Can Browne emulate Hogan?

In the 52 years that MasterCard Colonial
has been played, only Ben Hogan has defended
successfully. And Hogan did so twice.
Hogan captured the inaugural event at
Colonial Country Club in 1946, then followed
up in 1947. He again won consecutively in 1952-
53. For good measure, Hogan added a fifth
Colonial title in 1959.

Can Olin Browne match Hogan by
becoming the second successful defender?

Entering this week’s play in Ft. Worth, TX,
Browne owns two PGA TOUR victories. The
first, at the 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open,
came in a playoff with Stewart Cink and Larry
Mize. Last year’s win came in the face of a 6-
man rush, resulting in a one-stroke victory over
Fred Funk, Paul Goydos, Tim Herron, Greg
Kraft and Jeff Sluman.

A final-round 66 brought Browne from three strokes off Kraft’s 54-hole lead,
fashioned by a course-record-tying, 9-under-par 61 in the third round.

The last player to repeat on TOUR was Carlos Franco, the 1999 COMPAQ
Classic of New Orleans champion, who defended that title two weeks ago.

NO. 53: This week’s tournament is the 53rd playing of the
MasterCard Colonial, all of which have been held at Colonial
CC. The tournament, which began in 1946 as the Colonial
National Invitation Tournament, has been played in all but two
years since its inception. The 1949 tournament was canceled
due to inclement weather, and in 1975 Colonial served as host
to the Tournament Players Championship (now THE PLAYERS
Championship). In 1989, the name changed to the Southwestern
Bell Colonial and stayed that way until 1995, when it became the
Colonial National Invitation. The following year it switched to
its current title, the MasterCard Colonial.

MULTIPLE WINNERS: Seven players, led by Ben Hogan’s five
titles, have won the MasterCard Colonial more than once. The
others, all of whom have won two each, are Julius Boros, Ben
Crenshaw, Lee Trevino, Corey Pavin, Bruce Lietzke and Billy
Casper. Al Geiberger also has won twice at Colonial, the second
victory coming at the 1975 Tournament Players Championship
(now THE PLAYERS CHampionship).

PAVIN IS NO. 1: Corey Pavin, who tied for
11th last year, retained his spot at the top of
the all-time MasterCard Colonial money list.
Pavin has earned $737,833 in 16 starts. He is
followed by Tom Watson ($637,857, 22
starts), Jeff Sluman ($606,498, 12), David
Frost ($510,316, 15) and Olin Browne, last
year’s champion ($504,000, 2).

MEN OF THE ‘90S: Although neither has
ever won a MasterCard Colonial, Fred Funk and Kirk Triplett
liked something about Colonial CC during the ‘90s. Both
players made nine consecutive cuts at the tournament from
1991-99. Funk’s best finish was a tie for second last year, while
Triplett has finished no higher than a tie for 15th. Over that
period, Funk has earned $257,944.50 – slightly more than
double Triplett’s $126,386.62. Tom Kite, the only other golfer
to make nine cuts during the ‘90s (1990-93, 1995-99), has made
26 of 26 cuts over the years, making him the leader in that
category at the MasterCard Colonial.

FIRST TIME IS THE CHARM: Five players have captured their
first PGA TOUR victory at Colonial CC: Roberto De Vicenzo
(1957), Dave Stockton (1967), Rod Curl (1974), Keith
Clearwater (1987) and Ian Baker-Finch (1989).

CHAMPIONS’ CHOICES: Two players are selected to play each
year based upon a decision by the former champions of the
MasterCard Colonial. Since 1953, 90 golfers have been selected
as Champions’ Choices, and last year Olin Browne became the
sixth former selection to win. The others: Dan Pohl, Dave
Stockton, Tom Weiskopf, Al Geiberger and Mike Souchak. Of
the six, only Dave Stockton won during his actual selection year
– 1967.

EAGLES HAVE LANDED: Olin
Browne joined exclusive company
by making his third eagle of the
tournament during last year’s final
round of the MasterCard Colonial.
Browne tied the event record of three
eagles set by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1978.
Additionally, in 52 previous
Colonials, only five men had scored
two or more eagles in the same year. That number doubled last
year as Stuart Appleby, David Frost, Tom Lehman and Scott
Verplank joined Browne. Browne was the only member of that
group who recorded two eagles during the same round.

EXTRA TIME: There have been seven playoffs in MasterCard
Colonial history, including two in the ‘90s. The last two were
in 1994, when Nick Price defeated Scott Simpson with a birdie
on the first extra hole, and in 1992, when Bruce Lietzke
defeated Corey Pavin with a birdie on the first extra hole.