Golfweek has learned from multiple sources that the Houston stop is eyeing a return to the main schedule.
KAPALUA, Hawaii – The 2023 portion of the 2022-23 season is just kicking off and already the talk has shifted to 2024 and beyond.
Changes are coming and one tournament angling for a different future is the Cadence Bank Houston Open.
Earlier this week, Golf Channel reported that the Houston stop, which dates to 1946 and has been played in October since 2019, wasn’t listed as one of the fall events in 2023. Golfweek has learned from multiple sources that the Houston stop is eyeing a return to the main schedule. While it is too soon to know for sure, Houston could take over the date currently occupied by the Mexico Open which in 2023 is set for late April.
But according to Golfweek sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, Houston wasn’t listed on the preliminary fall schedule that has been shown to players because tournament organizers don’t want to hold two events within a span of what could be five months, should it join the main schedule.
When asked Sunday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions specifically about Houston’s place on the fall schedule in 2023, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said, “The reality is there are a lot of moving parts to the fall schedule and we haven’t finalized the schedule yet.”
Monahan noted that the fall schedule should be announced by the Players Championship in March.
In the meantime, there is plenty of back-room negotiations going on. Jim Crane, who is the owner of the MLB champion Houston Astros, also is believed to be leveraging the emergence of LIV Golf as a potential suitor for a Houston event if Crane doesn’t get the spring PGA Tour date he desires.
Crane is an investor in Escalante Golf, which staged two LIV Golf events in the upstart circuit’s inaugural year – Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon and The International in Massachusetts – and is expected to host a third LIV event this season at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona. An Escalante Golf representative said the company doesn’t disclose information on its investors.
“He’s not a conscientious observer,” one source said of Crane’s feelings about the Saudi Arabian PIF Fund being the chief underwriter of the upstart league.
Crane, along with Giles Kibbe, senior vice president and general counsel for the Astros and president of the Astros Golf Foundation, played in the pro-am at LIV’s Boston event, the city where Monahan cut his teeth as tournament director of the now-defunct Deutsche Bank Championship.
“When he goes out to play in a pro-am in Boston, he’s sending a message. He doesn’t even play Pebble anymore,” a source said of Crane.
Houston is one of the largest markets in the U.S., and the Tour certainly doesn’t want to lose it. Despite the Houston Open being successful going up against football and on the heels of a steady stream of baseball playoff games in recent years, Crane reportedly is no longer willing to support a golf tournament in the fall.
The Mexico event joined as a limited field World Golf Championship in 2017 and was downgraded to a regular PGA Tour tournament this year as a full-field event. That required a move of the course from Mexico City’s Chapultepec to Puerto Vallarta and Vidanta Vallarta. With Mexico’s best players joining LIV, there has been speculation that the Mexico tournament could pull the plug after this year.
Playing in a LIV pro-am isn’t the only power-play move Crane has made to get the date he wants or potentially take his ball and go home. He also owns the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Florida, and Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, who both jumped ship to LIV last year, are among its members. According to a source, Johnson approached Crane about having a LIV tournament at The Floridian with Johnson’s name on it but Crane turned it down.
“If he didn’t get the date he wanted (from the PGA Tour), he might not have said no,” a source said.
Efforts to reach Cadence Bank tournament director Colby Callaway weren’t successful.
After a long stretch on the PGA Tour without a victory, Tony Finau now has three wins in his last seven starts and four in his last 30.
His most recent win was a dominant one at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open, where Finau blistered Memorial Park Golf Course with scores of 65-62-68-69 to win by four shots. His lead was as big as eight at one point.
But even after matching the tournament’s 54-hole record and holding a four-shot lead Saturday night, he admitted things didn’t feel tip-top come Sunday morning.
“I think I said it on air [on Golf Channel] right after I finished, when I teed off this morning I felt a little off, honestly,” he said. “It’s not easy sleeping on the lead. I just, I didn’t know if I had it in me, but you just take it a shot at a time.
“I was able to make some big putts on 8 and 9 just to kind of open up this tournament. Really pleased with the performance overall and especially my putting.”
Here’s everything Finau said after winning the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open.
Q: The 3M Open win was special where you had all your family in attendance, but what did it mean to you to have wife and son come out and join for this?
