To most casual fans of the game of golf, we are currently in the midst of the non-descript part of the PGA Tour’s schedule. In early April the first major of the year, the Masters, is contested at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. During Father’s Day weekend in June, the United States Open is played, this time around at Erin Hills Golf Club outside of Milwaukee. In the post-Tiger Woods era, there is limited interest in those two months of tournaments at places like Harbour Town, Dallas, Fort Worth and Memphis. After all, professional golf is often seen as all about the majors, the World Golf championships, and the Fed Ex Cup playoffs.
Yet for those cities that host the Byron Nelson or the St. Jude Classic, the PGA Tour coming to town during this so-called “down period” is a very big deal. It’s that one opportunity for the local area to be on golf’s center stage, even if most of the game’s top performers are taking an extended vacation to get ready for golf’s next major championship. It is that one opportunity for the local tournament to raise millions of dollars for local charities. And for minor league cities such as Fort Worth, Memphis and Hilton Head, it is that one chance to show what their metropolitan area is all about.
Prior to golf’s explosion on the world sporting stage, professional golfers competed in 30-35 tournaments annually on the PGA Tour. For instance, the No. 1 marquee golfer during the advent of the television era, Arnold Palmer, historically played in more than 30 tourneys. In 1958 when Palmer captured his first career major at the Masters, he played in 32 tournaments. The following year he competed in 31 events. Palmer also had a personal philosophy that if he was unable to play in a tournament one year, he would make it a priority to play in that event the following season. Nowadays, golf’s top performers average 20 tournaments per year and some of the game’s greats limit themselves to the minimum of 15 events. Arnie had to hustle for his thousands. Rory is going to make millions regardless.
This week, the PGA Tour finds itself hosting the 72nd annual Deane and Deluca Invitational at storied Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth. Colonial was founded in 1931 and was designed by Perry Maxwell and John Bredemus. Maxwell is one of the rock stars of the early days of American golf architecture, having designed Southern Hills in Tulsa, a past site for the United States Open and the PGA Championship. Maxwell was involved in the redesign of Augusta National, home of the Masters, in 1937. Earlier that decade he co-designed the highly regarded Ohio State University Scarlet Course alongside Alister Mackenzie. Maxwell was somewhat of an Open doctor in his time and also redesigned Merion in 1938 and Westchester in 1939.
Colonial hosted the U.S. Open won by Hall of Famer Craig Wood in 1941. It has also hosted the Players Championship that was captured by Al Geiberger in 1975 as well as the Women’s U.S. Open that Meg Mallon won in 1991. Yet it was the advent of the original Colonial Invitational that was first contested in 1946 that brought the venerable parkland course onto the radar among America’s greatest tests of golf. Its inaugural champion was Ben Hogan and he would go on to win a total of five Colonials during the first 13 years of its existence. Colonial ended up being known in American golf circles as “Hogan’s Alley.”
Yet Ben Hogan was not alone. Past champions have included a veritable golfing hall of fame with the names of the game’s top players on the perpetual trophy. Multiple Colonial victors inclue Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Julius Boros, Nick Price, Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Ben Crenshaw, Corey Pavin and Phil Mickelson. Those linksters of note who have won the Colonial one time include Sam Snead, Tommy Bolt, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Watson, Roberto De Vincenzo, Gene Littler, Dave Stockton and Sergio Garcia. Jordan Spieth is the defending champion. The nature of the golf course at Colonial coupled with its history and tradition has always made it one of the top-flight events on tour during the past 72 years.
Yet the 2017 Dean and Deluca at Colonial has become more of a B-level event than one of the game’s premier tournaments contested at Hogan’s Alley. Part of the problem is the schedule. In the days of automotive transportation, it made sense for tour golfers to stay in Texas for four straight weeks to play in the Texas Open in San Antonio, the Houston Open, the Dallas (Byron Nelson) Open, and the Colonial in Fort Worth. Nowadays, with chartered jets and million-dolla-plus paychecks, the pros don’t need to play as often as Arnold Palmer once did. They pick and choose their tournament schedule based on what courses they play best, what sponsors they are affiliated with, and how everything aligns with their preparation for the major championships.
Jordan Spieth will always be a part of the field at Colonial because he grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Phil Mickelson is playing this week as is Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, and Masters champ Sergio Garcia. Yet you won’t find Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlory or Rickie Fowler anywhere on the leader board this week. The Dean and Deluca Invitational of 2017 holds nowhere near the importance that the Colonial Invitational of 1947, 1957 or 1967. Things change over time in the world of sports, and such is the case at Colonial this weekend.
On a different note, our column two weeks ago featured Grant Fairbairn of College Prep High School in Oakland. Grant was the junior golfer who called a two-stroke penalty on himself for hitting the wrong ball at Rooster Run in Petaluma during the North Coast Section playoffs. He ended up as the medalist that day with a 7-under-par 65 that just might have been a 63 had he not incurred that penalty. His 65 got him into the following week’s Tournament of Champions at Chardonnay in Napa. He once again posted the low score, shooting a 5-under-par 67 to advance to the NorCals at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville. This past Monday, Grant carded a 1-under-par 71 at Sierra View to punch his ticket to the State Finals at Poppy Hills Golf Course at Pebble Beach on Wednesday. The field at the state finals includes three teams from Northern California, three teams from Southern California, nine individuals from the North and nine from the South for a total field of 54 contestants. Grant now finds himself in rarified air with the best junior golfers currently competing in California. We’ll update our readers next week with his exploits at Poppy Hills in the CIF High School State Championship.
