Jordan Spieth defends Dean & Deluca Invitational

The Texan will be looking for a repeat performance at Colonial Country Club

Jordan Spieth defends Dean & Deluca Invitational
Jordan Spieth defends Dean & Deluca Invitational
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The PGA Tour remains in Texas this week for the Dean & Deluca Invitational in Fort Worth. Jordan Spieth defends the title at Colonial Country Club.

Jordan Spieth defends his Dean & Deluca Invitational title this week on the PGA Tour and a strong field has assembled at Colonial Country Club. Masters champion Sergio Garcia is on the start sheet, together with The Players Champion Si Woo Kim, 1996 Colonial champ Phil Mickelson and last week’s winner Billy Horschel.

Since it’s inception in 1946, this event has been played on the same course and, in terms of length, the layout has changed little over the years. When Texas native Ben Hogan won the first Colonial Invitational the course measured 7,035 yards. It can now be stretched to 7,204 yards, but it generally plays a touch shorter than that.

Hogan dominated the early years of this event winning five times between 1946 and 1959, hence the course’s nickname of “Hogan’s Alley.” Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson have also lifted the title.

Spieth comes into this event on the back of missed cuts at The Players and the AT&T Byron Nelson. He’ll be hoping a return to a course where he tasted victory last year will help him end his mini-slump.

The winner of the event is famously presented with a garish tartan jacket and a simply enormous trophy – as you can see from the photo of Jordan Spieth above.

The weather forecast looks mixed. It's going to be hot but probably overcast with a chance of some rain, particularly on the weekend.

TV Coverage: Thursday 25 – Sky Sports 4 from 9pm Friday 26 – Sky Sports 4 from 9pm Saturday 27 – Sky Sports 4 from 6pm Sunday 28 – Sky Sports 4 from 6pm

Ryan Palmer – The local boy is desperate for a win at his home club. He was third in this tournament last season. Palmer was showing good form a month ago with a tied sixth in the Valero Texas Open and then a fourth place in New Orleans.

Jason Kokrak – He was fourth last week but played superbly for the first 36 holes to claim a five-stroke halfway lead. He had a top-20 in this event back in 2013.

Key hole: 5th. This has played as the toughest hole on the course since stats began to be recorded some 25 years ago. At 481 yards, it’s a long par 4 made more difficult by the ditch waiting to the left and a river on the right. The approach must be supremely accurate to a long, narrow target.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?