×

Spieth much better at Colonial, his other hometown event

FORT WORTH, Texas — Jordan Spieth has always considered Colonial a hometown tournament as well. He also has had much more success at Hogan’s Alley than at the Byron Nelson, where he played his first PGA Tour event as a 16-year-old high school junior.

“I’ve been coming out here since I was 6, 7 years old, too. It was always a fun couple of weeks,” Spieth said Wednesday. “School was letting out into summertime and the PGA rolled through Dallas and Fort Worth way back when I was just falling in love with the game. … Both places have the extra aura, too.”

Now 24 and with three majors among his 11 PGA Tour wins, Spieth has won only once in his home state of Texas. That was two years ago at Colonial, where he has four top-10 finishes in five starts. He was the runner-up in 2015 and last year.

Webb Simpson, a top-five finisher in the last two Colonials, was off last week after winning The Players Championship earlier this month. He was the 54-hole leader at Colonial last year.

Simpson skipped the Colonial five years in a row after missing the cut in his first two appearances (2009, 2010), using the PGA Tour’s Texas two-step for a two-week break.

“I didn’t play well here or Byron Nelson, and so it just made sense,” Simpson said. “Then I got to the point where I wanted to focus.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $3.69/week.

Subscribe Today