Colonial Country Club the perfect spot for PGA Tour restart
By Tim Letcher
The PGA Tour restarts this week with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, which is the perfect place for the tour to resume
The PGA Tour is set to return this week and, appropriately, the first event of the restart will be at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The Charles Schwab Challenge, which will have a stellar field this year, is set to begin on Thursday.
Having the tour resume at Colonial is a natural fit. Colonial has hosted a PGA Tour event every year since 1946, the longest running streak of any non-major course on tour.
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Colonial Country Club has a long and storied history. The country club was started by Marvin Leonard in 1936. Leonard hoped to bring bentgrass greens to his hometown, which would be something new and unique for the area.
The club opened in January of 1936 with around 100 members. Just a couple of years later, Leonard got in touch with the United States Golf Association to discuss Colonial hosting the U.S. Open. Leonard was able to sway the USGA to take a chance on his relatively new course, and Colonial was given the rights to host the 1941 U.S. Open, which was ultimately won by Craig Wood. In 1942, the members at Colonial bought the club from Leonard.
Colonial hosts the annual PGA Tour event, which has had a number of sponsorships, and hence names, along the way. The club has also hosted the 1941 U.S. Open, the 1975 Tournament Players Championship and the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open.
As for the actual golf course, it is a par 70 and measures 7,209 yards
The course sits on the Trinity River and winds its way through a residential area. The opening hole is a par 5, one of only two on the course. The other par 5 is the 11th hole. There are two par 3 holes on each nine holes.
The course record of 9-under par 61 is held by seven players. Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen, Greg Kraft, Justin Leonard, Kevin Na, Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell have all recorded the record score at the venerable course.
Colonial has had a number of notable winners during its history, including Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson. However, no player has dominated at Colonial like Ben Hogan. In fact, Hogan was so successful at the course that it earned a nickname in his honor.
The Fort Worth won five times at Colonial between 1946 and 1959. Thus, the course became known as “Hogan’s Alley”.
The PGA Tour is hoping to make a splash as live sports return next week. Starting at the iconic Colonial Country Club is perfect scheduling and should produce an exciting event that will give golf momentum for the coming summer sports season.