A fellow Texas event has slipped back into Austin’s slot on the PGA Tour spring schedule, just a few months after the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play was buried.
The Tour announced Wednesday that the Houston Open would be held from March 28-31. This is the first time the event has been in the spring schedule since 2018. The Valero Texas Open, which is held in San Antonio, will likely remain as the next week’s tournament leading up to the Masters.
According to a joint announcement by the Tour and Astros Golf Foundation the tournament also secured a long term agreement with Texas Children’s the nation’s largest women’s and pediatric health system. The agreement will last for five years.
Jim Crane said, “We’re excited to announce Texas Children’s’ sponsorship of the Houston Open,” as stated by Jim Crane. Chairman and Owner of the Houston Astros. We couldn’t ask for a more perfect partner to help us continue our mission to give back the Houston community. The Astros Golf Foundation and their alignment of values provides an opportunity for both organizations. They can continue to give back to the community, grow golf, and provide a platform for those in need.
After a significant investment by Crane , the event was moved to Memorial Park, a municipal course, in 2020. Brooks Koepka served as the player advisor.
Memorial Park was always the crown jewel in the Houston golf scene. The course was originally designed as a nine hole course in 1912 but after a redesign by John Bredemus, who had founded the Texas Professional Golfers Association (TPGA) in 1922, it became an 18-hole golf course. It opened “officially” in 1936.
Tony Finau, winner of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open. (Photo: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports)
The course was the site of 14 PGA Tour events between 1947 and 1963. Jack Nicklaus finished second and Arnold Palmer took the win. Dave Marr, the 1965 PGA Championship champion, asked for his ashes to be scattered at Memorial Park. Even though he had never won, he credited it with shaping his career.
Tyler Dennis, PGA Tour president, said: “On behalf the PGA Tour we thank Texas Children’s Foundation for their support of one of our legacy events, the Houston Open. This tournament dates back to 1946.” The Houston Open played a major role in the PGA Tour’s history, both through its long-standing competitive tradition with many of golf’s greatest players and winners participating as well as a commitment to improving the community. This partnership between Texas Children’s and the Astros Golf Foundation has the potential to take the event to new heights.
Golfweek reported previously that Crane would leverage the emergence LIV Golf, as a possible suitor for a Houston tournament if he could not get the spring PGA Tour dates he desired.
Crane is a major investor in Escalante Golf. The company staged two LIV Golf tournaments in the circuit’s first year, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, in Oregon, and The International, in Massachusetts. This season, The Gallery Golf Club, in Marana Arizona, will host a third LIV golf event.
Crane and Giles Kibbe – senior vice president, general counsel and president of Astros Golf Foundation – played in the LIV Boston pro-am.
Houston is the biggest market in the U.S. and the Tour didn’t want it to disappear. Crane was reportedly no longer interested in supporting a fall golf tournament, despite the Houston Open’s success in recent years when it competed with football and baseball playoff games.
The event won by Tony Finau in November last year will not take place in 2023, as the tournament prepares to return to spring. The tournament will air on NBC Golf Channel, Peacock and ESPN+.
