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Dufner, Oosthuizen, Schwartzel boost star power of 2013 Colonial field

Jason Dufner, who narrowly missed a sweep of last year’s PGA Tour titles in Dallas-Fort Worth, joined Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel to give the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial a jolt of star power on today’s updated commitment list.

All three players rank among the top 20 in the world golf rankings, with Oosthuizen _ winner of the 2010 British Open _ at No. 7. That makes Oosthuizen the top-rated player in the field for the May 20-26 event in Fort Worth, surpassing Matt Kuchar (No. 10).

Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion and No. 15 player in the world rankings, will be making his Colonial debut. Dufner, reigning champion at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, is No. 20 in the rankings.

Other notable new Colonial commitments include past major champions Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard, Geoff Ogilvy and Lucas Glover.  Colleyville resident Chad Campbell joined the fray, along with past Colonial champs David Frost (1997) and Tim Herron (2006). With the latest additions, the field in Fort Worth will feature nine of the top 30 players in the world rankings and two of the top 10.

Dufner finished second last year to defending champ Zach Johnson, missing a playoff by one stroke in his efforts to become the first golfer since 1946 to prevail at both D-FW events in the same season. Ben Hogan, the late golf legend from Fort Worth, won titles at the 1946 Colonial and the 1946 Dallas Invitational, later renamed in honor of Nelson.

The latest round of commitments gives Colonial 85 confirmed competitors for its 2013 event.

_ Jimmy Burch

TCU golfer Brun, Texas freshman Stone crack list of 2013 Hogan Award semifinalists #TCU, #Longhorns

TCU golfer Julien Brun is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2013 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the nation’s top college golfer.

Brun, a sophomore from Antibes, France who won a European Challenge Tour event as an amateur last fall, made the list of semifinalists for a second consecutive season. He was joined Thursday by Texas freshman Brandon Stone as well as Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers, one of three finalists in 2012.

The three finalists for the Hogan Award will take part in a live announcement of the winner May 20 in Fort Worth. The announcement is part of tournament week activities at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Three of Thursday’s other semifinalists made the list for a second consecutive year: Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan, Alabama’s Justin Thomas and Washington’s Chris Williams. Other semifinalists include North Carolina State’s Albin Choi, North Florida’s Sean Dale, California’s Michael Kim and Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt.

The list of candidates will be trimmed to three finalists on May 8, with those golfers honored during the live announcement of the winner in Fort Worth. No TCU golfer has advanced past the semifinals stage in Hogan Award voting.

 But Brun, the No. 6 player in the Scratch Players World Amateur golf rankings, joins Williams (No. 1), Wyatt (No. 4) and Thomas (No. 5) among the highest-ranked Hogan semifinalists on the elite list.

 Thursday’s list of semifinalists includes the top four players, as well as eight of the top 10, in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings for college golfers. Brun is fourth on that list, which is topped by Kim, Dale and Stone.

Members of the Hogan Award selection committee consider a player’s record in both college and amateur events over the past year.

 

 

Crowne Plaza releases latest humorous commercials featuring Rickie Fowler, a 2013 Colonial competitor

Officials at Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, the title sponsor for Fort Worth’s annual PGA Tour stop, launched their new golf-related advertising campaign today that will feature tour competitor Rickie Fowler for a second consecutive year.

Fowler, who already has committed to play in the 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (May 20-26 at Colonial Country Club), is featured in a pair of humorous spots that will air for the first time Saturday on CBS and The Golf Channel.

One spot, dubbed “Autograph,” shows Fowler signing all kinds of items _ including a baby and a hotel towel _ on his way to his room after a round of golf. The other, named “Caddie,” features a cameo appearance by Joe Skovron, Fowler’s caddie.

The campaign will run from Saturday through Aug. 4. For a look at the videos, hit this link: 

 http://ihg.co/Crowne-Plaza-YouTube

 

 

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Updated Colonial commitment list has 66 players, including Kuchar, Fowler, Mahan, Daly, Z.Johnson, Furyk

A list of golfers who have committed to compete in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, May 20-26 in Fort Worth. List is updated through today. Commitments are not official until Friday, May 17:

