The PGA Tour this week heads to Fort Worth for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at the Colonial Country Club.
The Course is a Par 70, 7204 yard layout with 84 sand bunkers and 3 water hazards. The tees, fairways and rough are Bermudagrass while the greens are Bentgrass.
The Purse this week is US$6,400,000 with the Winners share being US$1,152,000. When Ben Hogan won the first of his five titles here in 1946 at the first edition of this tournament his winnings were US$3000. He went on to win the following year as well as 1952, 1953 and 1959.
Some big names have won this tournament over the years like Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Ian Baker-Finch and Nick Price.
This years field sees another good line up of players who will be out to stake their claim for the title. Just look at the Top 5 guys in the betting. 12/1 Matt Kuchar, 12/1 Zach Johnson, 14/1 Jim Furyk, 16/1 Adam Scott and 18/1 Jordan Spieth.
So what does it take to win at Colonial I here you ask? Experience!
Experience counts for a lot here and looking at the list of Past Winners you will notice they are all seasoned pro’s who have a wealth of experience to count upon. Names like Toms, Johnson, Stricker, Mickelson, Perry, Price, Watson. You get the idea.
There are a lot of doglegs to contend with so being able to shape the ball both ways will be a big advantage. Being accurate off the tee will allow for you to have a better chance of hitting the greens with your iron play. Good Ball strikers play well at Colonial.
This week I have two selections to follow.
Zach Johnson 12/1 www.sportbet.com.au
If it is experience you want, then you can not look past Zach Johnson. His last four starts here have produced a 3rd, Win, 4th, Win and 9th. You can not beat that! Zach loves this course and a confident golfer is golfer you want on your side.
This year he is also hitting it well. From 12 starts in 2014 he has won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, had three Top 10’s and two more Top 20’s. He can carry that form into this and notch up win number two for the year.
Zach is coming off a t26th at The Players Championship and heading into this week is ranked 5th in driving accuracy, 28th in strokes gained putting, 11th in birdie average, 35th in ball striking, 18th in scrambling and 35th in greens in regulation.
At 12/1 Johnson is an excellent each way bet and it would not surprise to see him claim his third title in this tournament.
Graham DeLaet 28/1 www.sportsbet.com.au
It will not be long before Graham breaks his duck and claims his first PGA Tour title and this week could very well be that time.
He’s had two T2nd finishes already this season at the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open. As well as a further two Top 10’s from his eleven starts. He heads into this week coming off a T7th at the Byron Nelson Championship so he will be confident in his chances again.
This will be his fourth start in the tournament where he was T22nd last year, missed cut in 2012 and T33rd in 2010. If ever there was a course set up for a player then Colonial is the place for DeLaet. This year he is ranked 1st in greens in regulation, 1st in ball striking and 16th in scoring average.
With the current odds of 28/1 Graham represents value considering his current form. That first win is sure to happen soon.
Good luck and good punting.
