Straight out of the box, before it was even known as the Texas Swing and grew into one of the strongest cogs in the
PGA Tour machinery, the best swingers in the game ruled the state. Stars in the making or those already established made it a point to play the Texas tournaments. And so it goes here in this once-critical part of the PGA Tour schedule, where the movement is sliding in one direction: from can’t-miss-these-tournaments to where-are-they-again The downward trend can be attributed to more than one factor: the death of Hogan and Nelson in 1997 and 2006, respectively the quick rise to prominence of the Quail Hollow Championship, the seven-year old Charlotte tournament that many of the game’s elite players have locked into their schedule. And last but perhaps most importantly, the move of the Players Championship from March to May, turning a once manageable month into one of the most hectic on the calendar. Add it all up and the odd tournaments out have been the ones in Texas, especially when it comes to Tiger Woods, who hasn’t played the Nelson since the host’s death, and has played the Colonial just once as a pro. Ben Crenshaw, 57, grew up in Austin. His first PGA Tour victory was the 1973 Texas Open and he also won the Colonial twice and the Nelson. Crenshaw acknowledged there’s been some slippage on the Texas Swing. Doug Sanders, who has lived in Houston for 40 years, won the 1961 Colonial. The 75-year-old Sanders understands that players can’t play every week, so they adjust their schedule. Even so, Sanders says the Texas Swing is whiffing. “It’s lost its stature,” he said. “Now, people don’t know how to relate because there are so many other tournaments X,Y,Z, what’s the difference”
Maybe some positive signs are showing up, though. There’s an improved course at the Nelson, after D.A. Weibring’s re-do of the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas. And the Texas Open caught a break when it was shifted out of afterthought status as part of the Fall Series and moved its current spot before the Nelson. Next year, the event will be played on a Greg Norman-designed course that’s still under construction.