Charles Beljian, Jonas Blixt, Scott Brown, Jonathan Byrd, Patrick Cantlay, Stewart Cink, Keith Clearwater, Ben Crane, John Daly, Brian Davis, Brendon de Jonge, Ken Duke, Steve Flesch, Rickie Fowler, Steven Fox, Jim Furyk, Tommy Gainey, Robert Garrigus, Brian Gay, Tom Gillis, Luke Guthrie, James Hahn, David Hearn, J.J. Henry, Charley Hoffman, John Huh, Fredrik Jacobson, Zach Johnson, Kyung-Tae Kim, Chris Kirk, Matt Kuchar, Marc Leishman, David Lingmerth, Hunter Mahan, Troy Matteson, William McGirt, Kevin Na, Seung-Yul Nol, Jeff Overton, Ryan Palmer, Corey Pavin, John Peterson, Carl Pettersson, D.A. Points, Dicky Pride, Kyle Reifers, John Rollins, Rory Sabbatini, John Senden, Kevin Stadler, Scott Stallings, Kevin Streelman, Chris Stroud, Brian Stuard, Josh Teater, Michael Thompson, David Toms, Cameron Tringale, Bo Van Pelt, Camilo Villegas, Johnson Wagner, Jimmy Walker, Boo Weekley, Charlie Wi, Casey Wittenberg, Y.E. Yang.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Kuchar, No. 9 player in world golf rankings, boosts star power of Colonial field; Mahan, Fowler also join mix

Matt Kuchar, the No. 9 player in the world golf rankings, has committed to play in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, May 20-26 in Fort Worth.

Kuchar is the highest-ranked player among the 66 golfers in the Colonial field, based on the latest wave of commitments released today by tournament officials. Other notable additions among the top 30 players in the world rankings include Hunter Mahan (No. 21) and Rickie Fowler (No. 29).

Jim Furyk (No. 26) and Zach Johnson (No. 27), the defending champion, committed earlier this spring. Jason Dufner, the No. 18 player in the world rankings, has announced plans to participate in Fort Worth but has yet to make an official commitment.

Colonial’s latest commitments include 13 of the top 30 players on the PGA Tour’s season money list, paced by Kuchar (third, $2,154,500) and Mahan (seventh, $1,553,965). Other recent additions include Kevin Streelman (12^th), Josh Teater (21^st), Fredrik Jacobson (27^th), Scott Brown (28^th), Boo Weekley (30^th) and D.A. Points (18^th), Sunday’s winner at the Shell Houston Open.

Other notable additions to the field include Colleyville resident Ryan Palmer, John Huh, Jeff Overton and past Colonial champs David Toms (2011) and Keith Clearwater (1987).

Colonial golf pro Finsterwald honored by NTPGA

Dow Finsterwald, Jr., head golf professional at Colonial Country Club, already had a milestone moment marked on this year’s calendar: his 25th anniversary in his current position.

But there will be another reason to celebrate Sunday, when Finsterwald accepts the 2012 Golf Professional of the Year Award from officials at the Northern Texas PGA in a ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Dallas. Finsterwald will be one of multiple honorees with Tarrant County connections but his award, voted on by peers, ranks among the program highlights.

“I was shocked when they called me. But it’s really cool of them to do it,” Finsterwald said. “I don’t feel like I’m deserving of it, but it’s a wonderful honor. Being a member for 25 years, I guess if you do something long enough, maybe they’ll give you an award.”

Finsterwald said his father, 1958 PGA champ Dow Finsterwald, Sr., will be among those who celebrate with him Sunday. The elder Finsterwald, 83, won 12 PGA Tour events in his career.

Among other recipients of Sunday honors with local connections include: Troy Lewis, The Golf Club at Fossil Creek (Randy Smith Junior Golf Leader Award); Dan Walden, Texas Star Golf Course (Merchandiser of the Year, Public); Paul Earnest, Four Seasons Resort and Club (Merchandiser of the Year, Resort); the late Mac Spikes, former golf pro at Rivercrest Country Club who died in 2010 (Distinguished Service Award); Jon Drago, tournament director of the HP Byron Nelson Championship (Horton Smith Award) and Stuart Deane, teaching professional at Sinclair’s Golf Training Center in Euless (NTPGA Player of the Year and Ben Hogan Stroke Average Award).

_ Jimmy Burch

Colonial champ Johnson seeks to hit statistical goals to enhance game in 2013

Coming off a season marked by two victories and $4.5 million in PGA Tour earnings, Zach Johnson took steps during the off-season to raise the bar in 2013.

The defending champion at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, who took part in today’s tournament kickoff luncheon in Fort Worth, hired a statistician to help him dissect his 2012 performances and pinpoint areas he could improve.

Johnson, 36, said he sought to “find the holes in the stats” and close them this season because that his how he sets goals and gauges progress.

 “My goals are never outcome oriented. I can’t control how many times I win. But I can control the drills that I do to help accomplish these stats,” said Johnson, who is Colonial’s career leader in earnings ($2,875,490) and set a tournament scoring record (21-under par) during his victory in 2010.

