Fore the Community

Big names tee up for Texas Children's Houston Open golf tournament

For over seven decades, the Texas Children’s Houston Open has been a cornerstone event in the world of professional golf. But beyond the fairways and greens, this PGA TOUR tournament stands as a beacon of philanthropy, making a lasting impact on the community through its charitable efforts.

The details
Taking place March 27-March 30 at Memorial Park Golf Course, this year’s Texas Children’s Houston Open promises thrilling competition and an enhanced fan experience. Spectators will have the chance to witness elite golfers battle for supremacy while enjoying a variety of ticketing options.

Photo courtesy of Texas Children's Houston Open

The Venue Hopper pass is an excellent choice for those looking to elevate their tournament experience. This pass grants access to two exclusive venues strategically positioned at the most exciting holes on the course. Ticket holders can enjoy all-inclusive food, non-alcoholic beverages, and full-service bars where alcoholic beverages are available for an additional charge. The featured venues include:

Chord Energy Club – 15th Green: Known as the “loudest hole in Texas,” this venue offers a vibrant atmosphere with raised patio seating, multiple bars, and lots of food areas. Positioned just left of the challenging Par 3, it is a prime spot to watch key moments unfold.
Michelob Ultra Club – 16th Green: A double-decker venue located on the right of the green on the Par 5 16th hole, providing fans with an incredible view of golfers attempting to reach the peninsula-shaped green in two strokes or strategically laying up.

For those who prefer a more traditional golf experience, General Admission tickets provide access to all public areas of the course, allowing fans to follow their favorite players or settle into a prime viewing spot. There's also a fantastic perk for families: Children 15 and under attend for free!

Plan your parking in advance here.

A star-studded lineup
The Texas Children’s Houston Open is set to feature an incredible roster of world-class golfers, including Scottie Scheffler (World No. 1), Rory McIlroy (World No. 2), Wyndham Clark (World No. 7), Matt Fitzpatrick (past U.S. Open champion), Tony Finau (past champion and World No. 26), Nick Dunlap (Rookie of the Year), and fan favorite Rickie Fowler.

With such an elite field, fans can expect top-level play and unforgettable moments on the course. See the course map here.

A tournament that gives back
One of the defining aspects of the Texas Children’s Houston Open is its commitment to giving back. The tournament directly benefits a variety of causes, making a profound impact on the community. Through its charitable initiatives, the event supports educational programming for schools, scholarships for inner-city youth, financial aid for parents of children with life-limiting conditions, and improvements to golf courses for public enjoyment.

A significant highlight of the tournament’s philanthropic efforts is the “Birdies for Charity” program. This initiative allows donors to contribute and designate their donations to specific causes, ensuring that funds are directed where they are most needed.

The event also proudly partners with the Houston Astros, further strengthening its community outreach and impact.

Photo courtesy of Texas Children's Houston Open

It's a star-studded lineup.

For the fans
Throughout the tournament, fans can look forward to exciting giveaways:

Friday, March 28: First 2,500 fans receive a Cadence Bank bucket hat
Saturday, March 29: First 2,500 fans receive a Texas Children’s Hospital cooling towel

Additionally, fans can enjoy live music after the trophy ceremony on Sunday, March 31, with Adrian Michael and the Greenway Band closing out the event in style.

Join the excitement
Whether you’re a die-hard golf fan or just looking for a fun and philanthropic way to spend a weekend, the Texas Children’s Houston Open — with its thrilling competition, premier hospitality, and a strong commitment to charitable giving — is the place to be.

Secure your tickets today and be part of a tournament that combines world-class golf with community impact.

charity golf golf tournament scottie scheffler memorial park golf course promoted

Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

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Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess