HOUSTON, Texas –The Astros Golf Foundation announced today that the 2024 Houston Open will be played March 25-31, 2024 at Memorial Park Golf Course.
The event, which was most recently played in November 2022 and won by World No. 11 Tony Finau, will return to a spring date for the first time since 2018. As the PGA TOUR returns to a calendar-year schedule in 2024, the Houston Open will not be held in 2023.
“There couldn’t be a better date for the Houston Open in 2024. We’re positioned to have the best field that the Houston Open has ever seen and will be nationally televised on NBC in the spring,” said Astros Golf Foundation President Giles Kibbe. “This is great for the Houston Open, great for the City of Houston, and great for the many local charities that we support.”
The PGA TOUR’s Houston Open is the single largest fundraiser for the Astros Foundation and it also benefits the City of Houston, the Memorial Park Conservancy, the First Tee of Greater Houston and countless local charities.
“The Houston Open, a legacy PGA TOUR event dating back to 1946, has all the ingredients of a premier PGA TOUR event: a true competitive test in Memorial Park Golf Course, an engaged fan base, and a commitment to better the community, led by the Astros Golf Foundation,” said PGA TOUR President and EVP Tyler Dennis. “We look forward to the Houston Open’s return to spring and the impact it will have on our 2024 FedExCup season.”
The Houston Open was first played in 1946 and has been won by golf’s greats including Texas-native Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Payne Stewart and Fred Couples. Memorial Park Golf Course hosted the Houston Open for the first time in 1947 and again from 1951-1963 before returning as host in 2020 after a major renovation led by the Astros Golf Foundation.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said, “The return of the Houston Open to the City of Houston and to the PGA TOUR’s spring schedule is something I have advocated for and supported since I became Mayor. The fact that it happened so quickly must be credited to Astros owner Jim Crane and is a testament to what can be accomplished by a true public and private partnership and this community’s support of the Astros Golf Foundation, which raised $34 million to renovate the Memorial Park Golf Course and improve its facilities.
“The City has worked very closely with Jim and the Astros to turn the Memorial Park Golf Course into one of the best municipal golf courses in the country that is worthy of a PGA TOUR event and a great place for all Houstonians to play.”
ABOUT THE ASTROS GOLF FOUNDATION
The Astros Golf Foundation was formed in 2018 after Houston Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane agreed to take control of the long-standing Houston Open tournament. The Astros Golf Foundation was established with three key objectives: to ensure that the PGA TOUR event remained in Houston; to bring the tournament back to its glory and into the heart of the city; to provide much-needed resources and funds to the citizens and community of Houston through park improvements, charitable fundraising, and investment in youth programs.
The Astros Golf Foundation’s goal is to make the Houston Open a premier tournament on tour by engaging more fans, creating memorable experiences beyond the game of golf, enticing a competitive field of elite golfers to compete annually, and delivering up to $90 million annually in a positive economic impact to the city of Houston.
To bring the course up to PGA standards and provide the improvements for the general public to enjoy, in January of 2019, the Astros Golf Foundation began work on a $34 million renovation of the Memorial Park Golf Course and related facilities. World-renowned golf course architect Tom Doak oversaw the renovation with consultation from golf superstar Brooks Koepka. In 2020, for the first time in 57 years, the Houston Open was held in the heart of Houston at Memorial Park Golf Course.
In addition to completely rebuilding the golf course, the renovation included the creation of an environmentally sustainable water re-use and irrigation system that utilizes captured storm water for golf course irrigation, a re-designed and expanded driving range with a two-tiered hitting structure, a new maintenance facility, construction of a short course for First Tee participants, a new STEM education center for kids, and a new tennis complex.
As stewards of the Houston Open, Jim Crane and the Astros Golf Foundation are committed to growing the Houston Open, celebrating the game of golf, and serving the community and the people of Houston.