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Adam Scott claimed his 11th PGA TOUR victory at Colonial Country Club. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
• COURSE: Colonial Country Club, 7,204 yards, par 70. A shotmaker’s course known for its doglegs and tight fairways, Colonial opened in 1936 and served as the U.S. Open stage just five years later – the first time the event went south of the Mason-Dixon Line. The PGA TOUR has visited each year since 1946, making the Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus design the longest-running host site on the circuit. Colonial also staged the second edition of THE PLAYERS Championship in 1975, the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open and Annika Sorenstam’s historic venture a dozen years ago as the first woman to play a PGA TOUR event since World War II.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• CHARITY: Cook Children’s Medical Center, supporting programs to ensure no child in need of medical attention is left untreated. Some 90 other Tarrant County charities receive proceeds from the event, with last year’s total reaching $9 million.
• FIELD WATCH: Masters winner Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker, Nos. 1-2 in the FedExCup standings, join defending champion Adam Scott and eight others from the top 35 in the world rankings. … English pros Ian Poulter and Paul Casey will both tee it up at Colonial for the first time since 2009, bypassing the European Tour’s flagship event in the process. … Corey Pavin, Colonial’s champion in both 1985 and ’96, returns for his 32nd appearance in the event. Hall of Famer Tom Watson, whose last PGA TOUR win came at the 1998 Colonial, is back for the first time since 2002. … Cody Gribble, a teammate of Spieth’s at the University of Texas, and Sam Saunders received this year’s “champions’ choice” invitations to young pros not otherwise eligible. Saunders’ grandfather, Arnold Palmer, won at Colonial in 1962.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Zach Johnson (2010).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Keith Clearwater (2nd round, 1993), Lee Janzen (4th round, 1993), Greg Kraft (3rd round, 1999), Kenny Perry (3rd round, 2003), Justin Leonard (4th round, 2003), Chad Campbell (3rd round, 2004).
• LAST YEAR: Scott, just days after ascending to world No.1, cemented his new status with a comeback victory to beat Jason Dufner in a playoff of 2013 major champions. Scott began the final day two shots off the lead and trailed by three at the turn, but found his groove on the back nine to finish off a 4-under-par 66. The Aussie and Dufner matched pars on the first playoff hole and birdies on the second before Scott drained a 7-foot birdie on the 18th green to win it. It was Scott’s 11th PGA TOUR victory and made him the first to complete the “Texas Grand Slam,” combined with wins at the Shell Houston Open (2007), Byron Nelson Championship (2008) and Valero Texas Open (2010).
• STORYLINES: Spieth, also a Valspar Championship winner in March, continues his pursuit of his first victory in his home state. He can’t come much closer – runner-up at both San Antonio and Houston earlier this spring, the latter in a playoff to J.B. Holmes. … Walker, who claimed a four-shot romp in his San Antonio hometown, also has a chance to become the first to three victories in 2015. … Scott will try to join Ben Hogan as the only man to notch back-to-back wins at Colonial. Hogan did it twice – 1946-47 and 1952-53. … Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member, seeks a home-course triumph after top-15 finishes in each of the past three years. He tied for fifth last year and in 2012, sandwiched around a tie for 14th two years ago.
• SHORT CHIPS: Scott’s victory also made him the 15th man to complete the “DFW Double” by pairing a Colonial win with the Byron Nelson. The last before that was Rory Sabbatini (2007 Colonial, ’09 Byron Nelson). … Each of the past six Crowne Plaza Invitational winners have come from behind on the final day – preceded by a seven-year run in which the 54-hole leader always finished the job.
congrats to last weeks winner-
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