Shell Houston Open:
Location: Humble, Texas
Course: Redstone Golf Club
Par: 72
Length: 7,457yards
Prize Pool: $5,900,000
Last Years Champion: Hunter Mahan
The PGA Tour heads west this week for the Shell Houston Open taking place at the Redstone Golf Club in Texas. This is a great course and a fantastic event, attracting many of the top ranked golfers in the world including Rory McIlroy.
Although he has struggled so far in 2013, many still consider McIlroy to be the favorite for this tournament. There's no denying his talent, and I'll undoubtedly be keeping an eye on him, until he starts to show signs of turning his game around, he won't be on my list of top prospects. Here's a look at a few of the players I will be looking for to make a run at the winners circle, many of whom have proven so far in 2013 with few missed cuts and multiple top 10 finishes...
Steve Stricker - He took the last two weeks off following a great start to the 2013 season which has included a runner-up finish at the WGC-Cadillac Championship as well as a solid performance at the WGC-Accenture. He's familiar with this course with four top-11 finishes in six starts on Redstone's Tournament Course.
Hunter Mahan - The defending champ preceded his victory at Redstone with four top 11s in six starts on the course. He's coming off his seventh straight top 25 this year -- a T21 at Bay Hill where he ranked ninth in GIR and 16th in strokes gained-putting. He's definitely got the ball rolling so far in 2013, we'll see if he can keep the momentum going.
Brian Stuard - Some may consider Stuard a wildcard pick, but he has played consistently so far in 2013. In seven starts, he has yet to miss a cut and has two top ten finishes. He shared 16th place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, where he ranked T13 in GIR and 10th in proximity. Although 266th on the world rankings, hes currently ninth in the all-around ranking for the 2013 season.
Bill Haas - Like many, he's had some ups and downs so far in 2013. With 4 top 10 finishes this year including T8 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, I think Haas is on track for a great week ahead.
Keegan Bradley - His T3 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was his best finish since last year's PGA Championship (also a T3) and it was his third top five in nine starts this season. In his second appearance at Redstone, he'll be looking to improve on his T4 place finish last year.
As usual, here's also a look at my complete fantasy golf picks for this week...
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This article was written by Scott Stevens and is part of the Eat Sleep Golf - Fantasy Golf series which focuses on introducing upcoming PGA Tour events as well as evaluating the field of players. We encourage you to comment below and/or join in the conversation with us on Twitter using #FantasyGolf & #PGATour. Be sure to connect with us @EatSleepGolf