Colonial Betting
The PGA Pros stay in the great state of Texas this week to play the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. 154 players will tee it up looking for the winner’s share of the $6.4 million purse and the tartan jacket that accompanies the cash.
2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Location: Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Course: Colonial Country Club
Date: May 22-25, 2014
Total Purse: US $ 6,400,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,152,000 (18% of total purse)
Golf Odds from Bovada
Defending Champion: Boo Weekley
Colonial is a par 70 and will play 7,204 yards – accuracy rather than distance will be key this week – the fairways are tight and notoriously tough to hit. That said Colonial was the fourth easiest par 70 that the pros played last year – you will have to go low to win here.
Along with driving accuracy I looked at Greens in Regulation stats, Proximity to the hole stats, strokes gained putting and par 4 scoring averages when determining my group of contenders.
So who should we be keeping an eye on this week? Let’s break it down.
The Favorites:
Matt Kuchar 12/1
Kuchar has been in every tournament he has entered the last couple of months – no reason to think any differently here. He has made the cut all seven times here finishing second last year. Kuch has nine top 10s this year – incredible including five of his last six starts overall. He finished T7 at the Heritage which is seen as a very similar course to Colonial. Translation – Kuch will be in the hunt this week!
Zach Johnson 14/1
Has won this tournament twice and has failed to finish worse that T9 in his last five appearances. To say that Colonial brings the best out in Johnson is an understatement! He is inside the top 35 on TOUR in some key stats – Driving Accuracy, GIR, SGP, Proximity and Par 4 Scoring Average and on a shorter track he absolutely has to be on your radar.
The Contenders:
Adam Scott 16/1
World #1 has played here just twice failing to finish top 60 in either appearance. But that was then….. He has made 33 consecutive cuts – something that should happen here too – but a win with the added pressure on a course he hasn’t been great on may be a tad too much to ask.
Jim Furyk 16/1
Has consecutive runner-up finishes on TOUR ahead of this weekend and is a two-time runner-up at Colonial with seven top 10s overall in this event. His stats line up well for this track – tenth in driving accuracy and seventh in proximity. Furyk is bound to break out some time – just a matter of when.
Jordan Spieth 16/1
Was disappointing last week in his home town – a T37 but before that he had top fives at the Masters and THE PLAYERS with a very T12 at the Heritage mixed in there. He is prime to become the next household name (if he hasn’t reached that distinction already) and needs a good result in his home state to cement his status. He was T7 in his debut here last year and will be looking to rebound from an uncharacteristic poor week.
Dustin Johnson 22/1
Colonial’s tight lines are not exactly Dustin’s cup of tea. He finished T74 in his only appearance here and while I think he betters that, I think a win on a track that doesn’t suit his eye is highly unlikely.
Graham DeLaet 25/1
Finished T7 last week and was T22 last year in his only appearance at Colonial – after a final round 74. He is the TOUR leader in ball striking and greens hit – something that will come in handy this week.
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Jimmy Walker 28/1
Hasn’t fared all that well here and is 200th on TOUR in driving accuracy – not exactly what you want to hear as Colonial looms.
Marc Leishman 33/1
Is enjoying his best stretch of golf in some time – a T23 at THE PLAYERS and a T3 last week at the Byron Nelson. He has never finished top 40 in three appearances here which is a concern however.
Bill Haas 40/1
Haas has been relatively quiet this year but has made four of five cuts here with two top 15s. Is this the week he finally makes some noise?
Chris Kirk 40/1
Has made the cut all four times he’s played Colonial with a T16 in 2011 and T5 in 2012. He hasn’t missed a cut on TOUR this year and his last result on a comparable track was a T2 at the Sony.
John Senden 40/1
Is coming off a T11 at the Byron Nelson – his ninth straight cut made. He has made eight of 11 cuts on this track with two top 10s and four top 25s.
Kevin Na 40/1
Is 7/7 here with 5 top 25s and 2 top 10s and has seven top 10s in 11 starts in 2014 already! Na was T38 in his last start – THE PLAYERS and may be due for a win here this week.
Ryan Palmer 40/1
Has made 8/10 cuts on this track with a T5 in 2012 and a T14 last year in his last two starts here. He has four top 10s on TOUR already this year and is coming off a T22 at the Byron Nelson. He is another in the long line of breakout candidates this week.
The Sleepers (50/1 or higher):
Boo Weekley 50/1
Defending champ isn`t getting a whole lotta love from Vegas! He is coming off a very good T5 at the Byron Nelson last week – in good form for his title defense! He also had a ninth place finish here in 2010. Weekley comes in full of confidence this week and could emerge for the second year in a row!
Charley Hoffman 50/1
Has made each of his five cuts here, with top 20s in his last two trips and has missed just one cut all season on TOUR with four top 10s. Hoffman may be due!
John Huh 50/1
One of the more accurate guys on TOUR tied for 5th here in 2012 before slipping to T11 last year. His T3 at the Heritage gave us a glimpse into what Huh can do on a tight track – a T16 in his last start shows that he enters in decent form.
Rory Sabbatini 66/1
Former winner at Colonial has been good lately – two top 10s in his last four starts. He has made 10 of 14 cuts here including the win and two other top 10s.
The Pick:
The pick this week is Jim Furyk at 16/1. He is definitely due – his recent run is impressive and he has runner-up finishes in his last two starts at Colonial.
My Sleeper is Boo Weekley at 50/1. He is the defending champion here and he has been playing very well ahead of this year. At 50/1 Weekley is definitely the best value on the board.
