 | | Nationwide Tour player Jason Enloe puts in some extra work on the putting green at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in Richmond, where he'll tee it up Thursday through Sunday with 59 other pros competing in the season-ending championship. Enloe is 42nd on the money list and needs a high finish to crack the top 22 money-winners, who will earn their playing privileges on the PGA Tour in 2007. The tournament is televised nationally all four days on the Golf Channel from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Staff photo by Chris Sansone)
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| This weekend brings the biggest professional golf event on this side of Houston since the Shell Houston Open was played at Quail Valley Country Club in the early 1970s. Thursday through Sunday, the Nationwide Tour holds the final tournament of its season at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in Richmond.
Almost a year ago, the Houstonian's head pro John Kennedy learned his course would play host to the biggest event on the Nationwide Tour this week, and since early summer the entire club staff - with an assist from the Houston Golf Association - has been working feverishly to bring professional golf back to Fort Bend County.
"Course preparation has been the longest ongoing project preparing mowing heights, fertilization, mowing patterns, and basic grooming of the bunkers and greens,” Kennedy said. “We intensively started monitoring the golf course in early summer to determine our mowing heights.”
With help from the PGA Tour agronomist staff, Kennedy said they wanted the rough around 2.5 inches and “we're close to that.”
"The green speeds are around 13 to 13.5 on the Stimpmeter, and we've been double-cutting and mowing them every day,” he said, referring to the device developed more than 60 years ago by Edward S. Stimpson, the 1935 Massachusetts Amateur champion, to determine green speeds.
“The players have mentioned that these greens are the best greens they've played on all year long, which is a tribute to our superintendent, James Edgmon,” Kennedy said. “He's done a phenomenal job; he's the real star of the show.”
The $750,000 purse for this week's tournament is the richest in Nationwide Tour history, with $135,000 going to the winner, which means even Chris Baryla, No. 60 on the money list, can secure a place on the PGA Tour for 2007 with a win this week. Every shot is important.
The Rees Jones-designed golf course is set to play at 7,240-yards with a few modifications for the pros.
“The par-5 16th hole has been changed to tee off from the 14th tee box,” Kennedy said, “and will play to 544-yards which will make for a demanding tee shot with a 262-yard carry over water.”
The short par-4 14th will play 345 yards to allow the longer hitters an opportunity for a true risk/reward play to get onto the green with their tee shots, since the fairways, according to Kennedy, are “firm and fast.”
Kennedy, who graduated from Southern Methodist University and previously served as head golf professional at Sweetwater Country Club before joining Shadow Hawk Golf Club as first assistant golf professional under head pro Paul Marchand, said “without a doubt” the Nationwide Tour Championship is the biggest golf event one of his courses has ever hosted.
Kennedy, who moved next door to The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in March 2002, said he and his staff - assistant golf professionals Jeff Haley, John Saffle, and Paul Minenko - are looking forward to making the players comfortable and providing the fans a great week of golf and loads of hospitality.
“The Houston Golf Association has been fantastic partners. They're basically running the show for us,” he said. “They are very experienced and have been running the Shell Houston Open for years, and they are delightful people to work with, and it's evident they really love the game of golf.
“The community has supported this event well, providing volunteers for marshaling and crowd control,” he said. “We thought Fort Bend would be a good fit (for this event), and it's been an outstanding fit.
“I hope people come out because the golf is going to be great and the weather is going to be fantastic,” Kennedy said, “and for anyone who remotely enjoys golf, it will be a very pleasurable experience for them.”
The Nationwide Tour Championship is televised nationally all four days on the Golf Channel from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets can be conveniently purchased and printed online at www.hga.org for $20.60 for a grounds pass, or $30.90 for a clubhouse pass.
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