The PGA Tour continues this coming Monday, May 18, as some of the world’s top golfers trek to Fort Worth, Texas, for the 69th edition of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. For more than six decades, the tournament has been played at the same course, the Colonial Country Club. Will the site that saw Adam Scott win the event last year have a different champion this time around?
A day before the start of this tournament, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Anaheim Ducks begin their NHL Stanley Cup Western Conference final series. You can click here for a preview of Game 1 of that series.
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2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Preview
Favorites: Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott
Since being crowned as the new Masters champion last April, Spieth has had relatively disappointing outings in the succeeding events he’s played in. Spieth will tee off at the Colonial Country Club just a week after missing the cut in the Players Championship. Prior to that event, he finished tied for 17th and tied for 11th in the World Golf Championship-Cadillac and in the RBC Heritage, respectively.
[sc:Golf240banner ]That being said, Spieth is one golfer bettors should be high on. After all, Spieth paces all PGA golfers in the FedEx Cup season leaderboard with 2,118 points. Spieth isn’t known for having explosive drives (63rd overall in the PGA in driving distance), but his terrific putting is what makes him special. Spieth is first among all PGA golfers in putts per round (27.41), which helps explains why he’s also tops in scoring average with a 69.433 clip.
Adam Scott, meanwhile, is another golfer many are expecting to do well at the 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Scott is having quite a rough PGA season, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s the event’s defending champion. Scott’s triumph at the Colonial last year was his last win at the PGA Tour. Thus far this season, Scott only has a lone top 10 finish, which is a T4 in the World Championships-Cadillac Championship early this month.
Those looking to take a flyer on a couple of sleepers to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial should take note of Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk. Johnson has climbed the FedEx Cup leaderboards over the past few weeks, thanks to decent finishes in PGA events of late. Johnson jumped to the 58th spot (499 points) of that leaderboard this week, 12 notches higher than his 70th position last week.
Although he’s yet to win this season, Johnson nonetheless has four top 10 finishes and seven top 25’s in 13 PGA events to date. Save for a missed cut in the RBC Heritage last April, Johnson hasn’t finished lower than 17th in his last four PGA Tour events, which includes a T9 in the Masters Tournament, a T17 in the World Championships-Cadillac Championship, and a T13 in the recently concluded Players Championship.
Kirk is another big mover in the FedEx Cup leaderboards. After back-to-back top 17 finishes in the WGC-Cadillac Championship (T17) and in the Players Championship (T13), respectively, Kirk has ascended from the 57th spot in the leaderboard to no. 48. At the Players Championship, Kirk’s best moment came when he made three-consecutive birdies for a four-under 68 heading into the final round. He was unable to sustain his momentum, though, as he faded in the last round, wherein he shot a 75 to finish tied for 13th.
Kirk has three top 16 finishes over the last four editions of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He came closest to winning it in 2012, when he finished tied for fifth.
Long shot: John Peterson
Fort Worth residents, meanwhile, have one homegrown competitor in John Peterson to cheer for when the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial rolls around this coming Monday. A three-time All-American and a former NCAA champion at LSU, Peterson has five top 25 finishes in 15 events thus far this season. That includes his best finish to date, which is a T11 in the Valero Texas Open last March. Perhaps his most memorable performance in his young career is a T4 finish in the 2012 US Open. Although he hasn’t cracked a top 10 finish yet, Peterson can take heart from the fact that he’s missed just one cut this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Jordan Spieth wins his first Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
