ESPN Golf Online news services
Wednesday, April 26

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Hal Sutton shoots for his second straight PGA Tour victory and redemption this week at the $2.8 million Houston Open, which begins Thursday.

Sutton claimed the Greater Greensboro Classic on Sunday for his second win of the season and seventh top-10 finish of the year, tying Tiger Woods and Jesper Parnevik for the most on the Tour.

Ranked fourth in the world, Sutton has had 20 top-10 finishes since the start of last year. One came here last season when he relinquished a third-round lead to place second behind Stuart Appleby.

Sutton, who won The Players Championship a month ago, is the only golfer in the top 15 of the World Rankings entered this week. The next highest-ranked player in the field is Carlos Franco, the defending champion at next week's Conpaq Classic in New Orleans.

Woods and No. 2 David Duval have not played since The Masters nearly a month ago. Also sitting out are Masters winner Vijay Singh, David Love III, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Tom Lehman.

Appleby is back to defend his title, an emotional victory that he dedicated to his late wife, Renay, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1998.

Ranked 27th in the world, Appleby has just one top-10 finish in eight starts this season -- a runner-up showing at the Sony Open in January. He missed the cut at The Masters in his most recent start.

Appleby has three career titles, winning the 1997 Honda Classic and the 1998 Kemper Open.

Other notables entered this week include Fred Couples, Justin Leonard, The Woodlands resident Jeff Maggert and 1992 champion Fred Funk.

Couples, golf's fifth all-time money winner, has two top-five finishes in seven starts this season, playing a limited schedule due to lingering back problems. The 1992 Masters champion, Couples has won 14 titles, but none since the 1998 Memorial.

Leonard, a former two-time All-American at Texas and 1997 British Open champion, is looking to snap a two-year title drought, last winning at the 1998 Players Championship.

Maggert has suffered heartbreaking defeats at his home event two of the last four years, losing a playoff to fellow Texan Mark Brooks in 1996 and watching David Duval rally from a six-stroke deficit to win by one shot in 1998.

Funk broke the course record at The Woodlands with a 10-under 62 en route to his first PGA Tour victory in 1992. His only top-10 finish in 11 starts this season was sixth at the Bob Hope Classic.

The TPC at Woodlands is a par-72, 7,042-yard course. First prize is $504,000.