KAPALUA (Hawaii) – The 2023 section of the 2022-23 Season is just starting and already there’s talk about 2024 and beyond.
The Cadence Bank Houston Open is a tournament that hopes for a better future.
Golf Channel reported earlier this week that the Houston stop dates back to 1946. It has been played in October every year since 2019. However, it wasn’t listed in the 2023 fall events. Golfweek learned multiple sources that the Houston stop may be returning to the main schedule. Although it’s too early to say for certain, Houston could be the next Mexico Open host. The Mexico Open is currently scheduled for late April 2023.
According to Golfweek sources who spoke on condition of anonymity Houston was not listed on the preliminary fall schedule. This is because the tournament organizers didn’t want Houston to host two events in the same five-month period. Should it be added to the main schedule.
Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, said that Houston’s position on the fall schedule for 2023 was still uncertain. He spoke to this audience at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Monahan stated that the Players Championship should announce the fall schedule in March.
There are still many back-room negotiations. Jim Crane, the owner of the MLB-champion Houston Astros, is also believed to be using LIV Golf’s emergence as a potential suitor for a Houston event if Crane does not get the spring PGA Tour date he wants.
Crane is an investor at Escalante Golf. Escalante Golf hosted two LIV Golf events in its inaugural year: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon, and The International in Massachusetts. This season, Crane will host a third LIV golf event at The Gallery Golf Club, Marana, Arizona. A representative from Escalante Golf said that the company does not disclose information about its investors.
Crane is not a conscientious observer,” a source claimed about Crane’s views on the Saudi Arabian PIF Fund as the main underwriter for the upstart league.
Crane and Giles Kibbe were senior vice presidents and general counsel of the Astros, and president of Astros Golf Foundation. They played in the pro-am at LIV’s Boston event. This is where Monahan began his career as the tournament director for the now-defunct Deutsche Bank Championship.
“When he plays in a Boston pro-am, he is sending a message. Crane is no longer playing Pebble,” said a source.
Houston is one the most important markets in the U.S. and the Tour doesn’t want it to go. Crane is not willing to support a fall golf tournament despite the Houston Open’s success in battling football.
Mexico’s 2017 World Golf Championship was a limited-field event. It was later downgraded to a regular PGA Tour event this year. This required the relocation of the course from Mexico City’s Chapultepec, to Puerto Vallarta or Vidanta Vallarta. There has been speculation that LIV Mexico could be closing after this year, with Mexico’s top players joining LIV.
Crane isn’t content with playing in LIV pro-ams. He also makes power-play moves to get his date or take his ball home. The Floridian Golf Club is also owned by Crane in Palm City, Florida. Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, both of whom jumped ship to LIV last summer, are its members. According to a source Johnson approached Crane about hosting a LIV tournament at The Floridian, with Johnson’s name on the list. Crane declined.
Sources said that “If he didn’t get the date he desired (from the PGA Tour), he might have not said no.”
Colby Callaway, Cadence Bank’s tournament director, was not reached.
