The Shell Houston Open was held March 29 through April 1 at the Redstone Golf course, one week before the Masters Tournament. The tournament is a stop on the PGA tour that included Hunter Mahan, Carl Pettersson, Louis Oosthuizen, Jeff Overton, and Keegan Bradley.
This year’s winners included Mahan, who beat Pettersson with a one-stroke lead, and Phil Mickelson, who took fourth place with four other players.
With their spectacular performances, many of the players advanced to the 2012 Masters Tournament. At the Masters, Bubba Watson won his first green jacket after his inventive playing style pushed him ahead of the other competitors with a 10-under-par score.
The Shell Houston Open began in 1946 as an effort to raise money for local, youth-oriented charities. According to the Shell Houston Open, the golf tournament has generated more than $53.1 million through its fundraising activities since its beginning.
The tournament was originally held at the River Oaks Country Club in 1946. The first winner, Byron Nelson, beat Ben Hogan by two shots for the $2,000 first place prize. Sam Snead finished third, but claimed to have been distracted by the models carrying signs that identified the players. This was the first and only time in their careers that these three Hall-of-Famers took first, second, and third.
The following year, the tournament was held at Memorial Park Municipal because the City of Houston offered the course to the Golf Association without a rental charge. South African Bobby Locke became the Shell Houston Open’s first international champion, winning by five shots with an 11-under-par 277 total.
In 1948, the tournament was in danger of going bankrupt, resulting in the postponement of the tournament to the following year as the organization collected their resources. The tournament was then reopened the next year at Pine Forest Country Club, where Johnny Palmer won the even 16-under-par 272.
Houston got its first ever hometown champion in 1952. Jack Burke Jr. won by six shots over Frank Stranahan at Memorial Park. Burke went on to win in tournaments in the following weeks in Baton Rouge and Petersburg.
To draw more players, the Houston Golf Association doubled the prize in 1953 to $20,000 and the attendance doubled as well. That same year, the first five-way playoff took place in PGA tour history.
World-renowned player Arnold Palmer competed in the 1957 tournament, winning with a nine-under-par 279 and the winner’s share of $37,100. Then, in 1960, Palmer competed in the newly-named Houston Classic and ended up tied with Bill Collins. Collins beat the legendary Palmer in the sudden death round.
The prize money steadily increased to entice more players to compete in the tournament. In 1965, the purse was officially changed to $75,000. The following year, the purse was again increased, but this time to $110,000 for the winner.
In 1969, the tournament faced bankruptcy again and the Houston Golf Association officials were forced to cancel. They instead chose to work with the United States Golf Association to host the U.S. Open at Champions. By hosting the U.S. Open, the Houston Golf Association’s debts were erased and they gained much-needed funding.
Throughout the years, the purse has steadily increased and is currently valued at $6 million, with the winner taking home a little over $1 million.