Colonial Country Club is one of the most popular stops on the PGA Tour. It has brought top class golf to Fort Worth, Texas for the last 70 years. This week it is back once again with a different sponsor but the same standard of event expected. The Dean and DeLuca Invitational will have new food stalls brought by the sponsors but when it comes to the golf nothing much is going to have changed.
Colonial is a par 70 layout that measures 7,204 yards. That is by no means short but the previous course form suggest that distance is not too much of a bonus. It always helps to be hitting shorter irons into the greens than your opponents but this isn’t a course that the bombers can simply let rip at. This is a place where ball strikers really flourish. An ability to shape the ball both ways, to manufacture shots and to hit the ball nice and close to the hole will all give those who possess them an advantage.
The course won’t be the only factor at play in Fort Worth this week. The weather forecast suggests that there is going to be plenty of rain about so it will take a hardy soul to score well have been given the poor end of the draw. Wet conditions always favour those who can hit the ball a long way through the air but the ball strikers will also enjoy the chance to get aggressive with their approach shots.
On the PGA Tour they like to talk about players ‘trending’ towards victory. This means that a certain player is in good form and the various facets of their game are falling into place. Matt Kuchar is certainly one man trending towards a win. The world number 20 finished third at both the Players Championship and the AT&T Byron Nelson. Colonial is a course that really suits Kuchar’s eye as he proved in 2013 when missing out on a playoff by one stroke. Betfred make Kuchar a 14/1 shot and at that price he is a must bet.
Brandt Snedeker fans were beginning to worry about their man before his trip to Colonial last season. After winning at Pebble Beach his form had taken a turn for the worse but he finished in a tie for second at this event’s 2015 renewal to really show that the Snedeker resurgence is here to stay. He started this PGA Tour season with form figures of T3-2-1 and has bagged two further top 10 finishes since. Back Snedeker each way at odds of 45/1 with Bet365.
Ian Poulter’s decision to skip the BMW PGA Championship for another season did not go down well with the European Tour but when he made the same choice last season he finished in a tie for fifth at Colonial. With the Ryder Cup just around the corner this is the time of year when Poulter general really gets going and he’ll be desperate for another good showing in Fort Worth. He’s as big as 100/1 with Betfred which looks too big for a player of Poulter’s standard.
Also this week: BMW PGA Championship