Shell Houston Open

HOUSTON (Feb. 10) -- Ernie Els of South Africa, currently No. 13 in the World Golf Rankings, has committed to play in the Shell Houston Open.

Els boasts 60 tournament titles worldwide, including two U.S. Opens and one British Open. He has won 16 times on the PGA TOUR.

The Shell Houston Open is set for April 1-5 at Redstone Golf Club -- Tournament Course. Els will be testing the Rees Jones-designed Tournament Course for the first time. Els only other appearance in the Shell Houston Open was in 2003 when the event was played on the Jacobsen-Hardy Course (Members Course) at Redstone Golf Club.

Other international stars slated to tee it up in Houston include:

• Greg Norman of Australia, who spent 331 weeks atop the World Golf Rankings
• Lee Westwood of England, currently No. 12 in the World Golf Rankings
• Rory McIlroy, the 19-year-old phenom from Northern Ireland who is No. 15 in the WGR and recently won the Dubai Desert Classic
• Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, a five-time European Ryder Cup veteran

Johnson Wagner will be returning to defend his title at the Shell Houston Open.