Austin joins 2016 Texas swing
The Texas swing on the 2016 PGA Tour will include a stop in Austin next season.
But dates for the Dallas-Fort Worth events will return to their traditional running order, with the AT&T Byron Nelson (May 16-22) preceding the Colonial tournament (May 23-29).
PGA Tour officials announced the full 2015-16 season schedule Thursday, with dates for the Colonial event in Fort Worth listed as the Colonial National Invitational Tournament. That name is expected to change by May, with tournament officials in negotiations with multiple suitors to replace CrownePlaza as title sponsor for Fort Worth’s annual PGA Tour stop. CrownePlaza chose not to renew its contract after its ninth, and final, year as the title sponsor in May.
Because the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play event moves to Austin (March 21-27), the 2016 slate of Texas-based events includes five tournaments between March and May. The match-play event will be held at Austin Country Club, with other stops in the Lone Star State at the Shell Houston Open (March 28-April 3) and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio (April 18-24) before competitors head to DFW in May.
The DFW dates mean the Byron Nelson will be played the week after The Players Championship (May 9-15) on the 2016 PGA Tour calendar. The Houston Open will be played the week before the season’s first major championship, the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga. (April 4-10).
Dates for the remaining majors include: U.S. Open (June 13-19), British Open (July 11-17) and PGA Championship (July 25-31). The dates for the PGA Championship are earlier than normal to allow qualifying players to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games, where golf will return to the Olympics for the first time since 1904.
Briefly
▪ PGA: Tiger Woods bogeyed three of his first four holes in the Quicken Loans National on Thursday, then ran off five birdies in six holes around the turn for a 3-under 68. That left him five shots back of leaders Retief Goosen and Ryo Ishikawa at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va.
▪ Women’s British Open: South Korean Hyo-Joo Kim shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Cristie Kerr and Lydia Ko after the first round of the Women’s British Open in Turnberry, Scotland. Fort Worth’s Angela Stanford is tied for 14th after a 3-under 69 and fellow Fort Worth resident Gerina Piller finished 2 under.
▪ Web.com: Kelly Kraft shots 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead over Ryan Spears after one round of the Utah Championship in Lehi, Utah.
▪ European PGA: Scotland’s Paul Lawrie beat France’s Romain Wattel 5 and 4 to advance to the second round of the European Tour match play event he is hosting in Aberdeen, Scotland.
This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Austin joins 2016 Texas swing."