PGA Tour Insults Historic Venue After 80 Years of Loyalty

EXCLUSIVE: Colonial Country Club likely losing PGA Tour event after 80-year run, per sources.

Colonial Country Club, the Fort Worth, Texas private club known as “Hogan’s Alley,” is not expected to be part of the PGA Tour’s new top-tier Championship Series when it launches in 2028, sources told Golfweek.

The club and its title sponsor, Charles Schwab, are reportedly insulted by the potential demotion after 80 years of hosting a PGA Tour event.

Instead of the PGA Tour, Colonial may transition to hosting the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Competition for a Championship Series spot in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is stiff, with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson reportedly making a better financial offer.

Colonial’s footprint is also considered maxed out, making it difficult to generate the additional revenue the Tour wants from its premier events.

The PGA Tour previously said that final bids for the remaining four Championship Series events were due Sept. 30, and no decision has been made — an announcement will come at a later date.

Sources say only one tournament from the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be chosen for the Championship Series.

Colonial Country Club is home of the longest-running non-major event on the PGA Tour schedule, dating back to 1946.

The tournament was originally known as the Colonial National Invitation and became synonymous with Ben Hogan, who won it five times.

Hogan’s 1959 victory at Colonial was the final win of his 64-win professional career.

The club’s Wall of Champions includes Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Ben Crenshaw, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson, and Jordan Spieth.

The course has also hosted two USGA championships: the 1941 U.S. Open and the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open.

Colonial is among the few private clubs that own and operate their own professional golf tournaments.

Club officials and Charles Schwab representatives are still holding out hope they will be selected for the Championship Series.

But they are miffed that 80 years of loyalty and a sponsorship commitment that far exceeds most other companies is getting short shrift, according to sources.

Schwab is an official PGA Tour marketing partner and a title sponsor on both the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

The financial services firm is also the umbrella sponsor of both the season-long points race and postseason on PGA Tour Champions.

One source told Golfweek that club leadership termed being demoted after all these years as “an insult.”

Colonial is not thrilled with the prospect of hosting a Challenger Series event, the Tour’s proposed second tier.

Instead, the club is believed to be weighing an offer to lean into the senior circuit and its familiar faces, many of whom are past champions with a rich history at Colonial.

The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs consist of three events that determine the winner of the season-long title.

The top 36 players in the standings following the Simmons Bank Championship advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

The player with the most cumulative points captures the Charles Schwab Cup and a share of a multimillion-dollar bonus pool.

The playoff finale has been known as the Charles Schwab Cup Championship since 2003.

It has been contested at Phoenix Country Club since 2017 after previously being held at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, starting in 2012.

Papago Golf Club was named as the temporary host for 2027 while Phoenix Country Club undergoes a renovation.

According to a source, the Schwab Cup is set to return to Phoenix in 2028, after which the contract will expire.