The Colonial tournament has a unique connection to some of the games’ greatest names. Historically, the tournament and Colonial Country Club are noted for their mutually strong ties to the late golf legend Ben Hogan, a Fort Worth native. The first playing of the Colonial National Invitation in 1946 was fittingly won by Hogan, as were the following year’s and three more after that, making him the tournament’s only five-time champion. Today, a bronze statue depicting Hogan’s famed follow-through is outside the clubhouse and inside is the Ben Hogan Trophy Room.
According to several media sources, Fort Worth’s storied Colonial PGA event is set to announce a new sponsorship agreement with Charles Schwab Corp.
Schwab, which is building a $100 million campus in Westlake that will house more than 2,500 employees, will begin the sponsorship in 2019, according a report in at GolfChannel.com.
This year, city officials and tournament officials had to rustle up several new sponsorships from local companies for the 2018 event after Dean & DeLuca’s six-year sponsorship ended just two years in.
This year the tournament will be known as the Fort Worth Invitational. Officials put together a foursome of local companies: American Airlines, AT&T, XTO Energy Inc. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, who have committed to support the tournament this year. Others in the business community have also pledged support for the tournament.
The Colonial was first played in 1946 at Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club and is the longest-running PGA Tour event still being played at its original site. Hall of Fame golfer Ben Hogan, a Fort Worth native and club member, won the inaugural Colonial and is the tournament’s only five-time winner.