A. Lee Graham
Reporter
The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial has been awarded “Best Use of Players” honors for the Fort Worth country club’s 2013 tournament.
The honor was given on Thursday Dec. 5 at the Tournament Players Club Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
“On behalf of the PGA Tour, I am pleased to congratulate the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial for being named the best among its peers on TOUR,” said Andy Pazder, the tournament’s executive vice president and chief of operations in a news release.
“The tournament committee should be proud of the special recognition the event has earned for its efforts,” Pazder said.
The Crowne Plaza was recognized for involving players in all elements of the tournament, including charity events, engagement with its title sponsor, in social media and with special events. Tournament organizers formed a Player Alliance, comprising tour players based in the Fort Worth area who served as a sounding board for tournament improvements and helped with appearances at tournament-related charity and sponsor events throughout the year.
In addition, dedicated committees led by a sponsor value chairman and player chairman were formed to deliver multiple player visits. Those included the annual Bedpan Open at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
“Dating back to Ben Hogan, a large part of the success of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial each year is a result of the utilization and influence of the players on our event,” said Bobby Patton, chairman, Crowne Plaza Invitational.
“Having our tournament recognized in this way is quite an honor and we’re happy to accept on behalf of Crowne Plaza, Colonial Country Club, and all of the players who assist us throughout the year,” Patton said.
The 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial will be held May 19-25 at Colonial Country Club. Winning this year’s event was Boo Weekly.
Worldwide, PGA Tour tournaments are broadcast to nearly 945 million households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. In 2012, tournaments across all Tours generated more than $130 million for local charitable organizations, bringing the Tour’s all-time total of charitable contributions to $1.86 billion. More information is available at www.pgatour.com.