2020 Vivint Houston Open First Round Leader Odds and Matchup Picks

• The Vivint Houston Open tees off Thursday, November 5th, 2020
• Dustin Johnson is the heavy favorite to be the first-round leader
• See the best bets and odds to grab the first-round lead plus tournament matchup picks in the article below 

The final tournament before this year’s Masters is at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston for the Vivint Houston Open. Eight of the top 25 players in the world are using this event as a final tuneup opportunity to win the final major of 2020.

That includes Dustin Johnson, who will be making his first start since the US Open in September after having to withdraw from the CJ Cup and ZOZO Championship due to a positive COVID-19 test result. He enters this event as the heavy favorite to lift his fourth trophy this year, and he’s also the favorite to be the first round leader.

In this article, we’ll explore which players have the best chance of being the leader after day one at a course that hasn’t hosted a PGA Tour event sine 1963, plus head-to-head tournament matchups.

2020 Vivint Houston Open First Round Leader Odds

All odds taken Nov. 4 at FanDuel

The forecast looks virtually similar throughout the day with it being partly cloudy with not much difference in the wind through the morning and afternoon, fluctuating between five and seven miles per hour. The temperature for the morning players will be in the low 60 degrees and it gets up as high as the mid 70’s by the afternoon.

A benefit for those playing in the morning is the exact same as it is every week – less bumpy greens with fewer players chewing them up.

Russell Henley Is on Fire

In five of his last six opening rounds, Russell Henley has shot in the 60’s, including a 64 at The Northern Trust to share the first round lead. In those six tournaments, his finishes have been as follows: T-3, T-4, T-8, T-9, T-25, T-27.

There are 164 players with 40+ ShotLink-measured rounds on the PGA Tour since the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

The player with the most strokes gained approach per round in that group is Russell Henley (+0.96 per round).

JT 2nd, Morikawa 3rd.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) October 27, 2020

In 13 of his last 14 tournaments, Henley has gained strokes tee-to-green, including over 22 shots to the field in the last two events. He’s T-4 in first round scoring average this season, of golfers to play at least three times.

With his recent run of strong play, it points to the possibility of 2017 Houston Open champion (albeit at a different course) could start off hot like he’s been doing all season.

Pick: Russell Henley (+3400)

Harold Varner III a Fast Starter

If you’re looking for some juicy odds to be first round leader, Harold Varner III might be your man at +6000.

Varner was one stroke off the first round lead two starts ago in Las Vegas, co-led the Wyndham Championship after the first day in the 2020 regular season finale, and also co-led after one round at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the first tournament following the resumption of play after the three-month PGA Tour hiatus.

Harold Varner 🎯 🎯 🎯 pic.twitter.com/9eyzn1PLzs

— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) August 14, 2020

Of the golfers who have played at least three tournaments this season, Varner is tops in first round scoring average (66.3). With these odds, Varner is most definitely worth a look to keep up his stellar play at the beginning of events.

Pick: Harold Varner III (+6000)

Lanto Griffin vs Doc Redman Tournament Matchup Odds

Lanto Griffin is the defending champion of this tournament, but he didn’t win on this year’s golf course. In his last six events, his best finishes were T-7, T-10, T-11, T-17. Doc Redman, meanwhile, has a pair of third place finishes and a T-4 result for his best starts in the last six.

This tournament is being played on Bermuda grass, which has been far kinder to Redman compared to Griffin in the last 24 rounds played on that surface.

Griffin’s and Redman’s Strokes Gained Ranks In Last 24 Rounds On Bermuda Grass

Redman has been far better in six of eight categories. Given that he was the 54-hole leader at last week’s Bermuda Championship, take the underdog in this tournament matchup to potentially make some extra cash.

Pick: Doc Redman (+100)