The Colonial: One of the great USPGA Tour stops
IN: News | US PGA | Bank of America Colonial (2005) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 18 May 2005
The Bank of America Colonial hits the fairways of the famed Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas this week when defending champion and course specialist, Steve Flesch looks to reverse some rather ordinary recent form in an attempt to defend the title he won narrowly from Chad Campbell last year.
The event has always been played at the Perry Maxwell/John Bredemus designed course which was opened in the early 1930's. Several others have had a go at it over the years in redesign or alteration work including Dick Wilson, Robert Trent Jones Snr, Jay Morrish and Bob Cupp and finally in 1999, Keith Foster.
It was the venue for the US Open in 1941 when Craig Wood took the title. It was due to the success of that tournament that this event was born. It was the first course in Texas to utilise bent grass greens and there was a lot of scepticism about the capacity of the bent to tolerate the summer heat. They survived, although only just on occasions, but in 1999 the greens were changed to a new strain of bent namely A-4 bent, a more heat tolerant species at which time other alterations were made by Keith Foster.
Foster also redesigned the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa the same year he redesigned the Colonial Country Club so he was given the responsibility that year of redeveloping two course that have played a major part in American golf history.
The event was first held there in 1946 and was won by the man whose name has become synonymous with the course and the event, Ben Hogan. In those days its yardage of 7035 yards meant that it was most likely considered as one of the longer courses in the professional game. That it has stood the test of time without the addition of a great deal of length - it is now 7080 yards - is a testament to the longevity of its fine strategic qualities. It is a golf course with many doglegs moving both ways and with greens twenty percent smaller than the average on the USPGA Tour. "A straight ball will get you in more trouble at Colonial than any course I know," said Hogan. The course requires great shot making as the list of winners would suggest.
This year's field could be considered a little disappointing given that only one of the top five are here but that is perhaps more a reflection on the fact that we have been blessed in the past two weeks by the top few players playing in Dallas last week and at the Wachovia.
Phil Mickelson is here and as a winner and runner up at this event, he must be respected. His nine under par run through fifteen holes of the final round two weeks ago at the Wachovia, indicates just how good his current form is and another solid week last week speaks volumes for his chances here.
Jim Furyk has mixed his form here but he is now approaching a win. He was runner up in 1998 and has been three times inside the top ten in his last six starts. He has played well of late finishing runner up at the MCI and the Wachovia Championship and 18th last week. It is hard to imagine he will not be somewhere thereabouts on Sunday.
Chris DiMarco has done everything but win in recent weeks but this course has not been all that good to him with 40th being his best in four starts. He has elevated his status in the game courtesy of his great challenge to Tiger at Augusta and if he can work out a way to play this course then he may do alright. Only three of his fourteen rounds here have been under par however.
Sergio Garcia let many down last week when defending at the EDS Byron Nelson but his poor week there may have been a reflection on his dramatic loss in Charlotte the week prior. It was still a reasonable week however and it may be that he regains that Wachovia form here on a golf course on which he won four years ago.
Stewart Cink has had some good solid weeks here in the past including a runner up to Mickelson in 2000 but his form of late while not bad has not been great either. He was disappointing at Hilton Head when better was expected but last week there was enough to like about his form to suggest that he may not be out of it this week.
After his traditionally good finish at Hilton Head, Davis Love III has been very ordinary in his last two starts. He has had the occasional good finish here (twice runner up) but I can't get too excited given the inconsistent nature of his current form.
Scott Verplank self-destructed last week, when very much in contention, with a double bogey early on the back nine. He has played only moderately here in the past but surely a win, his first in three years, is not far away.
Kenny Perry is playing well enough to continue his love affair with the Colonial. A winner here in 2003 and runner up in 2002, it has typically been one bad round in recent weeks that has cost him. If he can put four together this week then there is no reason why he can't win for the second time this season.
Shigeki Maruyama did well last week on a course where he had won previously. He has often played well at this course (four top twenties in six starts) and it would not surprise me to see him follow up that third place in Dallas with another good week.
Fred Funk has a solid record here and anyone capable of winning the Players Championship two months ago is certainly capable of winning this if everything falls into place.
Jeff Maggert seemed to be closing in on some very good form and was swinging the club well when 7th in Houston but then he shot 82 in round two of the Wachovia event before being disqualified. He has played well in his home state of Texas and on this course previously. He is worth a chance at longer odds.
Bo Van Pelt played well last year and there have been glimpses of good form of late. He is a player emerging from the learning curve of several years on both the Nationwide and PGA Tour and is certainly good enough to win on the PGA Tour, it is just a matter of when.
Stephen Leaney is lining up for the first time but it might just be a course that suits his style of play. He is definitely on the improve after a slow start to the season and although he is on a learning curve this week, he might just surprise at very good odds.
Other Australasians are here in numbers with Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Steve Elkington, Scott Hend, Mark Hensby, Peter Lonard, Geoff Ogilvy, Rod Pampling, Craig Perks, John Senden and Andre Stolz all here in this restricted field.
The tournament has prizemoney of $US5.6 million.
