Crowne Plaza Invitational Predictions
The PGA Pros make the short trip to Fort Worth, Texas this week for the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Colonial Country Club hosts a pretty good field in a tournament in which distance off the tee is not essential. Zach Johnson’s win last year further proves this point – he is not exactly a bomber off the tee.
2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Course: Colonial Country Club
Date: May 23-26, 2013
Total Purse: US $ 6,400,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,170,000 (18% of total purse)
Defending Champion: Zach Johnson ($1,152,000)
Odds from Bovada
Accuracy and putting will be the name of the game this week – Colonial ranked 13th in driving accuracy in 2012 at 55.63 percent and was 14th in greens hit at 60.69 percent. Good ball strikers with experience here have traditionally held the advantage going in.
So let’s take a look at some of the names to watch at the 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
The Favorites:
Zach Johnson 14/1
Johnson has been quiet this year but returns to a track that he absolutely loves – 7-for-7 with no worse than a T9 (2009) in his last four visits and two wins (2010, 2012). He had a T19 at THE PLAYERS in his last start was his best finish since a T18 at Kapalua and enters in just average form. But his history here is absolutely magical – you can never count Johnson out at Colonial!
Charl Schwartzel 14/1
We finally saw the good in Charl Schwartzel last week – a third place finish at the HP Byron Nelson where he led last week’s field in greens hit, ranked T2 in par-4 scoring and was T4 in total driving. Those are all necessary traits for a good finish at Colonial
Matt Kuchar 18/1
Is coming off an unspectacular T33 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship but has a decent history here – making the cut in all six appearances. He was T26 here last year but seemed a tad out of sorts in all areas of his game last week. If his putter heats up, Kuch is certainly a threat this week.
The Contenders:
Jim Furyk 25/1
Finished fourth here last year when he shot in the 60s every round. That makes it 13/17 with seven top 10s, two runner-ups and a fourth-place finish at Colonial for Furyk. He is seventh in fairways hit, second in proximity to the hole and 29th in adjusted scoring on TOUR but has been average lately – his only top 25 in some time came at the Masters. It’s pretty hard to trust Furyk until we see him play like we know he is capable of.
Kevin Streelman 28/1
Quietly enters looking pretty good! He is 4-for-5 with a T3, T6 and co-runner-up in his last five starts and ranks inside the top 25 in GIR, SGP and proximity. It’s a shame that he sits at 28/1 – at 50/1 odds I would certainly throw a little down on him!
Martin Laird 28/1
Has played this event twice and has two top 10s to show for it – 2010 and 2011. He is coming off a nice T5 at TPC Sawgrass and he also had a win earlier this season. Laird is as confident as he ever has been and is another somewhat unfamiliar name that could do well this week.
Bo Van Pelt 28/1
Has nine starts at Colonial has hasn’t missed the cut yet including sixth top 25s, three top 10s and a third in 2011. He has been OK lately but looked good three weeks ago when he finished T6 at Quail Hollow. He is tough to pin down and hard to trust this week.
Henrik Stenson 33/1
Finished T5 at the PLAYERS in his last start in North America and currently leads the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and greens in regulation. He has all the tools to succeed this week – don’t take your eyes off Mr. Stenson!
Charley Hoffman 33/1
Has been consistently good the last couple of months – three top 10s in his last five starts overall. He is coming off a T7 at TPC Four Seasons and has had some success here – four starts with four cuts made and a career best T13 finish last year. Hoffman has been as solid as they come and has to be on the radar this week.
Marc Leishman 33/1
Is yet another in that list of players on hot streaks but is not necessarily a household name. He had a string of four top 10s snapped last week with an OK T12 at TPC Four Seasons. He has been very consistent over the last month+ and has made the cut both times at Colonial.
Chris Kirk 40/1
Hasn’t missed a cut since January and had a fifth here last year to follow a T16 in 2011. He is seventh in strokes gained-putting and 13th in adjusted scoring on TOUR this year and could be due for a breakthrough this week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Freddie Jacobson 40/1
Finished T17 last week at TPC Four Seasons en route to a T17 for his eighth top 25 in nine starts this season. He is currently fourth on TOUR in adjusted scoring and has had just an OK history on this track.
Harris English 40/1
Finished T5 at this tournament last year and is coming off a T17 last week despite a final round +4. That makes a 6th, 33rd and 17th in his last 3 starts and three top 10s on the season. At the Byron Nelson he ranked T30 in driving accuracy, T35 in GIR and a really nice T6 in putting average. A lot of people have a feeling about this kid for a reason – he is peaking and has a good history on this track.
The Sleepers:
Sang-Moon Bae 50/1
Putted his way to victory last week and if the putter remains hot he could do some damage this week as well. He has the form and now some momentum on his side and although I usually stay away from repeats, at 50/1 he cat’s be ignored.
Angel Cabrera 66/1
Had a T12 at HP Byron Nelson Championship and who could forget his play at the PLAYERS? He has finished top 20 in three of his last five starts overall and is a very attractive 66/1 this week.
The Pick:
My pick this week is Henrik Stenson at 33/1. On a track that requires accuracy, patience and experience, he’s my man this week.
My Sleeper is Angel Cabrera at 66/1. I can’t resist Cabrera at this price especially a motivated, pissed off Angel.
2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational Championship Betting Lines & Future Odds
Charl Schwartzel 14/1
Zach Johnson 14/1
Jason Dufner 20/1
Matt Kuchar 20/1
Jim Furyk 25/1
Kevin Streelman 25/1
Rickie Fowler 25/1
Bo Van Pelt 28/1
Martin Laird 28/1
Charley Hoffman 33/1
Henrik Stenson 33/1
Hunter Mahan 33/1
Marc Leishman 33/1
Ben Crane 40/1
Chris Kirk 40/1
Fredrik Jacobson 40/1
Harris English 40/1
John Huh 40/1
Ryan Palmer 40/1
Tim Clark 40/1
Sang Moon Bae 50/1
Scott Piercy 50/1
Kyle Stanley 55/1
Ryan Moore 55/1
Angel Cabrera 66/1
Brendon De Jonge 66/1
Graham Delaet 66/1
Jeff Overton 66/1
Jordan Speith 66/1
Robert Karlsson 66/1
Stewart Cink 75/1
FIELD (all others) 2-1
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