\u201cWe know that Houston is going to be a big part of the PGA Tour. We want it to be one of the bigger tournaments on Tour. So we\u2019re going to do everything we can to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several sources in golf tell PaperCity that the Houston Open\u2019s jump to a signature event is unlikely to happen next season \u2014 with a few years down the road a more realistic target date. Texas Children\u2019s current successful sponsorship of the Houston Opens runs through the 2028 tournament. To make the leap to becoming a signature event with a mega purse, additional deep-pocketed sponsors likely would be needed.<\/p>\n
Few in golf that PaperCity talked to doubt the Astros Golf Foundation\u2019s ability to get it done. Jim Crane carries a well-earned reputation for making things happen.<\/p>\n
This 2026 Houston Open also bolsters the push to become an elevated event. Despite having the misfortune of having World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler withdraw from the tournament days before it started due to the expected impending birth of his second kid and Rory McIlroy limiting his schedule to deal with his back injury,<\/a> Houston\u2019s PGA Tour event still set a new attendance record.<\/p>\n The most people who\u2019ve ever watched a golf tournament at Memorial Park (since the Houston Open\u2019s 2020 return to Memorial) came out over a chamber of commerce friendly run of weather over the four days of competition.<\/p>\n \u201cWe set attendance records this year,\u201d Kibbe tells PaperCity. \u201cSo every year it gets bigger and bigger. Every year the golf course is maturing. The trees are getting growing to where they\u2019re the right size in the places where we needed them. So the golf course keeps getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n Gary Woodland winning for the first time since his 2019 U.S. Open victory, for the first time after having a baseball-sized tumor removed from his brain in September, 2023, for the first time since he emotionally talked about his post-surgery PTSD fight, is bringing even more national and international attention on the Houston Open. Woodland running away from the field on Sunday while wearing the special Courage shoes a Texas Children\u2019s<\/a> brain cancer patient turned Woodand buddy \u2014 15-year-old Ceci \u2014 designed for him is the stuff of a sports movie.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could not have made this story up,\u201d Texas Children\u2019s Hospital CEO Debra Sukin says. \u201cGod was watching.\u201d<\/p>\n Memorial Park\u2019s Building PGA Aura<\/p>\n The PGA Tour\u2019s best are always watching course conditions. And they\u2019re often ruthless judges when a course does not measure up, more cruel than a high school mean girl. Memorial Park certainly is measuring up. Adam Scott, who has been on the PGA Tour for more than 25 years and owns a Masters victory, took the time to leave a note lauding Memorial as \u201cthe best conditioned course he\u2019s played all year\u201d before leaving Houston.<\/p>\n \u201cThis place is unbelievable condition,\u201d Woodland says.<\/p>\n Positive player feedback can help fuel a tournament\u2019s growth, maybe even fast track it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s extremely important because we know next year we\u2019re going to have a bigger and better field,\u201d Kibbe says. \u201cEvery year. When guys like Adam Scott and Tony Finau, all those guys, say those things, guys like (Top 35 player) Shane Lowry played for the first time in a long time this year.<\/p>\n \u201cHe came because he heard the golf course was great. He loved it. So he\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n PGA Tour star Tony Finau does not just go down the line and sign every autograph after his final round at the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open. He takes off his shoes and gives them to two kids, signing them for the young fans. Finau walks back into the clubhouse in his white socks. pic.twitter.com\/9ZoGmYfzcm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) March 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Crane and the Astros Golf Foundation rightly get a lot of credit for stepping in and keeping the PGA Tour in Houston when it looked like the nation\u2019s fourth-largest city could be losing its Tour stop. But Crane did not take over the Houston Open to keep it status quo. From the beginning, the plan centered around elevating the tournament to a new level. And lifting up the entire Houston golf scene.<\/p>\n An LPGA Major \u2014 the Chevron Championship<\/a> (set for April 23 through April 26 this year) \u2014 moving to Memorial Park from The Woodlands, where it had some difficulty attracting fans from within Houston to drive in \u2014 should be another significant boost.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a natural to bring the LPGA because they were having similar troubles with attendance,\u201d Jim Crane tells PaperCity. \u201cWe\u2019re going to test it down here. The course should be in great shape for them too. A little different tee boxes, but we\u2019re looking forward to a great time with having them in there.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it will save some money and be able to give them a bigger platform to perform on also. And that\u2019s what we really wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Jim Crane is all about the future, the next step, the next move that is going to boost golf in the city he loves, the city where he\u2019s turned the Houston Astros into two-time world champions. Waiting for the trophy presentation to begin, he jokes with Gary Woodland about how Woodland is the best golfer at The Floridian and James Crane is the best fisherman. Sometimes even a billionaire sports owner is still just a proud dad at heart.<\/p>\n Houston Astros owner Jim Crane stepped aside during the Houston Open trophy presentation so that Texas Children\u2019s cancer patient Ceci and Crane\u2019s son James could hand Gary Woodland the trophy instead. Ceci and Woodland share an emotional bond with the 15-year-old brain cancer\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/ZjDadJ2sWM<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CvDn2sGCW0<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Gary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/HEnGWiuXsAA0Kf2.jpg\")
<\/a>Gary Woodland threw his arms to the sky after winning the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open. (@TCHouOpen)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1483650255-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>Nelly Korda and the Chevron Championship will be at Memorial Park this April. (Photo by Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n