Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial

The memory of Ben Hogan lives on at this weekend’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The Fort Worth, Texas, tournament will once again be played on the 7,054-yard, Par-70 course at Colonial Country Club.

An event steeped in tradition, the Colonial starts with its hometown hero Hogan. The nine-time major champion was a five-time winner at the Colonial. In fact, Hogan won the inaugural event in 1946 on his way to winning four of the first six (1946, ’47, ’52, ’53), along with a runner-up finish in 1948.

What Hogan lacked in stature (5’7”), he made up for with legendary ball-striking ability. After turning pro in 1930, Hogan won 64 PGA Tour titles — including a career grand slam at The Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship — before retiring in 1971.

In order to claim any of this week’s $6.1 million total purse or $1,098,000 winner’s share, players will be forced to shape shots wisely rather than attempt to overpower the course. Historically, accuracy and patience pay off more than power does at the Colonial. Nine of the past 11 winners ranked in the top-10 in driving accuracy for the week. And 15 of the 16 leaders in scrambling have finished inside the top-6 since 1992.

“A straight ball will get you in more trouble at Colonial than any course I know,” said Hogan, whose ability to pull any shot out of his bag led to his reputation as the greatest ball-striker who ever played the game.

The course is essentially the same today as it was when Hogan teed off over 60 years ago. The Colonial is only 19 yards longer than it was in 1946 and the event is second only to The Masters as the longest running PGA Tour event contested on the same layout.

As expected, with an emphasis on course management and shot-making, the Colonial lends itself more to veteran players. Since 1990, there have been only two champions under the age of 30 — Phil Mickelson (29) in 2000 and Sergio Garcia (21) in 2001.

That statistic goes against a recent PGA Tour trend, however. Six of the last eight champions have been in the 20’s — with Garcia (28) at THE PLAYERS Championship (May 11), Anthony Kim (22) at the Wachovia Championship (May 4), Adam Scott (27) at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship (April 27), Andres Romero (27) at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (March 30), Sean O’Hair (25) at the PODS Championship (March 9) and J.B. Holmes (26) at the FBR Open (Feb. 3).

Last year, a veteran trio — Rory Sabbatini, Jim Furyk and Bernhard Langer — finished with a 14-under 266 before battling over the traditional champion’s plaid jacket in a playoff. Although Sabbatini technically won the bright red jacket and Leonard Trophy following his performance in the playoff on Sunday, it was the South African’s putting on Saturday that may have been the difference. Sabbatini had a 19-putt third round on his way to victory.

This year, a star-studded field is led by the No. 2 player in the world, Mickelson, and arguably the hottest player on Tour right now, Kenny Perry.

The 47-year-old from Franklin, Kentucky, is a two-time Colonial winner (2005 and 2003) as well as the all-time leading money winner in tournament history, with checks topping $2.6 million. But just as important, Perry has been in the final group on Sunday the past two weeks — finishing second in a playoff at the AT&T Classic after stumbling to a high-profile 15th at THE PLAYERS Championship two weeks ago.

“I’ve had it in my hands the last two weeks and all I had to do was finish it off and I couldn’t do that,” said Perry. “I have to keep pushing.”

The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial will be televised on Thursday and Friday on GOLF Channel (3:00-6:00 p.m. ET) before CBS (3:00-6:00 p.m. ET) takes over the weekend coverage.