2023 Open champion Brian Harman has noticed a change to Colonial Country Club, which could make it easier to play during this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
The PGA Tour now heads to Dallas after an exhilarating PGA Championship at Valhalla, which saw Xander Schauffele land his first major title.
A relatively strong field, including Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa, will compete this week.
World number one, Scheffler, will be looking to improve on his T3 outing in 2023, where he finished on seven under.
Ahead of the event, players have begun to descend on Colonial, and there are one or two changes to the course that must be dealt with this year.
Brian Harman has noticed changes to Colonial which could make it easier
Colonial has undergone renovation since the 2023 edition, including transformations on the par 3s, particularly on the 8th and 13th. Furthermore, over 65 miles of irrigation pipe have been installed.
Speaking on Tuesday, Harman claimed the organisers have done an excellent job with their alterations.
He told the Golf Channel: “I’ve only seen the front nine so far. Hopefully, I get to see the back tomorrow with some weather coming in. I like the changes. I mean, the grass is still pretty immature, with this being a fresh golf course. I hope everyone stays pretty patient because I think they did a pretty good job.”
Harman also claimed that more options heading into the greens could make approaches slightly easier.
“I do like how there’s a couple more options coming into the greens,” he added. “First impression were the approaches were a little bit easier, as you can see a little bit more. It seems like there’s a little bit less trouble around the greens, but until you play in a tournament, there’s just no way to know.”
“Usually, we would just aim for the bunkers because the bunkers are so good, it’s pretty easy to get up and down out of them. Now you’re going to be buried in Bermuda rough, so it will definitely be different.”
Preparation for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst begins now
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With a stacked field heading to Dallas, it’s clear those who didn’t perform at Valhalla are eager to get back on track as soon as possible.
The U.S. Open at the daunting Pinehurst No.2 is just under a month away, and attention will now shift to the event in North Carolina.
Scheffler will be hoping to get back to his dominant best at the Charles Schwab. Off-the-course issues impacted his outing at the PGA Championship. The two-time Masters winner will want to ensure that he’s back at the top of the leaderboard.
For Spieth, this week is also essential. It’s been a stop-start year for the American, and although there were shoots of recovery at Valhalla, it’s been too long since he properly threatened at a PGA Tour event.
Momentum is a massive part of any player’s success, and picking up a victory this week could turn Spieth’s sub-par season around.
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