With the second major of the golfing calendar, the US Open, just around the corner in June, many players Stateside will be starting to focus their attentions on one of the flagship events on the PGA Tour circuit.
Preparations continue with this, the third leg of the tour’s ‘Texas Swing’, at the Dean & Deluca Invitational. That may sound like a mouthful but it’s just for sponsorship reasons – apparently Dean & Deluca is a chain of American supermarkets. For old school punters, it is the same event as the Crowne Plaza Invitational which was a feature on the tour for a number of years.
Either way, this tournament is hosted by the Colonial Country Club, a tight course that offers a stiff test of any would-be champion’s credentials. Factor in the often windy conditions in Texas and you need to be at the top of your game to prevail here; so picking players in good form is more important than ever.
Remarkably, defending champion Chris Kirk bucked a trend when he triumphed here in 2015; it was just his sixth visit to Colonial, whereas the previous 13 winners of this event had all played at least eight times here before taking home the trophy. So course history is another huge advantage (Kirk had recorded three top 20s in his prior four visits).
But as ever it will be course suitability that dictates who succeeds and who fails here, so who can we expect to challenge?
How to Play Colonial CC
At just over 7,200 total yardage, Colonial is one of the few Par 70 tracks on the PGA Tour and as such clearly suits the technical player than the bomber. Indeed, the likes of Kirk and two-time winner Zach Johnson are exactly that; short hitters but able to land the ball at will on a postage stamp.
This requirement for accuracy is enhanced further by the sheer depth and clever placement of trees along the fairway, and the Bentgrass greens are particularly fast; so a keen eye and effective short game are essential.
Somebody who can hit greens promptly will naturally thrive on a course like Colonial, so it’s well worth investigating some key statistical anomalies attached to Greens in Regulation, Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and Proximity to Pin, things like that.
Now that we have identified the ideal player profile, who are the leading candidates this week to keep an eye on?
The Main Contenders
As you’d expect Jordan Spieth is the bookmakers favourite at a best price of 7/1 (BetVictor), and while his gifts are obvious a silverware drought in recent months, including a couple of Sunday meltdowns, is enough evidence to give him a swerve.
Two-time tour winner in 2016, Adam Scott, is a former winner here and a slight return to form makes him a 12/1 shot (bet365) with value.
Matt Kuchar comes here on the back of consecutive top-five finishes, hence his short price of 14/1 with Betfred, but he has a habit of struggling to get over the line. We want proven winners here.
As such, the likes of Zach Johnson (25/1, SkyBet), Kirk (40/1, Stan James) and Texan specialist Charley Hoffman (25/1, PaddyPower) hold appeal, and fans of each way value will note that the clean ball striking of Boo Weekley, another former winner here, is available at an agreeable 80/1 with Ladbrokes.
