Texas Children’s Houston Open: Paul Waring surges to one-shot lead as Woodland stays close
At 8: 45 p. m. ET Thursday, the texas children’s houston open had a new early headline: England’s Paul Waring sitting alone in front after a sharp opening round in Houston. Waring fired a 7-under 63 at Memorial Park to lead by one over Gary Woodland’s 64, turning what looked like a day of potential mistakes into a clean, bogey-free statement. The push matters now because this is the final week for players to move into the top 50 in the world to earn a Masters invitation.
Round 1: Waring escapes trouble and posts 63
Waring’s round had stress points, but he kept his scorecard spotless. He hit a tee shot into the water on the 17th and still produced an 18-foot par save to stay on track. Later, with his second shot into the par-5 eighth sailing left into a hazard area with a small creek, the ball settled in thick grass on the bank and he chose to play it—blasting it out to 20 feet and two-putting for par. He closed out the day without a bogey and with the tournament lead.
Waring said he has been working to tighten up the mistakes that were costing him shots, and that Thursday felt different. “This week, a lot tidier, ” Waring said. “No bogeys and… I’ve just been told I holed over 160 foot of putts today, which is massive and gives you a massive advantage. ” Another tally put the number at 161 feet and 10 inches of made putts, the most in his PGA Tour career.
Texas Children’s Houston Open leaderboard pressure: Woodland’s response, plus the chasing pack
Woodland, the 2019 U. S. Open champion, stayed right behind Waring after a 64 that included birdies on his final two holes. He played bogey-free until the par-3 seventh, where he attacked a left pin, found a deep bunker, and made bogey after blasting out to 20 feet. He immediately answered with a pitch to 6 feet for birdie on the par-5 eighth, then rolled in a 10-foot birdie to finish.
Woodland spoke openly about what it meant to share his experience with post-traumatic stress disorder after previously undergoing brain surgery to remove a lesion in September 2023. “I was crying going into the interview, and I left feeling a thousand pounds lighter, ” Woodland said Thursday after his round at Memorial Park. He also noted comfort being back in Houston, where he was runner-up a year ago.
Behind the top two, Sam Burns, Michael Brennan, and Tom Hoge opened with 65s. Marco Penge was part of a large group at 66, while selected others included Matt Wallace at 4-under and Rickie Fowler at 3-under. Brooks Koepka, who consulted on the design of the public course at Memorial Park, endured a difficult stretch with three double bogeys—on the par-3 seventh, par-3 ninth, and the 10th—finishing with a 75 and facing a steep task to make the cut in his final start before the Masters.
Immediate reactions and injury comeback storyline
Waring’s lead comes against a backdrop of a disrupted season and a fight to regain form. He earned a PGA Tour card through his DP World Tour standing after winning in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2024, then dealt with a sore shoulder that required cortisone shots and eventually sidelined him in July for five months. He has also described how challenging it has been to start out on the PGA Tour without familiar faces from players to caddies to golf officials, missing the cut in his first three PGA Tour starts before arriving in Houston.
On Thursday, though, the execution held. Waring called last year “a battle, ” describing the shoulder treatment, taping, and painkillers he used to keep playing, then said his winter rehab has helped him return with more ball speed and the ability to attack a long course. “I rehabbed it well over the winter, ” Waring said. “Coming back out this year I found a bit more ball speed again and I can attack a golf course as long as this one. ”
What’s next Friday: cut line drama and Masters-invite stakes
Friday’s second round will define whether Waring can keep the momentum and whether Woodland can turn his late birdie finish into a run at the lead. The broader urgency is just as real: with Masters-invite positioning tied to the world top 50 this week, even early-round movement matters. Pierceson Coody began the tournament on the bubble at No. 51 in the world and opened with a 70, leaving him set to start Friday outside the cut line.
As of 8: 45 p. m. ET Thursday, the texas children’s houston open is set up for a tight Friday: a one-shot margin at the top, multiple proven names within reach, and pressure building quickly with the weekend approaching at Memorial Park.
