For so many years the week prior to the Masters was proudly known as Shell Houston Open week.
Shell sponsored the event from 1992 to 2017 though it wasn’t till 2003 the tournament moved to the then known Redstone Golf Club at Humble and very close to Houston International Airport, in America’s fourth largest city.
In those days reporting on the Shell Houston Open was ideal as the Houston Open was moved to the week before the Masters Tournament from 2007 through 2018 (except 2013, when it was two weeks before the Masters), and was the last opportunity to secure a prize Masters invitation.
Rory McIlroy teeing off at the 15th hole in the 2017 Shell Houston Open Pro-Am (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
The 41st USA President George H Bush visits 2015 Shell Houston Open. (Image GolfByTourMiss)
The tournament also had up to four additional sponsor exemptions to enable non-member Masters-qualified professionals from the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking to compete in the U.S. in the week prior to the Masters.
As well, tournament organisers had the course set-up as best they could to mirror what those heading to the Masters would find in arriving at Augusta National. It was a very smart move and always made sure for a pretty decent field, and fans responded to some of the game’s best by making for sellout crowds,
Tournament organisers also helped accommodate those heading to Augusta as there would be a specially arranged United Airlines flight leaving Houston as soon as the prize presentation bound direct for Augusta Airport.
I recall this was perfect for such players as England’s Paul Casey (2009 champion) and Aussie Matt Jones (2014 champion) as they had teed-up in Houston earlier in week and had not yet qualified for The Masters.
Aussie Matt Jones proudly appearing on the Shell Houston Open website as the 2014 Shell Houston Open champion.
Doug Sanders and Aussie Geoff Ogilvy at the Shell Houston Open. Image – GolfByTourMiss
One of fondest memories on this flight was seeing legendary Texan Doug Saunders, a 20-time PGA Tour winner and who contested 11 Masters from 1957 to 1973, and who each year would love heading to The Masters. He was always friendly and engaging as he boarded the plane and finding his way to his seat.
Each of our visits to the Shell Houston Open was via rent-a-car. We’d be in attendance at the each of the Florida Swing events and after reporting on the Valspar Championship, we’d make out way up to Tallahassee and then onward into Mobile, Alabama, and were we stopped one year so Bernie enjoy the thrill of climbing all-over the very impressive retired US battleship – USS Alabama.
The mighty USS Alabama home in Mobile, AL ….. Image GolfByTourMiss
Bernie chilling out in the Captain’s Seat aboard the USS Alabama. Pity about his socks, Bernie? (Smiling)
We kept on the I-10 passing through Mississippi, Louisiana and on into Texas, and a journey of just over 1,000 miles. Thankfully each of us was legal to drive.
Yes, the flight from Florida to Houston was just over an hour but what an incredible driving experience. The places we saw, the people we met and the golf courses we passed along the way, and often stopping for a bite to eat or simply a coffee.
Driving to these pre-Masters Tour stops was ideal as were not only being restricted by the need to book flights but with a rental car we could come and go as we pleased, and that’s what we adopted in later years covering the Shell Houston Open and also the Valero Texas Open, when the San Antonio event became the final event ahead of the Masters.
Graeme McDowell turns observer and sitting on the 18h fairway during the Pro-Am ahead of the 2017 Shell Houston Open (Photo – www.golfbyourmiss.com)
I still vividly recall the route …. North up Texas route 59 and turn right at the I-2o. Stay on the I-20 crossing the Mississippi River at Vicksburg in Mississippi and a famed Civil War site we have visited before. You’ll also drive by the famed Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
The I-20 continues on through Birmingham, Alabama before reaching Atlanta. Staying on the I-20 you cut Altanta virtually in half and realising it’s now just two hours to a city for 51 weeks of the year boasts some 220,000 residents.
However for this one week every year in April, most of those living in Augusta, GA are on holiday cashing-in after having rented their properties for a golf tournament that attracts the eyes of the sports world.
