FORT WORTH, Texas _ At a PGA Tour venue known for crowning established veterans for more than seven decades, Colonial experience took a free drop in Thursday's opening round at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.
By and large, newcomers or infrequent visitors to Fort Worth had their way as they climbed to the top of the leader board while battling 30 mph winds at Colonial Country Club.
J.T. Poston, one of three golfers who share the lead after an opening round of 5-under-par 65, is making his Colonial debut and is a PGA Tour rookie. Kelly Kraft, a Dallas resident and former SMU golfer, matched Poston and fellow frontrunner Derek Fathauer with a bogey-free 65 on a day when only 33 of 121 golfers broke even-par 70.
The trio at the top, who have combined for zero victories in 172 career starts at PGA Tour events, are being closely pursued by a pair of fresh faces with more established credentials: Jon Rahm, a tour rookie who ranks fourth on the season money list ($3.97 million), and Graeme McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion and longtime European Ryder Cup participant.
Rahm and McDowell shot matching rounds of 66 in their Colonial debuts, with two-time champ Phil Mickelson firing a 67 in his first competitive appearance in Fort Worth since 2010. Mix in Scott Brown, who opened with a 66, and seven of the primary names on Thursday's leader board have combined to play weekend rounds at "Hogan's Alley" just twice since 2012: Brown in 2015 (tied for 33rd) and Fathauer last year (tied for 62nd).
Poston, who found 15 of 18 greens in regulation in one of the day's top ball-striking sessions, envisions building on Thursday's six-birdie, one-bogey debut at Colonial as the week unfolds. He will begin Friday's round five strokes ahead of defending champ Jordan Spieth, who offset six birdies with a double bogey and four bogeys while posting an even-par 70.
"I had a lot of control of where I was hitting it," said Poston, who set foot on the Colonial grounds for the first time Monday. "I got some good breaks, too. I'm just trying to learn these courses, figure out where I can and can't hit it and go from there."
A similar game plan exists for high-profile Colonial newcomers Rahm and McDowell, who used different approaches to climb within a stroke of the lead in their Fort Worth debuts.
Rahm, a two-time winner of college golf's Ben Hogan Award (2015, 2016), chose to overpower the Colonial layout. He pulled driver on 12 of a possible 14 tees and loved the results, even if the official stats showed him splitting only 8 of 14 fairways while collecting five birdies and a bogey.
"In my mind, I didn't miss any of the fairways," Rahm said. "The ones I missed, ... I missed the way I had to miss them. I was smart about how I was hitting the drive, and luckily it paid off."
McDowell, more of a finesse player, posted a bogey-free 66 at a course he has longed to play but never visited until this week because of his typical European Tour commitments in late May.
"So many guys have told me over the years that this would be a great course for me," said McDowell, a native of Northern Ireland. "This year, I thought I would come over and check out Colonial. Obviously, I'm very, very happy with what I saw so far."
McDowell kept the bogeys off Thursday's card because he scrambled effectively. He saved par from two bunkers and needed just 25 putts to complete his round, including a 36-footer for birdie from the back fringe at No. 4 and an 18-footer for birdie at No. 11.
Rahm, a Spaniard who collected both of his Hogan Awards at Colonial, drew on those good memories in Thursday's round.
"The vibe that I have around this place is so positive ... with the Ben Hogan history I'm related to now," Rahm said. "I don't think there is anything that can change that. It sure does help."
Kraft, a Denton native and 2011 U.S. Amateur champion, has some Colonial memories of his own. But they're a mixed bag, lowlighted by a closing 80 after he played his way into contention in the 2012 event.
"I'd never been there before and it was definitely a big learning experience," said Kraft, who has posted second- and third-place finishes at PGA Tour events this season. "I made a bunch of bogeys on Sunday and finished (57th). I've definitely learned a lot since then. And, obviously, I've had some good tournaments this year. So whenever I'm up there, I know I can hang."
He's got three more rounds to prove it, along with several other Colonial newcomers dotting Thursday's first-round leader board.
