The Texas Children's Houston Open is a professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
tournament in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
, played in March. As a part of a restructuring of the schedule, the event moved to the fall in 2019. Because the tour year starts the previous fall, the event was not a part of the
2019 PGA Tour, but was one of the first events of the 2020 PGA Tour. It is held at the
Memorial Park Municipal Golf Course in
Harris County near downtown Houston and the Galleria.
History
The event was played at several Houston venues until the 1970s, starting at
River Oaks Country Club in 1946 before moving to
Memorial Park Golf Course in 1947 and, after a year off, moving again to Pine Forest Country Club in 1949 and
BraeBurn Country Club in 1950. After this period of wandering, the tournament settled in at Memorial Park from 1951 through
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
. It was at
Sharpstown Country Club in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
and
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
, moved to
Champions Golf Club in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
for six years, and then to Westwood Country Club in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
.
The tournament ventured outside of the city limits in
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
and
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
at
Quail Valley Country Club in
Missouri City, a southwest suburb.
It relocated north to
The Woodlands in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, at Woodlands Country Club until
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, then at the
TPC at The Woodlands through
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
. It moved to near Humble in
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
, where it stayed for 17 years; initially played at the Members Course, it changed to the Tournament Course in
2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. The facility was known as Redstone Golf Club until December 2013, and is now the
Golf Club of Houston.
Previously held weeks later in mid-spring, the Houston Open was played the week before the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
from
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
through
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
(except
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, when it was two weeks before the Masters), and was the last chance to get into the field at
Augusta through a win. The tournament also had up to four additional sponsor exemptions to enable nonmember Masters-qualified professionals from the top 100 of the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
to compete in the U.S. in the week prior to the Masters.
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States–based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is among the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,000 ...
sponsored the event from 1992 through 2017. When the end of Shell's sponsorship was announced, the PGA Tour said it would seek a new sponsor for 2018. At that time,
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
owner
Jim Crane
James Robert Crane (born January 17, 1954) is an American businessman from Houston, Texas. Crane is chairman and chief executive of Crane Capital Group, Crane Worldwide Logistics, and Crane Freight and Shipping. He is also the owner and chairman ...
led a group of new sponsors who signed a five-year deal with the PGA Tour to ensure that the event stayed in Houston. The tournament is now operated under the Astros Foundation, under the umbrella Astros Golf Foundation, with a new logo inspired by the Astros' "
Tequila Sunrise" uniforms of the 1980s.
Because of the wraparound calendar, there was no 2019 season event. The 2019 event moved to October and declared a 2020 season event, the last event held at the Golf Club of Houston. For the 2021 season (November 2020), it moved to the renovated
Memorial Park Golf Course. The Astros Foundation committed $34 million to renovate and redesign the golf course facilities with input from golfer
Brooks Koepka. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the PGA Tour announced schedule changes to the 2020–21 season schedule and moved the Houston Open to November 5–8, one week before the
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
. The tournament was sponsored by
Vivint
Vivint Smart Home, Inc. is a Provo, Utah-based manufacturer of smart home and home security products. Its product lines include cameras, locks, safety sensors, thermostats, and lighting, along with associated monitoring and installation services. ...
and the Astros Foundation allowed spectators.
The 2022 season (November 2021) event was sponsored by
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) is an American multinational information technology company based in Spring, Texas. It is a business-focused organization which works in servers, storage, networking, containerization software and ...
.
The 2023 season (November 2022) event was sponsored by
Cadence Bank.
The 2024 event will see a return to a calendar-year format for the PGA Tour, with the event returning to a spring date in March, being sponsored by
Texas Children's Hospital.
Winners
''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Sources:
2010 Shell Houston Open Media Guide
Multiple winners
Nine men have won this tournament more than once through 2024.
*3 wins
** Curtis Strange: 1980, 1986, 1988
** Vijay Singh: 2002, 2004, 2005
*2 wins
**Cary Middlecoff
Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated ...
: 1950, 1953
** Jack Burke Jr.: 1952, 1959
**Mike Souchak
Michael Souchak (May 10, 1927 – July 10, 2008) was an American professional golfer. He won fifteen events on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s and represented the United States for the Ryder Cup in 1959 and 1961.
Early life
Born and raised ...
: 1955, 1964
** Bobby Nichols: 1962, 1965
**Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...
: 1957, 1966
** Bruce Crampton: 1973, 1975
**Stuart Appleby
Stuart Appleby (born 1 May 1971) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Early life
Appleby was born in Cohuna, Victoria, and grew up on a nearby dairy farm. He be ...
: 1999, 2006
See also
* Houston Open (early PGA Tour), an earlier Houston event recognized by the PGA Tour
Notes
References
External links
*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
{{coord, 29.924, N, 95.261, W, display=title, type:event
PGA Tour events
Golf tournaments in Texas
Golf in Houston
Sports competitions in Houston
Recurring sporting events established in 1946
1946 establishments in Texas