Shell Houston Open takes a bit of a hit...

Asleep · April 11, 2012

Very disappointing for locals...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The Shell Houston Open has created an identity as the last chance for a player to qualify for the Masters.

But not next year.

The Masters traditionally ends on the second Sunday of April, and the way the calendar falls in 2013, that pushes it back one week later than usual. The Masters next year will be April 11-14.

That leaves an extra week between Bay Hill -- the end of the Florida Swing -- and the first major of the year. The PGA Tour has decided that Houston will stay the week after Bay Hill, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio will take the spot the week before the Masters.

Along with giving players (Ernie Els comes to mind) one final chance to qualify for the Masters, Houston has become an attractive spot for players wanting competition before the first major. It sets up Redstone Golf Club to help prepare players for Augusta National.

''We're going to work with it,'' Houston Open Tournament Director Steve Timms said. ''It's not going to change the strategy at all in terms of how we set up the golf course. We have momentum. We've been received well by the players. We're hopeful they'll continue to want to play in Houston to prepare for the Masters.''

But it's less than ideal for Houston.

For starters, the Houston Open will end on Easter Sunday next year. And if that's not enough, the PGA Tour has agreed to move the Tavistock Cup -- a Monday-Tuesday exhibition -- from the week of Bay Hill to the week of Houston. That made-for-TV gig attracts 24 players, most of them in the Orlando, Fla., area...

read more: http://www.pga.com/news/pga-tour/quirk-in-2013-pga-tour-schedule-puts-kink-in-run-masters

Marc · April 12, 2012

It will definitely affect the tournament.. I work for Academy Sports and Outdoors and we have a very large tent for visitors there as you enter the tournament ground..

We are closed on Easter Sunday's, so that will be an interesting scenario on how that will go.. Academy may not wish to pay associates to work the tent on that Sunday and that may precipitate them as a major tournament sponsor..

I just think the PGA Tour really screwed us here.. They MADE us build the course at Redstone or face losing the tournament altogether and we did. The Shell Houston Open raises alot of money for charity and that sum will be affected as well..

It seems like a real slap in the face to the Houston Open that has a long, rich history on the PGA Tour.. I am very disappointed by this decision.

tx-ping · April 12, 2012

Well good and bad can be taken from that.. Soon enough, the schedule will have it back to where it was this year.. Also remember for you Tiger fans..he doesn't like to play the week before the Masters, he prefers to go to Augusta to practice. Now the Tavistock Cup is not a big deal, it's a limited amount of people anyway. But back to Tiger, since he doesn't like playing the week before the Masters, which the SHO was, he very well might now schedule the SHO as a stop. As I don't think if he wants to get in playing form, the tavistock cup will be enough.. He can come to Houston for his last Tournament and then take the next week off.... Not that I am a fan of Tiger, but the draw of him would be huge...Plus my wife works for Shell so getting in the 2 tents they have out there makes it worth it to me, regardless of who is playing.... ; )