Some of the stars are aligning in the favor of the Shell Houston Open.
Three, to be exact. And counting.
World No. 4 Lee Westwood and No. 7 Paul Casey of England and No. 9 Rory McIlroy of Ireland have committed to play in the April 1-4 PGA Tour event at the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course. For the fourth consecutive year, the SHO will be lead-in event to the Masters.
Casey is the defending champion, having captured his first Tour victory in a playoff against J.B. Holmes at Redstone. Casey played his college golf at Arizona State and has 10 victories worldwide.
Westwood is a six-time Ryder Cup team member who has victories on the European and PGA tours. He won the inaugural Race to Dubai — the European Tour’s answer to the FedEx Cup — last season.
McIlroy made his SHO debut last year as a 19-year-old and finished 20th the next week at the Masters. He finished 10th at the U.S. Open, third at the PGA Championship and second to Westwood in the Race to Dubai. This week, McIlroy is defending his Dubai Desert Classic title.
Last year’s SHO field boasted 12 of the top 14 players in the world.
“This is a great start for our player field and an indication it will feature a number of world-class competitors bound tor the Masters,” SHO tournament director Steve Timms said.
