The PGA TOUR heads to the Shell Houston Open this week where J.B. Holmes hopes to defend his title. This week is also the last chance for non-exempt golfers to play their way into the season’s first Major Championship – The Masters. There are 33 players in the field who will be teeing it up at Augusta next week, so the Shell Houston Open will be a great final preparation for them. Watch a preview of the tournament above.
Tournament organizers strive to ensure the Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston is as close as possible to Augusta National Golf Club in terms of course setup and conditioning. As a result, players will encounter similar mowing patterns, green speeds (12 on the stimpmeter), chipping areas and minimal rough that’s cut at just 1 1/4 inches.
Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson are among the top players playing this week. Spieth enters this week at No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking after being bumped from the top spot by Jason Day. He lost in a three-man playoff at last year’s Houston Open before going on to win in Augusta. He owns three top-10 finishes in his seven PGA TOUR starts this season, including a win early in the year at the Hyundai Tournamnet of Champions. Mickelson is also playing very well, with three top-five finishes through seven starts this season, matching the number of top-10′s he had during the entire 2014-15 season.
Source: PGA TOUR
