Johnson Wagner, 2008 Shell Houston Open champion, doesn’t plan to add to his schedule just because of his early success in 2012. Wagner, who won the SONY Open in Hawaii and finished T2 in last week’s Humana Challenge, is taking this week off before heading out to the West Management Phoenix Open next week.

Before he went shopping for a new big screen TV today with his brother-in-law, Johnson took time to visit with morning show hosts Marc Vandermeer and John Lopez on KILT Sports 610.  Johnson’s victory at the SONY Open earned him an invitation to play in The Masters. That means he will play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Shell Houston Open before teeing it up in The Masters.

Johnson Wagner, 2008 Shell Houston Open champion, is leading the PGA TOUR’s money list and the FedEx Cup points standings after the first two weeks of the season.

Wagner captured his third career PGA TOUR victory in last wee4k’s SONY Open and has earned $1,155,000, just ahead of Hyundai Tournament of Champions winner Steve Stricker with $1,142,000.

Wagner has a 45-point lead over Stricker going into this week’s Humana Challenge, nee the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

The Shell Houston Open Birdies for Charity kickoff meeting is set for 2 PM today at the Houston Golf Association offices, 5810 Wilson Road, Suite 112.

Newcomers to the program can get an overview from program coordinator Sharon Fitzpatrick. The 2012 Birdies for Charity Pledge Forms will also be available for pickup.

Birdies for Charity is a no-cost fund-raiser for 501c (3) organizations. Organizations collect pledges for as little as a penny based on the number of birdies made by the field in the Shell Houston Open. Houston Golf Association supplies all the collateral material, including pledge forms, a password protected web site and billing.

Charities receive 100% of the collected pledges. There is also a “Guess the Birdies” contest. Those pledge-makers who correctly guess the exact number of birdies made during the tournament are entered in a drawing for a 2012 Toyota Camry, donated to the Houston Golf Association by Gulf States Toyota.

Heavy rain and flooded streets forced cancellation of the Monday Jan. 9 Houston Golf Association meeting. The meeting, which will focus on the upcoming Shell Houston Open, has been reset for Monday Jan. 16 at 6 PM at the Cadillac Bar and Grill, 1806 Shepherd.

Drawing for a trip to the 2012 Masters Tournament will take place that night. Proceeds from the raffle benefit the Houston Golf Association Academic Scholarship Fund, which has provided more than $620,000 in scholarships since 1996. Currently 16 young people are attending college on grants from the Houston Golf Association. Another 24 HGA scholarship recipients have gone on to earn degrees from 16 different colleges and universites throughout the country.

Shell Houston Open sales will be the focal point of the Houston Golf Association’s first membership meeting , set for Monday, Jan. 9 at 6 PM at the Cadillac Bar and Grill, 1806 Shepherd.

First order of business will be The Masters ticket raffle that benefits the HGA Academic Scholarship fund. Fred Newton will be conducting the drawing.

Herschel Sikes, General Chairman for the 2012 SHO, will speak about  tournament operating committee topics. Staffer Seliece Caldwell will unveil some new incentives for new 2012 sales. This 30-day contest will afford members to earn Bonus Shell Houston Open Champions Pavilion  tickets as well as Titleist Pro V1 golf balls or a fitting session at the Taylor Made Performance Lab at Redstone Golf Club. 

Steve Timms will close the meeting with some  news on the current PGA TOUR schedule.

One of the best budget stretchers for golf lovers is the $109 Shell Houston Open GolfNut package that features four (4) Good-Any-Day Champions Pavilion Tickets for this spring’s PGA TOUR tournament, valued at $160. Also included are a SHO logo cap, high tech microfiber caddie towel from ClubGlove, sleeve of three (3) commemorative logoed Titleist Pro V 1 golf balls, plus logoed ball mark, cap clip and ball mark repair tool from CMC. Altogether the components have a retail value of more than $230.

If you did not place your order on-line by the Dec. 16 deadline to ensure delivery before Christmas, there is still a chance to get a GolfNut package for the golfers in your life. The Houston Golf Association will have a limited number of packages available for pickup at its offices (5810 Wilson RD, Suite 112 , Humble, TX 77396), today between 9 AM and noon. Be sure to phone the office at 281-454-7000 to ensure product availability. Credit card purchases have a $3 convenience fee. Pay by cash or check to avoid that fee. Since the HGA offices will be closing Thursday for the holidays, this is indeed the last chance to get a GolfNut package until the New Year.

 To ensure delivery before Christmas GolfNut orders must be placed by 5 PM on Friday (Dec. 16).

The $109 GolfNut package features four (4) Good-Any-Day Champions Pavilion tickets for this spring’s Shell Houston Open (March 28-April 1) at Redstone Golf Club. In addition to the tickets, which have a face value of $160 ($40 each), the package includes the following tournament logo merchandise:

• Golf cap from Richardson
• High tech microfiber caddie towel from Club Glove
• Commemorative sleeve of three logoed Titleist Pro V 1 golf balls
• Kit of ball markers, ball mark repair tools and cap clip from CMC

The $109 price includes shipping via Federal Express. All credit card orders include a $3 convenience charge. Orders may be placed on-line 24/7 or by calling the Houston Golf Association office weekdays between 8 AM-5 PM.

The GolfNut package will be available after Dec. 16 but there is no guarantee for delivery by Christmas. Quantities are limited.

Play in the Shell Houston Open and good things can happen.

Americans Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland posted a come-from-behind victory in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China to underscore the World Class Golf theme at the Shell Houston Open. Both Kuchar and Woodland teed it up at the 2011 Shell Houston Open.

Actually the Shell Houston Open and the World Cup Golf event have quite a few ties. Until Kuchar and Woodland won, the last United States duo to claim the title was former SHO winner David Duval and Tiger Woods in 2000.

Another former SHO winner Fred Couples and partner Davis Love III teamed to dominate World Cup Golf, winning four straight titles beginning in 1992.

The 2012 Shell Houston Open is set for the week of March 26-April 1 at Redstone Golf Club’s Tournament Course. Phil Mickelson, who recently played on the winning American squad in the Presidents Cup matches, is defending SHO champion.

What an honor it is to represent the PGA TOUR Tournament Advisory Council as a member of the Presidents Committee for this week’s Presidents Cup. Melbourne has proved to be a more than worthy host of the event and it has been interesting to learn more about the rich tradition of golf here in this area. Equally as interesting are the close ties of a number of Australian Professionals to the Shell Houston Open. There have been six Australians that have won a total of eight Houston titles including current Presidents Cup team members: Robert Allenby (2000) and Adam Scott (2007). Looking forward to seeing the opening matches later today.

Phil Mickelson has become the 14th Shell Houston Open champion to be voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The 2011 Shell Houston Open marked Mickelson’s 39th PGA Tour victory. The 41-year-old Mickelson has won three Masters and a PGA Championship.

Other Shell Houston Open winners in the Hall of Fame include:

Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bobby Locke, Cary Middlecoff, Roberto De Vicenzo, Raymond Floyd, Gene Littler, Jack Burke Jr., Vijay Singh, Hubert Green, Curtis Strange and Bob Charles.

The induction ceremony will be May 7 at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., the week of the PLAYERS Championship, which Mickelson won in 2007.