Shell Houston Open

HOUSTON (Jan. 13) -- Lee Westwood of England and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland have committed to play in the Shell Houston Open the week of April 2-5 at Redstone Golf Club -- Tournament Course.

Westwood is currently ranked No. 11 in the World Golf Rankings. Clarke is a five-time European Ryder Cupper who finished second in the 2002 SHO and tied for fourth in 2004.

Westwood received an invitation under a special category reserved for non-PGA TOUR members in the top 100 of the World Golf Rankings and in the field for the 2009 Masters. Clark is in the unrestricted exemption category. Westwood played in the 2004 and 2007 Shell Houston Open. Clark finished second behind Vijay Singh in 2002 and tied for fourth in 2005. He opened with a 68 in 2006 but withdrew when his wife Heather's battle with cancer took a turn for the worse.

While Westwood has a 2009 Masters invitation in hand, Clarke, who won twice on the European Tour in 2008, is hoping to crak the Top 50 in the World Rankings to garner an invitation. He can also earn a Masters Invitation with a victory in the Shell Houston Open.

Johnson Wagner, defending Shell Houston Open champion, was invited to The Masters after his victory.

Visit www.shellhoustonopen.com for more information on the PGA TOUR's 10th oldest event. The SHO and Tell Blog link (www.shoandtell.com), located in the upper right-hand corner of the home page will have plenty of news, including field updates, plus notes about professional golf.