The premise, said Johnson, is that if he can hit targeted statistical goals, “then it’ll really show up on the leader board or on the outcome stats.”

A nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, Johnson said the statistical goals he seeks to improve this season include putting _ primarily three-putt avoidance _ as well as driving accuracy, scrambling and birdie conversion on par-5 holes. The early returns have been solid in terms of driving accuracy, where Johnson ranks sixth among tour competitors (70.87 pct.), and in par-5 birdie ratio (64.7 pct.), where he ranks 13^th.

But he ranks 173^rd in total putting and 111^th in scrambling, two areas he seeks to improve as Johnson heads into Thursday’s opening round of the Northern Trust Open in Pacific Palisades, Calif. By design, Johnson has played sparingly this season _ he’s posted two top 25 finishes in three starts _ following the birth of his third child, Abby Jane, on Nov. 1, 2012.

“I don’t want to say I’m rusty, but I don’t feel like I’m quite as polished as I’d like to be at this point,” said Johnson who will compete this week for the first time since Jan. 20. “I’ve taken a lot of time off and … it’s just a matter of getting it back. The system’s in place. It’s just a matter of sticking with it.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Complete list of 2013 Colonial commitments (47 players, thus far) #colonial

Officials at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial have released their initial, 47-player list of commitments to Fort Worth's annual PGA Tour stop. Below is a look at golfers who have made plans to complete May 20-26, 2013 at Colonial Country Club: 

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial commitments

A list of golfers who have committed to compete in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, May 20-26 in Fort Worth. Commitments are not official until Friday, May 17:

Blake Adams, Charles Beljian, Jonas Blixt, Patrick Cantlay, Stewart Cink, Ben Crane, John Daly, Brendon de Jonge, Ken Duke, Steve Flesch, Steven Fox, Jim Furyk, Tommy Gainey, Robert Garrigus, Brian Gay, Tom Gillis, David Hearn, J.J. Henry, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson, Kyung-Tae Kim, Chris Kirk, Marc Leishman, Troy Matteson, William McGirt, George McNeill, Kevin Na, Corey Pavin, John Peterson, Carl Pettersson, D.A. Points, Kyle Reifers, John Rollins, Rory Sabbatini, John Senden, Kevin Stadler, Scott Stallings, Chris Stroud, Michael Thompson, Cameron Tringale, Bo Van Pelt, Camilo Villegas, Johnson Wagner, Jimmy Walker, Charlie Wi, Casey Wittenberg, Y.E. Yang.

_ Jimmy Burch

FW golfer Peterson joins Daly, defending champ Johnson among early Colonial commitments

Officials at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial released their first wave of commitments today for the 2013 tournament. And the list of confirmed competitors, along with defending champion Zach Johnson, includes John Peterson, a former LSU and Fort Worth Paschal golfer who finished fourth at the 2012 U.S. Open, as well as gallery favorite John Daly.

Both Peterson and Daly will be competing on sponsor’s exemptions at the May 20-26 event at Colonial Country Club. Peterson, who does not have a PGA Tour card, will be making his Colonial debut. But his strong showing at last year’s U.S. Open, which earned Peterson, 23, a berth in the 2013 Masters and 2013 U.S. Open, convinced Colonial officials to extend an invitation.

“I think it’s a unique story,” Colonial tournament director Michael Tothe said. “A local, Fort Worth guy. He certainly has proved himself at the major level. We’re excited to host him.”

Also committed to the tournament is Camilo Villegas, who will be competing at Colonial for the first time since 2006, and five Tarrant County residents who are exempt members of the 2013 PGA Tour: Ben Crane, J.J. Henry, John Rollins, Rory Sabbatini and Y.E. Yang.

Others on the 47-player commitment list, released in conjunction with today's kickoff lunchon at the club, include Jim Furyk, Corey Pavin, Johnson Wagner, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Cantlay, winner of the 2011 Ben Hogan Award.

Public ticket sales have begun for the 2013 Colonial and there are a handful of remaining pro-am spots and hospitality packages. For information, visit www.CrownePlazaInvitational.com or call 817-927-4280.

_ Jimmy Burch

Colonial champ Johnson to chat Monday with fans on Facebook, Twitter

Zach Johnson, defending champion at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, will host a live Facebook and Twitter chat with golf fans as part of the tournament’s kickoff luncheon activities Monday in Fort Worth. Johnson, a two-time Colonial champ (2010, 2012) who owns the tournament scoring record (21-under par, set in 2010), will chat with fans Monday from 2 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. Channel titles are Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Facebook or @CrownePlazaInv on Twitter.

Dates for the 2013 tournament are May 20-26 at Colonial Country Club.

_ Jimmy Burch