Some of the biggest names in golf history come to The Woodlands every year to participate in the Insperity Invitational, the only invitational golf tournament that is included in the PGA Tour Championship.
The event, which has grown and evolved since it began in 2004, gives attendees the opportunity to come in for free to watch what Insperity Invitational Director Bryan Naugle calls the “greats of golf” as they compete for a piece of the $2.15 million in prize money. This year’s tournament, the 12th of its kind, will be held May 2-8 at The Woodlands Country Club.
“These are the greatest golfers in the world over 50,” Naugle said. “They’re the legends of the game.”
The first tournament was held in 2004. In 2008, after a few years at the Augusta Pines Golf Club, the event moved to The Woodlands Country Club. The country club is where the Shell Houston Open had been held, and it is home to a tournament course.
“For our players, it’s kind of like coming home,” Naugle said. “They’ve played there before when they were on the regular tour.”
Naugle worked with the PGA to change the format of the tournament into an invitational, which helped open it up because there are no qualifying events to participate. The players invited to participate have storied pasts.
“Almost everybody who plays in our event has won either multiple events on a foreign tour or has won on the PGA World Champions tour,” Naugle said. “You really have to have been a winner to play in the invitational.”
Some of the biggest names in golf, including Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, have participated in the Insperity Invitational in the past. This year, John Daly will be making his PGA Tour Championship debut, Naugle said.
The tournament typically draws in crowds of 75,000 people throughout the week, providing an economic boost for area shops, restaurants and hotels.
“The average Champions tour event [has] somewhere between $18 to $20 million in economic impact for the week,” Naugle said.
The tournament events, which run all week, are free to the public. A portion of the proceeds are donated to roughly 60 nonprofits, including The First Tee of Greater Houston and Interfaith of The Woodlands.
The Insperity Invitational also includes the UnitedHealthcare Pro-Am on May 2, the Junior Pro-Am and clinic on May 3, and the Woodforest National Bank Championship Pro-Am on May 4-5. Invitational championship play runs from May 6-8.
