Three Weekend Superlatives

Course of the Weekend

Though I quite like the North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort, currently serving as host of the NCAA Championships, this week’s Course of the Weekend designation belongs to Colonial, the 1936 gem designed by John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell and restored by Gil Hanse ahead of the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge.

Rain softened the golf course leading into Thursday’s opening round, but by Sunday afternoon, Colonial had turned back into the version of the course we’re accustomed to seeing: a firm, quirky puzzle where creativity is beneficial and complete control of the golf ball is paramount.

Why does Colonial succeed in challenging the best players in the world at a meager 7,200 yards while so many other longer PGA Tour venues (cough TPC Craig Ranch cough) get taken apart?

A combination of factors: fairways set on angles that are difficult to hit, thick Bermudagrass rough that is both unpredictable and unforgiving, trees that force players to shape shots both off the tee and into greens, and small, fast greens that are nearly impossible to hit from out of position. All of these factors become magnified in firm conditions. When the weather complies, Colonial penalizes wide misses, rewards players who find the fairway, and demands precision with approach play.

The best representation of the challenge Colonial presents is No. 17. Measuring just 399 yards, the penultimate hole played over par in three of the four rounds this year. Bashing away with driver is not an attractive option. A hazard cuts through the fairway just over 300 yards off the tee. Moreover, additional distance is not as valuable on a 400-yard hole as it would be on, say, a 500-yard hole. Statistically, the difference between 120 and 140 yards is not as significant as the difference between 220 and 240 yards, for example.

Finding the fairway is imperative on No. 17. Trying to control a shot from gnarly Bermudagrass rough into a firm, shallow green is already extremely difficult; the task becomes even taller when you have to shape it around a tree. Not a fun shot! And unlike many venues with thick rough that fail to properly penalize a long, offline miss — like Torrey Pines — Colonial doesn’t let you miss a tee shot 30 yards wide and be no worse off than if you’d missed the fairway by just a few yards.

The Google Earth screengrab below gives some perspective for the view players face off the tee.

Colonial is the type of test that allows a world-class player like Russell Henley to thrive despite his lack of firepower off the tee. Entering the week, Henley led the Tour in Driving Accuracy and Scrambling, rudimentary stats that are vulnerable to nitpicking but still indicators of a player with total control of his golf ball. For four days, Henley kept the ball in the playing corridors, striped his irons, and managed his way around a golf course that punches back when you color outside the lines.

It is a wonderful test that holds up with time, identifies the players with the most control over the ball, and provides a crucial ingredient to the schedule: variety. The club prides itself on being the longest-running non-major venue on the PGA Tour calendar, a well-earned title it should keep as long as it decides to continue opening its doors to the Tour.

Player of the Weekend

With all due respect to Russell Henley, truly one of the best players in the world, especially when precision is appropriately rewarded, my Player of the Weekend is Preston Stout. The Oklahoma State junior got off to a poor start at the 2026 men’s NCAA Championship, carding a 1-over 73 on Friday that included two double bogeys and left him outside the top 50 after Friday’s first round. But Stout caught fire over the weekend, shooting 67-65 to grab the solo lead entering Monday’s final round. His bogey-free 65 was the best score recorded on Sunday by three full strokes. A remarkable turnaround.

Auburn’s Jackson Koivun (T-7) has taken much of the spotlight in the amateur game, and for good reason. He is the clear-cut best amateur in the world and one of the most promising prospects in some time. But when discussing the most promising young golfers in the world, Preston Stout should not be overlooked. Talk to knowledgeable people in college golf circles, and they are quick to mention how much talent Stout has and how bright his future is, too. He is a back-to-back-to-back Big 12 individual champion, a Haskins Award finalist, and a four-time winner this calendar year alone. Now, Stout is just 18 holes away from earning a Masters invitation and the most prestigious title in collegiate golf: NCAA individual champion.

You can catch the final round on Monday on Golf Channel from 5:30-9:30 p.m. ET.

Quote of the Weekend

“I spent some long hours on the range trying to figure some stuff out and I was talking to AI quite a bit last night trying to go through some different physics principles that makes the club turn over, having some alpha torque and gamma torque put in there…I didn't actually figure it out on the range. I went back and started talking to Gemini and trying to figure out just what it could be to passively make the club turn over.”

Go ahead and take a wild guess at which professional golfer gave this quote after his tournament on Sunday. You can end the suspense at the link here, though I suspect you already know the answer.

At times, this player has been referred to as the Big Golfer. From today forward, it might be time to start referring to him as the Large Language Model!