The Charles Schwab Challenge At Colonial May 25-31 - Celebrating 80 Years!

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Often mentioned in the same breath as the Masters, US Open and other prestigious tournaments, the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge marks the 80th anniversary of the longest running PGA Tour event at the same location.

And what a location – the Colonial Country Club! The story of Colonial and its annual tournament dates back to 1946, when Ben Hogan won his first of five titles in an invitational field of only 28 players. That field was star studded with major champions Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Lloyd Mangrum, Jimmy Demaret, Herman Kaiser and Cary Middlecoff competing. Hogan would win again the next year (1947) and also in 1952-53, four of the first seven tournaments! Nicknamed “The Hawk” because of his intense competitive nature and singular focus, Hogan won his final title in 1959 via an 18-hole playoff on Monday over Fred Hawkins.

Snead won in 1950 and it was noteworthy as the first year for live television coverage and the debut of the five-foot tall Leonard Trophy, named in honor of the club’s founder, Fort Worth businessman Marvin Leonard.

The story of Leonard and his founding of Colonial is a testimony of a man smitten with the game of golf while possessing an acumen for business and visionary foresight. He procured 156 acres along a bend in the Trinity River in 1934. The property was a farm that featured oaks and pecan trees, bordered on the south by the Forest Park subdivision and Texas Christian University.

At that time, Leonard played his golf locally at Glen Gardens where he befriended Hogan, a young caddie there, as was Nelson. Leonard also played at Rivercrest Country Club and became a good golfer whose travels to the great courses in the Northeast and California allowed him to gain an appreciation for bent grass greens. Not prevalent in Texas because of the harsh summer heat, Leonard insisted on installing them at Colonial.

The building of the course showed Leonard’s wisdom when he engaged the services of a trio of course architects who were talented, prolific and later widely praised. Leonard used a triumvirate of John Bredemus, his associate Ralph Plummer, both from Texas, and Perry Maxwell of Oklahoma. Maxwell was winning rave reviews for his work at Southern Hills, taking shape simultaneously to Colonial.

Pleased with the finished product, Leonard opened Colonial for interested parties, charging only a $50 fee for future charges of the member. Among those in line to join that first week was a couple – Ben and Valerie Hogan. A few years later, Leonard lobbied the USGA to play its 1941 US Open at Colonial.

The 1941 US Open was the first ever played in the south and won by Craig Wood. Then, just five years later, the first Colonial National Invitational was played on a course that stands the test of time, testing today the skills of the best golfers on the planet.

Colonial is a masterpiece that continues its vitality in the modern game because of improvements through the years, especially a major restoration project just three years ago. Gil Hanse and his associate, Jim Wagner, designed the recent changes that have met universal approval by Colonial members and the players at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The 2026 event will mark the third time playing on the restored course.

Colonial’s quality conditions and its tendency to sort out the best as winners is a common thread through its 80-year history. An illustrious list of winners are enshrined on the Wall of Champions at the first tee. Those names include Hogan, Snead, Jack Nicklaus (1982), Arnold Palmer (1962), Billy Casper (1964), Lee Trevino (1976 and 1978), Tom Watson (1998), Bruce Lietzke (1980 and 1992) and Ben Crenshaw (1977 and 1990).

A second tier of names, if you will, include multiple times winners Julius Boros (1960 and 1963), Corey Pavin (1985 and 1996), Phil Mickelson (2000 and 2008), Kenny Perry (2003 and 2005) and Zach Johnson (2010 and 2012). And not to be left out are colorful golfing greats Tommy “Thunder” Bolt (1958), Tom “Towering Inferno” Weiskopf (1973), and Gene “The Machine” Littler (1971)!

One other notable winner, twice, was Al Geiberger, known for shooting the first 59 on the PGA Tour and his love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The tall and lean Californian won the second ever Tournament Players Championship in the August heat of 1975 and then won a Colonial invitational in 1979 at age 41 by a stroke over Littler and Texan Don January, ages 48 and 49.

In 2019, the Colonial tournament began a relationship with Charles Schwab that has been a perfect fit. The event has always revered tradition with the Wall of Champions and a Tartan sports jacket to the winners, but Charles Schwab added to it with a classic automobile given to the winner. Each year the prized car is displayed near the 10th tee and serves as a perfect photo op for those attending the tournament.

Through its association with Schwab, the Colonia tournament has benefitted many charities in the Fort Worth and North Texas areas. Last year more than $2 million was donated from the tournament.

When Jordan Spieth (2016) won the Colonia tournament, it highlighted how hospitable the event has been to Texas golfers. Starting with Hogan, other Texas winners have been Homero Blancas in 1970 followed by Trevino, Crenshaw andLietzke.

Lietzke, who passed away in 2018 at age 67, once said, “the greatest thing about the Colonial tournament is the golf course.”

Now 88, Blancas, known as Mr. 55 for the ridiculously low score he once posted in winning an East Texas amateur event while a University of Houston golfer, explained the timelessness of the Colonial course.

“It is good to remember that in 1970 when I won, Colonial was already over 7,000 yards long as a par 70,” Blancas said. “That made par a very good score.”

Still erudite in discussing competitive golf, Blancas said the course remains challenging because it requires accuracy off the tee. He cited his strategy through the well known “Horrible Horseshoe,” comprising holes 3, 4 and 5.

“I couldn’t carry the bunkers on the left on number 3 so that left me a 3 or 4-iron into the green and then on number 4 I would hit something to land about 15 or 20 yards short of the green and let it run up,” Blancas said. “On number 5, I would tee the ball down quite a bit, play it on the heel of the driver, and then just hit it down the left side away from the river. It wasn’t going to hook and I could reach the green even if in the left rough.”

Spoken like a true former champion and echoing the sentiments of Hogan, whose five wins gave Colonial its nickname “Hogan’s Alley.”

“A straight ball will get you into more trouble at Colonial than any course I know, “Hogan once said.

Other Texas legends weighed in with similar observations. In the era of Bredemus, Plummer and Maxwell was the father of golf instruction in Texas, Harvey Penick of Austin.

“I respect the Colonial tournament as in the class with the US Open and the Masters because it tests a golfer’s ability as well as any tournament.”

And finally, capturing the spirit of the tournament, was Crenshaw.

“I know this. Whenever I step onto the course, I sense his (Hogan’s) presence.”

And you can feel his presence, too, when defending champion Ben Griffin and the 2026 field tees off May 28th. A multitude of ticket plans are available via the website www.charlesschwabchallenge.com