Kim, peers boost Colonial profile with strong recent efforts

The field for next week’s Dean & DeLuca Invitational received a boost in star power Monday when Si Woo Kim, Sunday’s winner of The Players Championship and a longtime commitment to compete in Fort Worth, climbed to No. 28 in the updated world golf rankings.

Kim, 21, becomes the ninth golfer in the top 30 of the world rankings to be part of the May 22-28 field at Colonial Country Club. Kim, a native of South Korea who lives in Dallas, has two tour victories in his young career and is the youngest champion in tournament history at The Players, the season’s highest-paying PGA Tour event.

He’ll be joined in Fort Worth by several fresh names on the latest commitment list, including top-50 players Bill Haas (No. 45), William McGirt (No. 46) and Yuta Ikeda (No. 50). By climbing into the top 80 in the world rankings with Sunday’s runner-up finish at The Players, longtime European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter (No. 58) also punched his ticket to join the Colonial field.

Recent additions to the field slated to make their Colonial debuts include Ollie Schniederjans and Billy Horschel, a three-time tour winner who is No. 78 in the world rankings. Players with local connections to join the field include Fort Worth resident J.J. Henry, a former TCU standout, and former SMU golfer Bryson DeChambeau. As of Monday, the Colonial field includes seven of the world’s top 20 golfers: defending champ Jordan Spieth (No. 6), Masters champ Sergio Garcia (No. 5), Hideki Matsuyama (No. 3), rookie sensation Jon Rahm (No. 12), Paul Casey (No. 14), Charl Schwartzel (No. 17) and Matt Kuchar (No. 20).

Michael Tothe, Colonial tournament director, said additional sponsor’s exemptions will be bestowed before Friday’s commitment deadline. For ticket information, visit www.Deananddelucainvitational.com.

This story was originally published May 15, 2017 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Kim, peers boost Colonial profile with strong recent efforts."