TF: “I think they see the hours put in and they’re very supportive. They always have been. My son’s like my biggest fan. He’s also my biggest critic. Anytime if I make a double bogey or something, he’ll be the first one to point that out, doesn’t matter if it’s a 65; what happened on this hole, you just made a 7. He’s my biggest fan, my biggest critic, it’s amazing to have him here. And of course my wife. You know, she’s been so supportive of my career since we’ve been married. They’re very special to have in my life, but especially just to be supporting me and to have them here with me this week.”
Q: Speaking of your family, did she come in just for the final round today?
TF: “Yeah, they flew in, I think they got here like when I made the turn or something like that. They got here like just in time to watch the back nine. Apparently she must have had a good feeling about today. I’ll tell you what, she felt a lot better than I did if that was the case.”
Q: You obviously didn’t make a whole lot happen on the back nine, but you obviously did not need to make a whole lot happen. Were you just trying to say don’t do anything stupid going in?
TF: “It’s a place I’ve never been before. I’ve never had an eight-shot lead on the final round on Tour. It’s an interesting mindset. A little bit of ‘don’t screw it up’, or maybe ‘if we hit some good shots we can extend this lead’. … I will say on 14 and 15 I got a little impatient. We were waiting on the group in front of us and I just felt like we had been out there forever. It literally felt like this tournament wasn’t going to end, like were we ever going to get to 17 or 18. I tried to muster up as much patience as I could. Think that short putt I missed on 15, I just didn’t take the time I needed to hit the putt and I missed a short one. But overall this was a special week. You know, I won this golf tournament from start to finish. I don’t know if I’ve done that in my career, maybe at Rocket Mortgage, but to have played that well for four straight days, that’s what it’s all about and all the hard work is starting to pay off, which is fun.”
Q: You were thinking thoughts out there today that you might not have been thinking five years ago, right?
TF: “No question. You know, when I say I don’t know if I thought I had it in me, I just, sometimes you just don’t know what the day’s going to bring. Those emotions you just have to fight throughout the day and I was able to fight them and just execute when I needed to. I definitely have the confidence to win and I showed that out there today.”
Tony Finau acknowledges the crowd after making a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the second round of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open. (Photo: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports)
Q: How is this one different than the two during the summer?
TF: “Every one is special in its own way. I took quite a bit of time off over this fall. I wanted to be with my family and I knew after the Presidents Cup that I was going to shut it down until last week in Mexico. I committed to that, but when I did pick the clubs back up after a little break, I was eager to compete and that’s a nice feeling to have having played so many tournaments. This is my ninth season now. To actually have that real excitement to compete, I felt that over the last couple weeks. After missing the cut last week, I was disappointed but I was very eager to just get back out and play again, have that opportunity. I feel like I live a very blessed life. I can play whatever golf tournament on the PGA Tour I want. Obviously has a lot to do with my play, but I just feel very blessed. I approached it this week kind of with that mindset and things just went my way and it was a week to remember.”
Q: Going back to what you said about maybe just things were a little off today, how did you kind of combat that when you got to the golf course, got into your warmup and then out on the golf course as well?
TF: “You just try and talk yourself into positive thoughts as well as, as good as you can. I had a little bit of a short warmup. I had to go to the restroom in the middle of my warmup, so I didn’t get to hit as many balls as I think I would have liked. But I knew I was playing well and I thought just in my mind I had it at the end of the day, if I just keep hitting good shots, I’m going to be really hard to catch. I really calmed myself down there right through the middle of the front nine, hit some fairways and made some putts for birdie and then I was just kind of on my way.”
Q: You led the field in both driving accuracy and greens hit. Where did this rank for weeks as far as feeling in control of your ball?
TF: “Yeah, probably the best driving week I’ve had in my career, at least that’s how I felt. Yesterday for the first time in my career I hit all 13 fairways, 100 percent of fairways in regulation. I’ve never done that in my career, so definitely drove the ball. And it’s a lethal combo when I feel like this is the best putting week I’ve had as well. So you combine those two and you can get kind of a runaway win like I had. It’s very encouraging for me as I move forward throughout the season.”
Tony Finau hits a tee shot on the tenth hole during the final round of the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open. (Photo: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports)
Q: I saw you were 40th in driving distance last year. Is that a continuous theme of dialing it back a little to have more control?
TF: “I never looked at anything as dialing back, it’s just more of accuracy. I’ve become a very precise, precision player. I always have enough in the tank when I feel like I need it. On a golf course like this there were a couple times that I can open up a little bit, like notably on 16 today there was a hazard on the right about 295, I just give it a little extra to make sure if I push that ball, the one mistake I can’t make is hit it in that water, so little things like that. But it’s a luxury to have speed. At the end of the day, it’s always been a luxury for me. So being as precise as I am now off the tee, it’s a fun game hitting from the fairway a lot. I didn’t hit a lot of fairways growing up. I hit it very, very far, but that occasional hook, duck hook or slice was right around the corner and it’s nice to have the type of control that I had over the driver this week for sure.”
