Texans are a prideful people, and we hold ourselves and our state in very high esteem. I say “we” because I am half Texan, with five generations of cowboys – and cowgirls – on my mother’s side, and even a Texas Ranger in the family tree.
And I mean a real Texas Ranger, in one Captain James B. Gillett, and not some ballplayer.
So, it stands to reason that I hold a certain affection for this part of the PGA Tour schedule, which boasts a pair of tournaments in the Lone Star State: the past week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open and this week’s Valero Texas Open.
The year in professional golf may start with the Hawaii, California and Florida swings, but what we have now is the Texas Two-Step.
I also enjoy the Masters connection, not only for these tournaments being lead-ins to the year’s first major but also because of the Texas-size presence that Texans have at Augusta National.
For starters, I like the history of both events. The tournament that Valero Energy Corp. sponsors in San Antonio, where the company is headquartered, was first played in 1922, when it was simply called the Texas Open. And the one in Houston made its debut in 1946.
Then, there are the people who have won those tourneys, beginning with Byron Nelson in Houston the first year it was played and including two-time champion Arnold Palmer as well as Curtis Strange and Vijay Singh, who were each three-time victors. Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and Adam Scott also prevailed in Houston.
As for Valero, its roster of past winners is just as heady and features Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead (twice), Arnold Palmer (three times), Ben Crenshaw (twice), Lee Trevino, Justin Leonard (thrice) and Jordan Spieth.
Then, there are the host cities themselves, which also happen to be the two largest in Texas by population, with Houston No. 1 and San Antonio second. And the fact that the venues for both events – the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio for the Valero and the Memorial Park Golf Course for Houston, are open to the public.
I also enjoy the Masters connection, not only for these tournaments being lead-ins to the year’s first major but also because of the Texas-size presence that Texans have at Augusta National. In fact, no state has enjoyed as much success there, with 10 Lone Star State men winning the Masters a total of 15 times. The first to do so was Lord Byron himself, who took the first of his two titles in 1937, and the last Scottie Scheffler in 2022. In between, the golf world watched Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Jackie Burke Jr., Ralph Guldahl, Charles Coody, Crenshaw, Patrick Reed and Spieth slip on green jackets after triumphing there.
Want another Masters connection? Consider that it was a Texan, in Hogan, who came up with the idea in 1952 for the Champions Dinner and as the defending champion hosted the first one, and that his fellow Lone Star Stater Crenshaw presides over that affair today (having inherited the role from Nelson).
I love when the tour swings through Texas.
John Steinbreder
E-MAIL JOHN
Top: Vintage postcard, 1950s.
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