Houston Open draws some big names ahead of Masters

[April 02, 2009]  HUMBLE, Texas (AP) --  Phil Mickelson has good reasons to think a strong performance at the Shell Houston Open will translate into an equally strong showing at next week's Masters.

Organizers of the Houston event have tried their best to simulate Augusta conditions at The Tournament Course at Redstone, and that's lured 15 of the top 20 players in the world.

Mickelson said both the setup and the top-notch field will help him get ready for the year's first major.

"It'll be most likely one of the strongest fields we'll have on the PGA Tour, outside of the majors and world golf," said Mickelson, who's won two of his last three starts. "This tournament has found a great niche and done a great job to accommodate the players and make it an exciting tournament.

"The best way to prepare for next week is to play well this week," he said. "If you get into contention, that's your best way to prepare for next week."

Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and Geoff Ogilvy also headline the field, along with former top-ranked players Greg Norman and Fred Couples.

The 54-year-old Norman qualified for the Masters with an unexpected third-place finish at last year's British Open. He's hardly played since, and is back at the Houston event for the first time since 2002.

Norman said the course doesn't duplicate the hills at Augusta, but the greens are just as fast and pristine.

"The greens are superb, probably the best I've putted on in years -- but I haven't played an awful lot of golf in years," he said. "So it's a great green tuneup for Augusta National, no question about that."

The course is hosting the event for the fourth year and features light rough and fairways mowed toward the tee like the Masters. The Augusta-like setup generated enough positive buzz to lure top players from both the PGA and international tours.

A tournament-record 39 foreign-born players will play, including 21 who've already qualified for the Masters.

"They've definitely done a magnificent job preparing it, as close as it can be, from what we might see at Augusta," said Garcia, playing in Houston for the first time. "There are definitely a lot of similarities you can find."

Harrington, who's won the last two majors, has made Houston an annual stop since 2006, when the Tournament Course became the host. He also appreciates the Augusta-like conditions, but said the Houston Open has gained prestige of its own.

"Nobody's turned up this week who doesn't want to win this tournament," Harrington said. "The idea, when you build your schedule, is to peak for the majors. But you're never going to complain if it happens to be this week as well."

Vijay Singh returned after criticizing the new course in 2006 and skipping the last two tournaments. Singh won the 2004 and '05 Houston Opens at the older Redstone course across the street. After playing a practice round on Tuesday, Singh said the new venue had won him over.

"Surprisingly, I did enjoy the golf course," said Singh, who's made only six starts this year because of a knee injury. "Coming back here and looking at it from a different point of view, I think it's not as bad as I thought. It's a pretty decent setup."

The Tournament Course also boasts one of the toughest finishing holes on the tour. The 488-yard par-4 was ranked as the third-toughest 18th hole in 2008, with an average score of 4.389.

A pond lines the left side of the fairway and guards an elevated green. In 2007, Adam Scott dunked his drive into the water, then holed a 48-foot par putt to beat Stuart Appleby by three shots.

Last year, Johnson Wagner led the tournament after all four rounds to earn his first PGA Tour victory and first invitation to Augusta. He hasn't won since and has missed six cuts in 10 starts in 2009.

Wagner is one of 107 players this week who must win to earn a trip to Augusta next week. Another is Davis Love III, who had a streak of 70 consecutive major-championship starts snapped when he missed the Masters last year. Love tied for second at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, but missed the cut at Bay Hill last week.

[Associated Press; By CHRIS DUNCAN]

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