Q: Three wins in your last seven starts. … is this the most that all parts of your game have been clicking in your career?
TF: “This is definitely the most all parts of my game have been clicking, but I would say I’ve played a lot of good golf for a while. I didn’t have a lot of wins to show for it, but I’ve pieced together a game and that’s what you have to do out here. You know, with my experience, again as I alluded to, trying to be more of a precision player, because I don’t lack speed, so learning how to drive it in the fairway, working on my wedge game, working on my putter, those are all things that I worked extremely hard on. And I feel like I’ve been a very solid player for a long time, but it’s exciting for me that I’m getting better and that’s all I can ask of myself is try and get better in the areas that I really need to. And then remember why you are where you are. I think I don’t go too far away from the DNA of my game and how I see the game and I think I’m kind of bearing the fruits of how I see the game now and I’m able to hit the shots that I can see, which is pretty cool.”
Q: In a similar vein, mentally, is this the best you’ve felt knowing that you have the ability to finish off these tournaments?
TF: “I’ve always felt like I’ve been very mentally strong. Sometimes I feel like once my game matches up to my mental attitude, I feel like I can be a great player. I feel like I’ve been a good player, showed some — showed some brilliance in spurts, but being consistent, to be consistently great takes a full game both mental and physical and I feel like honestly my physical game is starting to match up to my mental. I’ve always been tough, I’ve always been strong mentally. Having a game that matches that is I think a great combination and I’m starting to see that with myself.”
Q: Tony, you were holding that trophy up quite a few times getting a lot of pictures taken and you can tell the crowd really appreciated you, you’re a real good champion, but could you feel the support of the crowd and the gallery all day?
TF: “It was very overwhelming in my favor. I heard a lot of chants, Tony chants. It’s pretty humbling really. I’m a little bit obnoxious [sic] to it sometimes when you’re out there playing because I can’t open up and acknowledge everybody because I’m trying to stay as in the moment as I can. But it is pretty humbling to hear I have so many fans, especially here in H-town and it was special to have those fans out there cheering for me.”
The 33-year-old is on fire as of late, with three wins in his last seven starts on Tour. Finau boat raced the field Sunday to win the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open by four shots at 16 under at Memorial Park Golf Course for the fifth PGA Tour win of his career. For his efforts, Finau will take home the top prize of $1.512 million, with runner-up Tyson Alexander earning a cool $915,600.
Check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open.
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Tony Finau came into the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open off a missed cut last week in Mexico in his first start of the season. He said he didn’t take any time off and continued to practice to knock off rust in an effort to bounce back.
And did he ever find his form.
Finau led or co-led after every round, and kept distance from the field during the final round Sunday at Memorial Park Golf Course. Finau captured the fifth PGA Tour title of his career Sunday, finishing at 16 under and winning by four strokes.
After winning only once in his first 188 starts on Tour, Finau has now won four times in his past 30 starts and three times in his past seven.
“In a position to win a tournament, you want to know what you’ve got to do,” Finau said of trying to close. “It was different nerves, I’ve never been in that position before where I was that far in front. I mean, I could get used to that, that’s a nice feeling to have. But I tried to just stay present and know that there’s still a lot of golf to be played, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that.”
There was never really a question as to whether Finau was going to win the Houston Open, moreover by how much. After going out in even-par on his first nine holes, he proceeded to go 5 under on his second nine during the first round to tie the lead. Then, he blitzed the field with an 8-under 62 to take a commanding four-shot lead at the halfway point.
During Saturday’s third round, which featured gusty winds and cooler temperatures, Finau didn’t miss any of the 13 fairways and shot 2-under 68, including a great up-and-down on the 18th hole to preserve his four-shot lead heading to the final round. It was a round he called better than the 8-under performance the previous day, and it set him up for Sunday, where he left no doubt.
“I was always hopeful that I could go on special runs, and I think we’re starting to see that now,” Finau said. “I’m starting to put together a full package game, which is really exciting for me. That’s all you can do is work hard, and I’ve worked extremely hard on parts of the game that I know I have to. I think it’s starting to show.”
