In the month since his record-breaking 2015 Masters victory, Dallas’ Jordan Spieth has soaked up plenty of interesting experiences, but as the PGA Tour heads into its annual two-week North Texas swing, he is eager to try out a new one -- conquering golf hero soaking up the acclaim of his adoring public.
"It’s going to be awesome," he said via telephone. "I will be basking in the moment."
Not since the first post-Masters visit of Tiger Woods to the Byron Nelson Tournament in 1997 and Annika Sorenstam’s historic appearance at the Colonial event in 2003 has there been such electricity and a demand for tickets as there is this year for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth which begins Thursday, plus the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship the following week at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving.
"I’ve been hearing some crazy numbers for tickets," Spieth said. "I’m going to be with a lot of friends, but it will be tough too because I won’t have time to practice and do things I normally do."
Both tournaments report record ticket and sponsorship sales thanks to the post-Masters appearance of the Dallas native who first starred in the local junior and amateur golf ranks before being cast after his Masters triumph as one of the new faces of American golf.
"We are up 25 percent in ticket sales over last year and we were up last year over the year before, when we overflowed our available parking for the first time," said Colonial tournament director Michael Tothe.