Jorge Campillo landed in Dallas on Tuesday from the US Open qualifier in London and the first thing he did was head to Fort Worth to play nine practice holes at the revamped Colonial Country Club, this week’s venue for the Charles Schwab Challenge on the PGA Tour. He was only able to play from the 10th to the 18th, but it was more than enough to see that this week’s challenge is very serious. The course is very difficult. Here are some examples from the man himself…
– On the 16th hole, he hit an 8 iron from the fairway and the ball rolled twenty meters.
– On the 17th hole, he hit from 124 meters from the bermuda rough, it bounced ten short of the green and went to the back.
– On the 18th hole, more of the same, wedge from the rough, bounces twenty meters short of the green and the ball ends up at the back.
These three specific examples serve to understand that the greens are hard as rocks, nothing like what we saw in Valhalla last week. Is a slaughter expected? Well, the sky will dictate the sentence. Wednesday and Thursday torrential rains and afternoon storms are expected. The probability of them falling is 60 percent. If it finally happens, obviously the greens will not be so hard, but in any case surely harder than last week at the major in Kentucky. On the other hand, if the 40 percent dry percentage prevails, it will be a bloodbath, to the point that we will see if the winner reaches -10.
Let’s remember that Colonial underwent a major renovation in 2023. It was practically a reconstruction, led by the renowned Gil Hanse. His work, as they say from there, has been exceptional. The course looks spectacular and is really demanding. “We have sought to play as the original designers wanted”. (John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell).
It somewhat reminds of Valderrama, that profile. The greens are very small, the third smallest of what we have so far this year on the PGA Tour, after Pebble Beach and Hilton Head, so with the hardness they have right now, recovering the missed green becomes a titanic task. The fairways are very narrow, 25 meters on average, and even being on them there are trees that can come into play and force you to move the ball. In addition, the bermuda grass grabs and causes the ball to come out very crazy.
The changes in Colonial are quite and evident. For example, on the 13th there was water next to the green and now they have put three bunkers and on the 16th they have removed several bunkers and put the water in play. Throughout the week, we will be able to have a better opinion if the changes have made the Colonial course more difficult or easier, a layout that was always very demanding, but it will certainly be a tough test. It should be remembered that it is a par 70, with only two par 5s, the 1st and the 11th, and the second one is not easy to reach in two.
So, those who were left wanting blood in Valhalla, will be able to enjoy this week, unless the water ruins it (and even so they will be less receptive than the Louisville course). A great test of fire in a tournament that, although not designated, has a high-level participation, led by the World Number One, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Brian Harman or Max Homa.
Jorge Campillo will play the first two rounds with Robert MacIntyre and Ben Kohles, in the penultimate group on Thursday afternoon from the 1st and Friday morning.