For Finau, he’s in the field next week at the RSM Classic. He’s also the last player to win back-to-back starts on Tour, which he did at the 3M Open in Minnesota and the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Michigan late last season.
Tony Finau closes with a 1-under 69 to win the Cadence Bank Houston Open by 4 strokes; becomes the first 18-hole leader/co-leader to win on the PGA TOUR since he achieved the feat at the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic in July.
“It’s not easy sleeping on the lead,” Finau said. “I just, I didn’t know if I had it in me, but you just take it a shot at a time.”
“It’s an interesting mindset. Yeah, a little bit of don’t screw it up, or maybe if we hit some good shots we can extend this lead. I kind of lived in the middle out there.”
With Finau running away for the title, the most interesting race was who would be runner-up between Tyson Alexander and Ben Taylor. Coming into the Houston Open, neither player had recorded a top-10 finish on Tour.
Alexander drilled a 33-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to get to 12 under, and Taylor, who was a shot behind, hit his approach shot to 23 feet but was unable to make it, so he finished at 11 under and solo third with Alexander finishing runner-up.
“Great week for me,” Alexander said. “I wish Tony would have taken the week off, but yeah, you know, 132 players, I think one guy’s going to beat me, so that’s what it’s all about, just trying to beat as many people as possible.”
Nevertheless, it was a career weekend for both he and Taylor.
It was also a special week for Cole Hammer, Travis Vick and Kyle Westmoreland. Hammer, a Texas graduate, made his first cut on Tour as a professional. He had missed his first six. Hammer finished T-27 at 2 under.
Vick, a current senior at Texas, made the cut and finished at even-par for the week, in a tie for 39th.
It’s a heroic story for Westmoreland. He went to high school in the Houston area, then earlier this year became the first Air Force graduate to earn a Tour card. On Veterans’ Day weekend, Westmoreland made the cut on the number, having to wait until Saturday morning to find out whether he made it. He placed T-27 and 2 under for the week.
HOUSTON – When comparing Saturday’s third round to the first two days at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open, it’s hard to find many similarities.
Except a big one: the name at the top of the leaderboard.
Memorial Park Golf Course played much more difficult on moving day, thanks in large part to cooler temperatures and gusty winds. Players were faced with a difficult task of trying to find ways to score when there weren’t many to begin with.
Meanwhile, everyone who made the cut remains in pursuit of Tony Finau, who is in search of his fifth PGA Tour title.
Here are some takeaways from the third round of the Houston Open.
Hideki Matsuyama has dealt with several injuries in 2022.
Hideki Matsuyama has dealt with several injuries in 2022.
He withdrew from the Players Championship before the first round citing a back injury. He withdrew from the Valero Texas Open a week before defending at the Masters. He withdrew from the 3M Open after the first round. And, finally, he withdrew from the FedEx St. Jude Championship playoff event due to a neck injury.
Add Houston to the list.
After opening his third round with a 4-over 39 front nine, Matsuyama withdrew from the Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course citing a neck injury.
He made the cut on the number Saturday morning (even par).
Hideki Matsuyama WD during round three of the Cadence Bank Houston Open (neck injury).
Here’s who missed the cut, including the 12th-ranked golfer in the world.
HOUSTON – It’s finally time for the weekend in Texas.
Friday afternoon storms suspended play for good at 3:26 p.m. local time, with no groups who teed off in the afternoon having completed play. That meant everyone had to come back Saturday morning to essentially a different golf course.
The temperature Friday afternoon was 86 degrees. Saturday morning? How about 43. The winds also shifted, blowing out of the north instead of the southeast. It made for a chilly start for those who had to come back and fight to improve their position on the leaderboard and it helped those who may have missed the cut if the conditions remained nice.
Tony Finau, at 13 under, maintains his four-shot advantage with 36 holes to play. Patrick Rodgers and Alex Noren are four shots behind.
Here’s who missed the cut at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course. The cut was even par, and 70 players made it.
Last week, Tony Finau missed the cut. This week, everyone is chasing him.
HOUSTON – Last year, the winning score was 10 under. The year before, 13 under.
As of now, it looks like golfers at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open will blast past those numbers.
The Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course continued Friday, the penultimate FedEx Cup event of the PGA Tour’s fall slate. The first round was halted by darkness, and a handful of players had to come back and finish their opening 18 holes before starting their second round.
And now, the second round won’t finish until Saturday.
However, a name at the top of the leaderboard hasn’t changed since Thursday night.
Here’s a look at some takeaways from the second round of the Cadence Bank Houston Open.
