The Houston Open this year won't have a title sponsor other than the Astros Golf FoundationGETTY IMAGES
The Houston Open "will kick off" the '19-20 PGA Tour season at the Golf Club of Houston on Oct. 10-13, and the hope is to move the event to the "restored Memorial Park Golf Course" a year later, according to Dale Robertson of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Astros Owner Jim Crane and the Astros Golf Foundation have helped lead the restoration effort and "all but personally guaranteed its success for the next five years in order to ensure the city kept a spot on the tour." The money is "all private," with some $13.5M for the golf course makeover and $50M to run the tournament. The Houston Open "won’t have a title sponsor." But Crane said that "sufficient funds from multiples sources already have been pledged to cover the seven-figure players’ purse." Crane indicated that the Houston Golf Association "wouldn’t be involved in the tournament after running it since its inception." He also "insisted every dime of profit will be distributed 'to the Houston community.'" Robertson notes the tourney at Memorial Park will be a "veritable city festival, with music acts." A concern going forward is "ensuring interest from the A-list players, who tend to skip the fall portion of the schedule." But Crane is a personal friend of "several big-name pros because of his ownership of The Floridian." Meanwhile, the tourney in the past has been held the week before The Masters, and Crane remains "hopeful a return to spring dates is in the cards." But he admitted that "won’t happen for 'at least a couple of years'” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/17).
