Dean and DeLuca Invitational

Overview

The tournament was founded in 1946, and honors the history of golf by using an official Scottish tartan plaid jacket for its champions and top committee chairmen. Another tradition feeding Colonial history is the Wall of Champions on the first tee, engraved with the name and score of each champion dating back to 1946, plus the 1941 U.S. Open.

The tournament is unofficially associated with Ben Hogan (1912–1997), the long-time Fort Worth resident who won the tournament five times, the most of any player. One of the top players in golf history, he won nine major titles, six after a near-fatal automobile collision in 1949 that kept him hospitalized for two months. Hogan's final three major wins were consecutive in 1953; a statue of him at swing completion is near the clubhouse.

Annika Sörenstam played in the 2003 tournament and became the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event in 58 years, since Babe Zaharias made three cuts as an amateur in 1945. Sörenstam's participation drew high media attention, but she shot 71 and 74 and missed the cut by four strokes.

Sponsors

Colonial Country Club announced in July 2006 that Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts had signed a six-year contract to become the title sponsor through 2012. Crowne Plaza remained title sponsor through 2015. Dean & DeLuca, a chain of upscale grocery stores, became the title sponsor in 2016.

Previous sponsors were Bank of America (2003–06), MasterCard (1996–2002), and Southwestern Bell (1989–94). There was no title sponsor in 1995.

Invitational status

The Dean & DeLuca Invitational is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour, and consequently it has a reduced field of approximately 125 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial Tournament, and the Quicken Loans National.

Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).

Field

The field consists of at least 120 players invited using the following criteria:

1. Colonial winners prior to 2000 and in the last five years
2. Colonial Winners in top 150 of prior year money list
3. The Players Championship and major championship winners in the last five years
4. The Tour Championship and World Golf Championships winners in the past three years
5. Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial winners since 2015
6. PGA Tour tournament winners since the last Colonial tournament
7. Playing members on the last named U.S. Ryder Cup team
8. Current PGA Tour members who were playing members on the last named European Ryder Cup team, U.S. Presidents Cup team, and International President's Cup team
9. Two players to be selected by the current and former champions of the Colonial tournament (Champions Choices)
10. Top 15 finishers and ties from previous year's Colonial Tournament
11. 12 sponsors exemptions -- 2 from among graduates of Web.com Tour finals, 6 members not otherwise exempt, and 4 unrestricted
12. Top 50 Official World Golf Ranking through the Masters
13. Top 80 from prior year's FedEx Cup points list
14. Members in the top 125 non-member category whose non-WGC points for the previous season equal or exceed the points earned by the player finishing in 80th position on the prior year FedEx Cup points list
15. Top 80 from current year's FedEx Cup points list through the Players Championship
16. If necessary to complete a field of 120 players, any remaining positions are filled from current year's FedEx Cup points list

Colonial winners prior to 2000 that are not otherwise eligible are in addition to a field of 120.

Champion's Choice tradition

Colonial has a unique PGA Tour tradition known as the Champion's Choice invitation. Each year, former Colonial champions select two deserving young players, who otherwise would be ineligible, to compete in the tournament.

Pros who made their first appearance at Colonial as a Champion's Choice include Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf, Craig Stadler, Curtis Strange, Mark O'Meara, Paul Azinger and Davis Love III. Five Champion's Choices have eventually won the Colonial; Dave Stockton is the only Champion's Choice to win the tournament in the year selected (1967).

Course layout

Source:

Winners

^ Indicates weather-shortened to 54 holes
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Main sources

Multiple winners

Eleven men have won this tournament more than once through 2016.

5 wins

2 wins