2016 PGA Dean & DeLuca Invitational Prediction 2016

The 2016 Dean & DeLuca Invitational, formerly known as the Crowne Plaza Invitational comes our way this week from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas – a 7,204 yards, par 70 track that will host 80 of the world’s best.

2016 Dean & DeLuca Invitational

When: May 26 – 29, 2016
Where: Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
Purse: $6.700,000 / Winner Share: $1,170,000
Defending Champion: Chris Kirk
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For Today

Colonial is known as a ball strikers track – accuracy rather than distance will beat a premium this week.

Tee to green play is essential as evidenced by Zach Johnson’s success here. Par 4 scoring is a stat worth keying on – scoring on the four par 3s will also be crucial.

Of course a hot putter will also help as Chris Kirk proved in winning this event last year.

With that in mind who should we be keeping an eye on this week?

Let’s take a look.

2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational Favorites:

Jordan Spieth +650

Hasn’t brought his A-game in months but still, he is a name to watch. Only an ugly final round 74 kept him from contention last week – he finished 14th at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

His track history here is terrific – three starts with a T7-T14-T2, respectively and with his talent there is a good chance he snaps his funk this week.

Spieth is the best putter on TOUR and his tee-to-green game is terrific – expect him to make a serious run at a first Texas title.

Adam Scott +1200

2014 Champ has made every cut this year and although not spectacular as he was early in the season has still been very good – a T17 at the Wells Fargo Championship and a T12 at THE PLAYERS are further proof of his great all around present form.

He leads TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green and is one of the more consistently elite guys out there in 2016.

Matt Kuchar +1400

Has really started to amp up as the weather has gotten warmer and looks prime for his first win in some time. He has finished third the last two weeks – at THE PLAYERS and at the AT&T Byron Nelson and now has five top 25s in his last six starts.

Kuchar’s game is balance – hitting fairways and par 4 scoring which are perfect attributes for Colonial. He finished second here in 2013 and has two other top 20s in eight starts.

Kuchar is a weekly threat again after an uncharacteristic stretch.

2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational Contenders:

Charley Hoffman +2200

Hoffman has become a weekly fixture on my lists for good reason.

He has finished inside the top 15 in three of his last four starts and always seems to save his best for Texas – he was T11 or better in four Texas stops last year and hasn’t been outside the top 12 in 2016 including a win in San Antonio.

He has made the cut all seven appearances here, has three top 20s on this track including a T10 last year and is as good as anyone out there right now.

Zach Johnson +2500

Hasn’t been great lately but the two-time champ here still has to be in the conversation. All together, with his two wins, ZJ has five top 10s at Colonial – the best course history of anyone in the field.

His week depends on his lackluster putter but I have faith that Colonial will bring the best out in Zach yet again.

Chris Kirk +2800

Defending champion has made the cut here all six times with four top 20s – impressive. He was last seen missing the cut at THE PLAYERS but before that was strong – T23-T13-T5 in his previous three.

Kirk has the balanced all-around game to contend here again – don’t be surprised to see his name on the leaderboard Sunday.

Kevin Chappell +2800

Lovin’ Chappell – not loving the price here. He is known as a consistent ball striker and he is 19th on TOUR in all-around and has finished inside the top 10 in four of his last six starts including two solo seconds – he is due.

Chappell finished T19 here last year – his second top 20 in as many years at Colonial and could seriously threaten this week.

Kevin Na +3300

Will tee it up for the first time since missing the cut at THE PLAYERS. That said he has posted three top 25s in his previous last five starts, including a tie for fourth at the RBC Heritage.

He has three top 10s and three other top 25s in his last nine starts here including a T10 last year – a tournament he led after three rounds. Na has been solid this year and could be a factor on a track he’s had his share of success.

Ryan Palmer +4000

Colonial Country Club member – his caddy is also a member here! He enters off a missed cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson but made 12 straight cuts before that, including a tie for fourth at the Valero Texas Open.

His history here is good – a pair of T5s (2012, 2014) and another two top 15s – present form (outside of the Byron Nelson) and track history has Palmer on my radar this week.

2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational Sleepers (+5000 or higher):

Boo Weekley +8000

2013 Champ hasn’t been great overall lately but has been prone to some good scores at Colonial. He finished T16 at THE PLAYERS recently – his only respectable start this year but Colonial always seems to bring something out in Weekley.

Call it a hunch but I think Boo is in for a solid week.

Ian Poulter +8000

Poulter absolutely has to start getting results in order to qualify for the Ryder Cup team – why not at Colonial where he was T5 last year and has three top 15s in four career starts? Poulter is a guy whose putter can make a difference.

2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational Picks:

The pick this week is Matt Kuchar at +1400 – he has posted two straight third place finishes ahead of this tournament – THE PLAYERS and the AT&T Byron Nelson and is due for a win.

A solid ball striker, Kuch looks like the man to beat.

The Sleeper is Ian Poulter at +8000. He has had some success here and will be motivated for a good finish here.

Golf handicapper DAVE B weighs in each week with his top selections. Including top picks and sleepers!

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