Colonial field boasts Spieth, Mickelson, Garcia
The star power quotient for the Dean & DeLuca Invitational took a slight hit with Friday’s withdrawal by Hideki Matsuyama, the No. 3 player in the world golf rankings.
But the other seven headliners among the top-25 players in the world rankings remain on the list to compete in Fort Worth, led by defending champion Jordan Spieth (No. 6), Masters champion Sergio Garcia (No. 5) and Phil Mickelson (No. 21), a five-time major champion who will be competing in Fort Worth for the first time since 2010.
When Friday’s deadline for commitments passed, tournament officials were holding pledges from eight of the top 28 players in the world rankings and five of the top 10 in the latest FedEx Cup standings to compete in Thursday’s opening round at Colonial Country Club. Tournament rounds are May 25-28 for Fort Worth’s annual PGA Tour event.
Si Woo Kim (No. 28), last week’s winner at The Players Championship who withdrew from this week’s AT&T Byron Nelson because of a back injury, remains on the list of golfers slated to compete at Colonial. But Jimmy Walker, the reigning PGA champion and No. 26 player in the world rankings, took his name off the commitment list for a second consecutive week. Walker, a former Baylor golfer and Boerne resident, also withdrew from the Byron Nelson, citing an ongoing battle with Lyme disease.
In a flurry of last-minute moves, the Colonial field added Angel Cabrera, a two-time major champion, as well as Hunter Mahan, Jason Bohn, Patrick Rodgers, Matt Jones and Harold Varner III. Joining Matsuyama and Walker among the last-minute scratches were Vijay Singh, Kevin Na and Robert Garrigus.
Michael Tothe, Colonial tournament director, said he was pleased by the talent mix for next week’s event and had not heard a reason why Matsuyama was a late scratch. Golfers are not required to provide reasons for withdrawals before the commitment deadline.
Among the first-time Colonial competitors this year will be Graeme McDowell, winner of the 2010 U.S. Open and a four-time participant on European Ryder Cup teams, and Jon Rahm, a leading contender for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors. Rahm, from Arizona State, has won the last two Ben Hogan Awards given annually to the nation’s top college golfer during tournament week at Colonial.
Rahm, who has one victory and ranks No. 4 on the PGA Tour’s season money list with $3,976,615, has climbed to No. 12 in the world rankings in his first full season as a professional golfer.
“I think the field is great,” Tothe said. “We’ve got a solid international mix and a lot of returning guys who haven’t played here in a while.”
One of those returnees is Mickelson, a two-time Colonial champion (2008, 2000) who added his name to the commitment list Monday. Lefty will be the top player off the PGA Tour’s career money list headed to Colonial, with $82.7 million. The top Colonial competitor in regard to season scoring average will be Garcia (69.58), the reigning Masters champion who is seeking to defend his Byron Nelson title at this week’s event in Irving.
Jason Kokrak, the 36-hole leader at the Nelson, also is in the Colonial field.
Jimmy Burch: 817-390-7760, @Jimmy_Burch
Dean & DeLuca Invitational field
The list of confirmed competitors for the 2017 Dean & DeLuca Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth:
Aaron Baddeley, Blayne Barber, Ricky Barnes, Zac Blair, Ryan Blaum, Jonas Blixt, Jason Bohn, Steven Bowditch, Dominic Bozzelli, Scott Brown, Wesley Bryan, Angel Cabrera, Chad Campbell, Paul Casey, Bud Cauley, Greg Chalmers, Stewart Cink, Keith Clearwater, Bryson DeChambeau, Graham DeLaet, Jason Dufner, Harris English, Matt Every, Derek Fathauer, Tony Finau, Martin Flores, Sergio Garcia, Brian Gay, Lucas Glover, Fabian Gomez, Cody Gribble, Emiliano Grillo, Bill Haas, Adam Hadwin, Brandon Hagy, James Hahn, Brian Harman, David Hearn, J.J. Henry, Tim Herron, Charley Hoffman, Morgan Hoffmann, Billy Horschel, Beau Hossler, Mackenzie Hughes, John Huh, Billy Hurley III, Yuta Ikeda, Jazz Janewattananond, Zach Johnson, Matt Jones, Sung Kang, Michael Kim, Si Woo Kim, Whee Kim, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner, Patton Kizzire, Jason Kokrak, Kelly Kraft, Matt Kuchar, Anirban Lahiri, Martin Laird, Danny Lee, Marc Leishman, David Lingmerth, Luke List, Davis Love III, Curtis Luck, Hunter Mahan, Ben Martin, Graeme McDowell, William McGirt, Phil Mickelson, Bryce Molder, Ryan Moore, Seung-Yul Noh, Geoff Ogilvy, Sean O’Hair, Ryan Palmer, Rod Pampling, C.T. Pan, Cameron Percy, Pat Perez, Scott Piercy, Martin Piller, J.T. Poston, Tom Purtzer, Jon Rahm, Chez Reavie, Kyle Reifers, Patrick Rodgers, Rory Sabbatini, Jamie Sadlowski, Sam Saunders, Ollie Schniederjans, Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Cameron Smith, Brandt Snedeker, J.J. Spaun, Jordan Spieth, Scott Stallings, Kyle Stanley, Robert Streb, Kevin Streelman, Steve Stricker, Chris Stroud, Brian Stuard, Daniel Summerhays, Nick Taylor, Vaughn Taylor, Michael Thompson, Cameron Tringale, Kevin Tway, Tyrone Van Aswegen, Harold Varner III, Jhonattan Vegas, Camilo Villegas, Johnson Wagner, Nick Watney, Boo Weekley.
ALTERNATES: Xander Schauffele, Grayson Murray, Greg Owen, Tim Wilkinson, Alex Cejka, Richy Werenski, John Peterson, Seamus Power, Trey Mullinax, Ryo Ishikawa.
This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Colonial field boasts Spieth, Mickelson, Garcia."