The PGA Tour had planned to release the '18-19 schedule next month around The Players, but that is "unlikely to happen because of several uncertainties," including the "up-in-the-air status" of the Houston Open, according to Dale Robertson of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The parent company of the Golf Club of Houston is "no longer interested in playing host to the city's PGA Tour stop." The event has been played since '46, with the last 16 editions taking place at the course owned by Escalante Golf Inc. The city-owned Memorial Park Golf Course is a "complicated but doable option" for the '19 tournament. However, after holding this year's event without a title sponsor, the issue "could be moot" if the Houston Golf Association "can’t go it alone for a second year without a major infusion of outside capital." The tournament is "thought to require a minimum" of $7M annually to "make the event viable, and its cash reserves were presumably depleted this spring." Shell "ended its 26-year sponsorship" of the event in '17. Serious conversations about title sponsorship are "said to have ensued with the Texas Medical Center and Chevron, but nothing came of them" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/27). City of Houston Communications Dir Alan Bernstein said that there is "no arrangement for the Houston Open to be held in Memorial Park" in '19. However, he added that there are "several proposals and negotiations that are continuing about landing a corporate sponsor and finding a location for the tournament" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 4/26).
WGC LOOKS TO STAY IN AUSTIN: In Austin, Kirk Bohls noted Austin Country Club President Jay Howard is "'hopeful' about a tentative offer on the table for a four-year extension" of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play once the "initial contract expires" after '19. Howard said an extension is what Tour officials "have indicated would be their preference." Howard: "I would expect a proposal to our membership in the next 30 days" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 4/25).
