HOUSTON – Sources tell KPRC Local 2 that 2012 Shell Houston Open Champion Phil Mickelson and his representatives have made travel plans to Houston to defend his title.
Also Monday, Popular Fred Couples, who broke the "Cougar Jinx" by becoming the first University of Houston alum to win the Shell Houston Open, headlines the latest group of high profile commitments for the March 26-April 1 event at Redstone Golf Club – Tournament Course.
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Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, will be seeking to further pad his record of 18 consecutive cuts in Houston's PGA TOUR event. Last year the 51-year-old Couples broke the standard of 17 consecutive cuts he shared with World Golf Hall of Famer Jimmy Demaret, the late co-founder of Champions Golf Club and first player to win three Masters titles.
Tournament Director Steve Timms also announced that No. 26 Peter Hanson of Sweden and No. 29 Thomas Bjorn of Denmark have received and accepted invitations to play in the Shell Houston Open. Both invitations are out of the non-PGA TOUR member top 100 in the world and in the Masters field category. Couples, who now mainly plays on the Champions Tour, was given an unrestricted exemption.
Also on the commitment list is 2000 Shell Houston Open winner Robert Allenby of Australia. Allenby just lost out on the ninth hole of a sudden-death playoff over the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico.
Hunter Mahan, who committed to the SHO last week, won the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play title, beating Rory McIlroy in the final, and moved to No. 9 in the World Golf Rankings. Other SHO-committed marquee players include No. 3 Lee Westwood of England, No. 15 Graeme McDowell of Ireland and No. 31 Simon Dyson of England.
Joining McDowell are countrymen Padraig Harrington, winner of two British Opens and a U.S. PGA Championship, and defending British Open champion Darren Clarke. Harrington has played in every Shell Houston Open since it moved to the Redstone Golf Club – Tournament Course in 2006. Defending SHO champion Phil Mickelson (No. 11), who won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and Johnson Wagner, 2008 SHO champion who won the 2012 SONY Open in Hawaii, are 2012 winners who have Houston on their schedule.
Timms is next scheduled to see players and agents face-to-face at the Cadillac World Golf Championship event in Miami next week. Players have until March 23 (the Friday before tournament week) to commit or withdraw from the Shell Houston Open. The starting field will be 144 players. A player, not otherwise eligible, could earn an invitation to The Masters by winning in Houston.