Week 13 Approach Shots: Shell Houston Open

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GOOD MEMORIES: Johnson Wagner won both of his Nationwide Tour titles in 2006 and then graduated to the PGA TOUR. He came close to winning in his rookie year in 2007, finishing second to Chad Campbell at the Viking Classic late in the year during the Fall Series.

Quick Facts

WHAT: 15th of 37 regular-season PGA TOUR events WHEN: April 2-5 WHERE: Humble, Texas COURSE: Redstone Golf Club TV: 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET, Thurs.-Fri. on GOLF CHANNEL; 1 p.m. Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. on NBC RADIO: 12 p.m.-8 p.m. ET Thurs.-Fri. and Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sat.; PGA TOUR Network (XM 146/SIRIUS 209) WHAT'S AT STAKE: $5,600,000 purse ($1,008,000 for winner) FEDEXCUP POINTS: 500 for winner KEY LINKS: Tee times | Leaderboard SHOT TRACKER | Tournament page VIDEO: Opening Shot

Wagner was able to exact some revenge on Campbell a few months later when he took a two-stroke victory over Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy at the Shell Houston Open for his first TOUR title. The victory propelled Wagner to a 60th-place finish in the FedExCup and helped him pass the $1million mark in earnings -- something he's done in each of his first two TOUR seasons.

The Shell Houston Open is the first of four Texas events on the schedule this year with Irving, Fort Worth and San Antonio also hosting tournaments.

This year, Wagner has one top-10 performance, a 10th-place finish at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. Wagner tied for 30th at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational.

PLAYER NOTES: The Presidents Cup captains Fred Couples (U.S.) and Greg Norman (International) will be able to keep an eye on their prospective team members this week when both players tee it up at the Shell Houston Open. Couples is a past champion at the Shell Houston Open, winning by four strokes in 2003. Norman's best finish at this event was his runner-up performance in 1988, when he lost in a three-hole playoff to Curtis Strange. Couples is playing in his 17th Shell Houston Open, while Norman is making his sixth appearance and first since 2002. ...

Sergio Garcia, who has two Lone Star State victories to his credit -- the 2001 MasterCard Colonial in Fort Worth and the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship in Irving -- is playing in his first Shell Houston Open. Ernie Els is in the Shell Houston Open field for only the second time. He tied for 17th in his only other appearance, in 2003. ...

Four of the top-1o players in FedExCup points and eight of the top-10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are playing in this week's Shell Houston Open. ...

With Redstone Golf Club's Tournament Course set up as close as possible to conditions at Augusta National, the site of next week's Masters, numerous European players are making final preparations for the first major championship of 2009. Eight European players ranked in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking are playing this week: Garcia (No. 3), Padraig Harrington (No. 5), Robert Karlsson (No. 7), Henrik Stenson (No. 10), Paul Casey (No. 12), Lee Westwood (No. 14), Rory McIlroy (No. 17) and Martin Kaymer (No. 20). ...

No players managed to record all four rounds in the 60s at the 2008 Shell Houston Open. Throughout the last 15 years of the tournament (dating to 1994), just four players have achieved the feat, each winning the tournament that year: Mike Heinen (1994), Vijay Singh (2002), Fred Couples (2003) and Stuart Appleby (2006). ...

The eight-acre lake adjacent to the par-4 18th hole at Redstone Golf Club's Tournament Course has been dubbed "The Big Ball Washer" because of its propensity for attracting errant shots. In 2006, the first year the Shell Houston Open was held at Redstone, the lake claimed 59 balls, according to ShotLink. In 2007, 53 balls ended up in the water, including one by eventual champion, Adam Scott, who hit his tee shot into the lake at the 72nd hole but recovered to win. Last year, 41 balls found the lake, making a total of 153 balls in three years. ...

ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers is on the scene in Houston for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Albers:

This has to be one of the best international fields outside of a major or a World Golf Championships event all season. Everyone is in Houston, obviously with an eye on Augusta next week, but the Red Stone Golf Club is enough to get everyone's attention. Tournament officials have done a wonderful job of replicating Augusta National conditions; the greens are rolling at a slick 13 on the stimpmeter, there are tightly mown chipping areas and even the rough is similar to that at Augusta National.

Padraig Harrington is among the international players in the field. He got a call from his mother wondering whether he had enough warm clothes after she saw the temperatures in the 60s on Wednesday. Padraig said "not to worry Mum, I have a few sweaters with me."

There's a type of Presidents Cup preview this week as International Captain Greg Norman and U.S. Captain Fred Couples are both in the field.

Weather forecast for the Shell Houston Open

THURSDAY, Rd. 1 FRIDAY, Rd. 2 SATURDAY, Rd. 3 SUNDAY, Rd. 4 Windy Temp: 77 high/47 low Mostly sunny Temp: 75 high/55 low Partly cloudy Temp: 80 high/65 low Showers Temp: 81 high/46 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Shell Houston Open snippets

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Australians have enjoyed tremendous success at the Shell Houston Open. Six different Aussies have won in Houston: Bruce Devlin, Bruce Crampton (2), David Graham, Stuart Appleby (2), Robert Allenby and Adam Scott. Rocky throne: Geoff Ogilvy has held down the top spot on the FedExCup points list since the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. That could change this week as he enters with just a 51-point lead over Phil Mickelson. Both players are entered at the Shell Houston Open. Texindian: Jeev Milka Singh will be among those competing this week at at the Shell Houston Open. While he's a native of India, he's no stranger to Texas. He won the NCAA Division II national championship in 1993 while playing for Abilene Christian University. Giving back: Since 1974, the Houston Golf Association has generated more than $51.6 million for local youth-oriented charities. The HGA ensures funds generated by the Shell Houston Open are put to work locally so that the proceeds of its PGA TOUR event directly impact the local community. HGA also underwrites the costs of a junior golf tournament program and The First Tee of Houston/Redstone.

In the spotlight

This week: Fred Couples and Greg Norman

Each week during the 2009 season, PGATOUR.COM will spotlight one key player in the field. For this week's Shell Houston Open, we have two: Presidents Cup captains Couples and Norman. Learn more about Fred | Greg

A victory this week earns you ...

• Exempt status for the remainder of 2009 and all of '10 and '11 • 500 FedExCup points: Even if you had not earned a point so far this year, 500 would likely move you into the top 20 and create additional opportunities to play in the '09 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and for the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in '10 • A spot in the 2009 Masters, Verizon Heritage, THE PLAYERS Championship, Crowne Plaza Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship • A spot in the '10 Mercedes-Benz Championship • 2,052,000 points for an American player toward making the '09 Presidents Cup team • A spot in the U.S. Open if this is a second victory since June 4, '08

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-4, 488-yard 18th at Redstone Golf Club LAST YEAR: The eighth played to a stroke average of 4.389, with players recording 0 eagles, 29 birdies, 255 pars, 104 bogeys and 28 double bogeys. DESCRIPTION: A challenging and dramatic finishing hole with a lake bordering the entire left side of the hole, the tee shot challenges the golfer to carry as much water as possible, while also avoiding the large sculptured bunker along the left of the fairway landing area. The approach leaves little margin for error, with water on the left and a sand bunker on the right. With the tournament on the line, attacking the left-back hole location is a gutsy proposition. (Click here for Redstone tour)