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By Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

There are new tee markers this week at Colonial Country Club in honor of the title sponsor of the annual invitational tournament that celebrates its 61st year on the PGA TOUR.

Competitors in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial will be greated by waterproof replicas of red hotel pillows embroidered with the Crowne Plaza corporate flag.

Two-time Colonial winner Kenny Perry will be a threat in Fort Worth -- if his putter heats up. (WireImage)

Not to worry, traditionalists. The rest of Colonial hasn't gone soft.

The course along the banks of the Trinity River that Ben Hogan called home and which Perry Maxwell designed (Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, site of the PGA Championship, is another of his creations) should again be a raw test of real golf. Just 7,054 yards, par 70, Colonial isn't susceptible to low scoring based solely on power.

Just look at the top 24 from last year. Only Robert Allenby and Davis Love would be considered players with notable length off the tee -- but those guys also have some shots.

As two-time champion Ben Crenshaw said recently in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in describing Colonial's shot values: "You can't just aimlessly flail away, like you can at some other places.

"You're always trying to play to positions. You're trying to hit certain sides of a fairway and go into greens with the proper angle in mind. The way it's bunkered, and the way the doglegs are, you have to shape shots and you have to play golf. It's a very unique place."

Indeed, among the handful of stops on TOUR that have been the lone site for a tournament, Colonial ranks second behind only Augusta National Golf Club. Unlike Augusta, Colonial isn't much different from its original makeup. It's just 19 yards longer than when it first hosted its first invitational tournament in 1946, yet it remains a viable test -- a hard one, frankly.

Those soft of constitution need not apply.

Worth knowing:

Two-time Colonial champ Kenny Perry -- who holds the tournament record and a share of the course record -- might be close to embarking on another hot streak, having hooked up again with his old swing coach, Ron Gring. Though he missed the cut at the AT&T Classic, Perry saw glimpses of progress at THE PLAYERS, where he tied for 58th mostly due to poor putting.

Perry is one of three players to share the record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s at Colonial with eight in a row. David Frost and Steve Flesch, who won in 1997 and 2004, respectively, are the others.

TFI says that David Toms will start contending to win again. (WireImage)

Greens in regulation is usually the most economical way to scoring at Colonial, but the last two champs, Tim Herron and Perry, ranked high in putting average. Herron was sixth (and 24th in greens hit), while Perry was second (and second in GIR). Richard Johnson, who lost in a playoff to Herron, was fifth in putting.

Fred Funk, who tied for second at Colonial in 1999, worked with NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller at THE PLAYERS on Saturday morning after missing the cut.

There have been 10 multiple winners at Colonial, but only one player who ever successfully defended. That would be five-time champ Ben Hogan, who did it on two separate occasions. Perry came close, finishing second, first, 12th and first from 2002-05.

Mark Brooks leads a contingent of veterans with long histories at Colonial Country Club. Brooks is making his 24th start this week (though he's mostly struggled there with just two top-10s), and hasn't missed it since 1985. Rod Curl, who won in 1974, is making his 30th start. Others with more than 20 Colonial appearances: Frost, Bob Tway, Joey Sindelar, Billy Mayfair and Keith Clearwater (winner in 1987).

David Toms may not have had his best stuff in recent weeks, having slipped to 24th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he closed well at the AT&T Classic and now heads to Colonial, where he has four top-10 finishes in eight starts -- three of them in the top 4.

Joe Durant, who has finished as high as third at Colonial, has upgraded his set of Cleveland irons, playing the new CG Gold model at THE PLAYERS, where he tied for 28th.

TOUR Insider's power ranking for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial:

1. David Toms
2. Scott Verplank
3. Kenny Perry
4. Steve Stricker
5. Rod Pampling