Following Jason Dufner's dramatic victory at the Byron Nelson in Las Colinas, the PGA TOUR travels a mere 30.3 miles to the west for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth. While the Dallas event is often referred to as a huge social party at the glitzy Four Seasons with the golf as background entertainment, Fort Worth's event is a golf tournament with a lot of people partying on the venerable grounds of Colonial Country Club.
Since 2000 and 2008 champion Phil Mickelson made it very clear that he will not be returning to Colonial anytime soon after the course's tweaks expect some of the biggest galleries to be following Rickie Fowler and John Daly. Other big names in the field that will garner attention include defending champion David Toms, 2010 champion Zach Johnson, Nelson champion Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Bill Haas, Nick Watney and Hunter Mahan.
While most everyone at the Nelson finds their way to the Pavilion, Colonial spreads its crowds among the popular Champions Club, the 13th Hole aka 'The Party Hole' that is complete with the Caddie Races, the Crowne Plaza Lounge next to the 10th fairway, the Hogan Club at No. 18 and the exclusive clubhouse.
After play is complete for each day, look for the usual suspects including Joe T. Garcia's, Del Frisco's and Railhead BBQ to be packed. Expect the Woodshed Smokehouse, located on the Trinity River just outside the No. 4 green, to be an amazing scene in its inaugural Colonial. Another big attraction is the Michelob Ultra 19th Hole in Sundance Square that features free live music and is open from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
For further information on Colonial tickets, go to a local Tom Thumb or visit here