The Colonial has landed the world’s top golfer for just the second time this century
Colonial is expected to host the world’s top-ranked golfer for just the second time this century.
Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1 golfer, has the Charles Schwab Challenge listed as the next event on his schedule, according to his website. The Colonial hasn’t hosted the world’s No. 1 golfer since Adam Scott won the tournament in 2014.
Scott was the first No. 1 to tee it up in Fort Worth since 1995, when top-ranked Nick Price finished 12th as the defending champion. McIlroy will be making his Colonial debut.
This year’s tournament, which is scheduled for June 11-14, will be played without fans. It’s the PGA Tour’s first event back amid the coronavirus pandemic.
McIlroy is the biggest name in the field to date. The four-time major champion hasn’t played the event, which has coincided with signature European events.
But these are unprecedented times amid the pandemic and the Colonial is getting arguably its best field.
With McIlory committing to the field, Colonial now has six of the top 10 players committed along with Brooks Koepka (No. 3), Dustin Johnson (No. 5), Patrick Reed (No. 7), Webb Simpson (No. 9) and Tommy Fleetwood (No. 10).
Colonial could land more top 10 players, too, but McIlroy is the most significant.
McIlroy is one of eight golfers who have held the No. 1 label in the field, along with Johnson, Koepka, Justin Rose, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Lee Westwood and Tom Lehman.
McIlroy will now look to become the first player to win his Colonial debut since Sergio Garcia in 2001. The only other players to win their debuts include Keith Clearwater (1987), Dave Stockton (1967), Chandler Harper (1948) and Ben Hogan (1946, the first year of the tournament).
Koepka almost pulled off the feat in 2018, but settled for a runner-up finish to Rose.
Fowler commits
Along with McIlroy, the Colonial added another household name on Wednesday with Rickie Fowler joining the commitment list. Fowler, the No. 27-ranked player in the world, returns after missing the cut at Colonial last year.
That missed cut snapped a streak of 21 consecutive cuts made by Fowler at the time. Fowler has made four of six cuts this season, including two top 10 finishes.
This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 4:06 PM.
