win for Woodland.