HOUSTON PREVIEW: MICKELSON HAS SUCCESS AT HOUSTON VENUE
Team: HyFlyers Golf Club
Previous event team finish: 9th
Season-long team standings: 11th
Top finisher from previous event: Cameron Tringale, T14
Fun stat: HyFlyers GC has 10 eagles in 2024, just one behind leaders Crushers GC and Cleeks GC.
Preview
HyFlyers Golf Club isn’t exactly where it wants to be at the midway point of the 2024 LIV Golf League season, but positive recent results coupled with this week’s familiar venue could provide the jolt the team needs.
Standing 11th in the season-long team standings, HyFlyers GC has a lot of reasons to believe that a jump up the board is eminent. The club had its best finish of the season just two events ago at LIV Golf Adelaide where it finished third. Then a T8 finish in Singapore the following week displayed better play than the results showed. On Sunday when all four scores counted, the team combined to shoot 8 under on the day, better than six other teams.
Now comes the LIV Golf League’s first stop in Texas, and where the all-American HyFlyers GC should feel right at home. Captain Phil Mickelson has hoisted hardware in Houston during his legendary and illustrious career. The six-time major champion was always a favorite at the Golf Club of Houston where the Houston Open was played from 2003-2019. Phil Mickelson has experienced plenty of success at this venue, highlighted by his victory in 2011 by three strokes.
As for this season, Mickelson is looking to get back to some early-season form. His best finish came at LIV Golf Jeddah where he staked a T6, and the good news for his team is his second-best finish came at Singapore (T22) in the LIV Golf event leading up to this week. Mickelson currently stands 34th in the season-long individual standings.
Teammate Brendan Steele continues to lead the way for HyFlyers GC. He is 16th in the season-long individual standings and had a breakthrough moment at LIV Golf Adelaide where he won the individual title. It was a massive confidence booster, Steele said, and one that is expected to translate into the remainder of the 2024 season.
A recent bright spot for the team has been Andy Ogletree showing signs of making a positive move. Just two events ago, Ogletree finished T3 at Adelaide for by far his best showing of the season. His second-best finish this year is a T29 but expect that to change for Ogletree after being recharged and rested entering Houston. He enters this week 28th in the individual standings.
Cameron Tringale might be the linchpin for the team as the second half of the season gets underway. Tringale has been known as one of the League’s most consistent players who rarely posts a high score and can be relied upon for under-par rounds seemingly each time he tees it up. But 2024 has been a little less consistent for Tringale, who is 40th in the individual standings. Still, a positive trend could be forming for Tringale considering he finished T14 in the last LIV Golf event in Singapore, which was his best showing of the season.
This week’s venue appears to line up with the team’s strengths. The course was designed by famed architect Rees Jones and major champion David Toms to host elite professional golf tournaments. Golf Digest ranks the course as one of the top 50 in Texas and one of the best public courses in the state.
It’s a course that, at first glance, appears to favor the long hitters since it plays 7,400+ yards, but the nuances on and around the greens – including the bunkers – will challenge players’ short games. It’s one of the reasons Mickelson has won here. The World Golf Hall of Famer is well known for his short-game mastery and still is long enough to compete with the bombers.
One hole to watch this week will be the 315-yard par-4 12th, which should be drivable each day.