FORT WORTH, Texas -- At the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Jim Furyk, Bernhard Langer, Rory Sabbatini and Scott Verplank were tied going into the final round at Colonial Country Club. Eighteen holes later, Furyk, Langer and Sabbatini were still tied, leading to the second consecutive playoff at Colonial.

Sabbatini ended the extra session by making birdie on the first playoff hole to pick up his fourth PGA TOUR title. A year earlier, Tim Herron defeated Richard S. Johnson in a playoff. Prior to that, there hadn't been a playoff at Colonial since 1992 (Bruce Lietzke over Corey Pavin).

This season, Sabbatini is 27th in the FedExCup standings, with his best finish a runner-up showing at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a tie for third at the Buick Invitational.

Phil Mickelson, the 2000 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion, is returning to Fort Worth for the first time since 2005. Besides his victory, Mickelson was runner-up in defense of his 2000 title and was eighth in 1994 -- his only other top-10 finishes in 12 starts.

Jason Day and Charlie Wi will play in this week's tournament, the beneficiaries of the long-running tournament tradition of past champions voting two players into the field.

Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champions have done well over the years with their at-large picks, and some choices have returned to win the tournament later in their careers. Other Champions' Choice invitees who made their pro debut in Fort Worth were Davis Love III, Paul Azinger, Billy Mayfair, Mark O'Meara, Curtis Strange and Stewart Cink. In all, 66 of the former 101 selections (not counting this year's) have become PGA TOUR tournament winners, racking up 364 victories and 23 major titles.

Since 1990, the Hogan Award Banquet held just prior to the event honors the year's top male collegiate golfer. On Sunday, May 18, the tournament announced that Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler is the 2008 winner. The announcement came at a black-tie dinner featuring dignitaries from throughout the golf industry. Recent winners have included Hunter Mahan, Mark Wilson, and D.J. Trahan, who are playing in this week's event.

History is against Rory Sabbatini successfully defending his title at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this week. Since the inaugural event in 1946, only Ben Hogan has managed to return the following year and win. Hogan successfully defended his title twice -- in 1947 and again in 1953.

In two starts at this event, Australia's Nathan Green has finished in the top five both times. In 2007, Green tied for fifth. In his first start at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, in 2006, he tied for fourth. The last time an Australian won at Colonial Country Club was Ian Baker-Finch in 1989.

The last first-round leader of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial who went on to win came 19 years ago when Ian Baker-Finch opened with a 7-under 65 to take a one shot lead after the first round. Baker-Finch defeated runner-up David Edwards by four strokes.

Ryan Palmer is a sponsor's exemption this week, and his invite is coming at the right time. Last week at the AT&T Classic, Palmer tied for 10th, his top performance of 2008. Palmer held a share of the lead at one point in the final round at TPC Sugarloaf before two double bogeys on the last nine derailed his chances. Palmer is an Amarillo, Texas, native who lives in Hurst, Texas, and plays out of Colonial Country Club, host site of this tournament.

A Texas mainstay since 1946, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial returns this week with natives of the Lone Star State looking to improve on their records at venerable Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

Over the past 60 editions of the tournament, 10 native Texans have won -- five of them by Ben Hogan. Homero Blancas won once, with Lee Trevino and Ben Crenshaw each winning twice. However, since Crenshaw's 1990 victory, no native son has won at Hogan's Alley. Crenshaw's victory in 1990 is the only win by a Texas native in this event in the last 29 years. A total of 19 native Texans currently are playing the PGA TOUR and eight of them have won a TOUR event somewhere in the state. None, though, have been able to win at Colonial.

A couple of players who have been close in recent years return this week to try and end the Texas drought. Justin Leonard was the runner-up in 2003 and has enjoyed a strong 2008 season, 11th in the current FedExCup standings. Chad Campbell, the 2004 runner-up, has also played well and is 28th in the FedExCup standings.

Three Texans -- Brian Gay, Sean O'Hair and Johnson Wagner -- have already won this year, and six others are among the top 40 in the FedExCup standings.

Ryuji Imada made a huge jump in the FedExCup standings, improving from 18th to third after his victory last week at the AT&T Classic. Imada has climbed to within 415 points of second place, held by Phil Mickelson. Tiger Woods remains the overall leader. Stewart Cink and Anthony Kim round out the top five, with Cink the only player in that group without a victory in 2008.

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