Nine things to know about Las Colinas CC

The ClubCorp Classic makes its PGA TOUR Champions debut at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, this week.

ClubCorp signed a four-year agreement to bring the Champions back to North Texas for the first time since 1995. The event will feature a 78-player field as well as a field of 50 celebrities who will be competing for their own purse under a modified Stableford scoring system.

Here are nine things to know about the inaugural ClubCorp Classic and its venue:

1. Las Colinas was designed by Texas Golf Hall of Famer Joe Finger and opened in 1963. It was renovated in 2020 by Jim Lipe, formerly of Nicklaus Design.

2. The multimillion dollar renovation included adding several fairway bunkers to protect some of the easier holes on the course and changing the tees and fairways to Trinity Zoysia and the greens to G12 Bermuda. Las Colinas Director of Golf Justin Bevier said the greens are “in phenomenal shape.”

3. At 6,703 yards, Las Colinas is one of the shortest courses on PGA TOUR Champions, but that’s largely because of the tournament’s celebrity component. Because of its relative lack of length, lack of rough and wide landing areas off the tee, Bevier believes it will favor the bigger hitters.

4. Las Colinas is a par 71. It still has four par-5s though; it just has an additional par 3 instead of 10 par-4s. Bevier said all the par-5s will be reachable for PGA TOUR Champions players and that those who expect to win come Sunday probably should be at least 12 under on the par-5s.

5. The PGA TOUR Champions members are competing for their share of a $2 million purse. The 50-person celebrity field is competing for their share of a $500,000 purse.

6. Among the celebrities playing are Baseball Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown, and World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam. Former Dallas Cowboys greats Tony Romo and Emmitt Smith will tee it up, too.

7. Another celebrity in the field is John Smoltz, the Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher. He has played in nine PGA TOUR Champions events since turning 50, with a best finish of T53 at the 2019 Cologuard Classic.

8. PGA TOUR Champions stalwart Corey Pavin is a member at Las Colinas.

9. The ClubCorp Classic could hinge on the par-5 18th, Las Colinas’ signature hole. Bevier said to expect fireworks; it’s a reachable par 5 but with water guarding the front and right of the green. He said any shots that are short of the green will catch the Zoysia front collar and roll back into the water. There surely will be eagles at 18, but the occasional bogey, too.