
This week sees the players heading to the Lone Star State for one final tune-up before the year’s 2nd Major.
Originally known as the Dallas Open, the first edition of this event was won in 1944 by the very man whose name it now bears.
This was once an extremely prestigious event, with the likes of Nicklaus, Watson and Woods all tasting success in its various incarnations. But the event started to lose some of its appeal when it was hosted at TPC Four Seasons (a course notoriously unpopular with many pros).
After a few years at Trinity Forest the event has now moved to TPC Craig Ranch, just north of Dallas. It is a tree-lined parkland event with very generous zoysia grass fairways. The bent grass greens will be relatively slow at around 11.5 on the stimpmeter. Perhaps the most striking feature of the course is Rowlett Creek. The water-hazard will snake its way through 14 holes