- Jordan Spieth looks to bounce back and defend his DEAN & DELUCA Invitational title in his home state. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
• FIELD: See who's playing this week.
• COURSE: Colonial Country Club, 7,209 yards, par 70. Set to host its 72nd edition, only Augusta National has a longer unbroken tenure on the PGA TOUR schedule. The 1936 Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus design is a classic shotmaker’s layout, known for its tight fairways and many doglegs. The U.S. Open came to Colonial in 1941 – the first time the Open went south of the Mason-Dixon Line – and the PGA TOUR made its first visit five years later. Colonial also held the second edition of THE PLAYERS Championship in 1975, the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open and Annika Sorenstam’s historic 2003 venture as the first woman to tee up in a PGA TOUR event since World War II.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• CHARITY: A record $11 million was raised last year for some three dozen Tarrant County charities, bringing total donations over the past two decades to more than $90 million. Among last year’s beneficiaries were SafeHaven of Tarrant County, the All Saints Health Foundation and The First Tee of Fort Worth.
• FIELD WATCH: Jordan Spieth makes a title defense in his home state for the first time, joined by Masters champion Sergio Garcia in a lineup featuring eight of the top 30 in the world rankings. … Si Woo Kim, newly crowned winner of THE PLAYERS, is set to tee it up for the first time since his triumph at TPC Sawgrass. … Phil Mickelson, the 1996 champion, returns to Colonial for the first time since the 2010 edition. … Beau Hossler, a former All-American at Texas now in his first full year as a professional, will play on one of two Champions Choice invitations given out each year to young pros. … The other invite went to Jamie Sadlowski, a two-time World Long Drive champion now splitting time between the Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour.
• 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: Spieth finally came up with that elusive first win in his home state, heating up on Sunday’s back nine and finishing with a birdie/birdie/birdie charge for a second straight 65 and a three-stroke victory over Harris English. Spieth took a one-shot lead into the final day, but nine pars on the front dropped the Dallas native two shots back before he found his rhythm. Three straight birdies after the turn brought him level with English, and the tie stood until Spieth made a curling 20-foot birdie at No.16. A chip-in followed at No.17, and he coaxed home a 34-foot birdie at the 18th to seal the victory. It was Spieth’s first win in 19 Texas starts, including a trio of runner-up finishes in 2015.
• STORYLINES: Spieth, fresh off back-to-back missed cuts at THE PLAYERS and AT&T Byron Nelson, heads to the other side of the Metroplex seeking to turn it around in short order. It’s just the second time he’s exited early in consecutive starts, after The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship in 2015. … After a rare week off, Kim also gets to tee it up as something of a local hero. The South Korean, who already has 19 starts this season, now calls Dallas his adopted hometown. … Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member, again seeks home-course triumph after last year’s share of third. That was his fourth top-15 finish in the past five years, including ties for fifth in 2012 and ‘14. ... Spieth also has a chance to join Ben Hogan as the only man to record back-to-back wins at Colonial. Hogan did it twice – 1946-47 and 1952-53.
• SHORT CHIPS: Former AT&T Byron Nelson champions Jason Dufner and Steven Bowditch can become the 16th man to hit the “DFW Double” by winning both Dallas-Fort Worth stops in their career. Adam Scott was the last, not only taking the double in 2014 but becoming the first to complete the “Texas Grand Slam” when combined with wins in Houston (2007) and San Antonio (’10). … Before Spieth’s victory, the previous seven editions had seen the 54-hole leader unable to finish the task. ... Barring a late WD, Matt Kuchar and Jhonattan Vegas are the only players that will have teed it up in all five Texas stops this year.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
• PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (featured groups), 4-7 p.m. (featured holes).
• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
The PGSF rolls into the tastiest tournament of the year, The Dean and Deluca Invitational
congratulations to last weeks winner Ed
For the season
Bobcat still holding onto the lead as we see the years second major of the year on the horizon.
Good Luck to everyone this week
