2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Predictions
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
At last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship, Jason Dufner was able to hold off Dicky Pride for his second win of the season. Dufner joins Hunter Mahan as the only golfers with multiple wins on the PGA Tour. Both golfers will try and become the first to win three times in 2012, as the PGA Tour remains in the state of Texas for the 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The tournament is held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, TX. It’s the longest running event that is still being held at it’s original site.
At last year’s Crowne Plaza Invitational David Toms shot a 15-under 265 to beat Charlie Wi by one shot. If it wasn’t for a horrible third round, Toms would have won this tournament in style. Toms was 16-under after two straight 62′s on Thursday and Friday, but a 74 on Saturday brought the rest of the field back into play.
In order to score low at Colonial you have to be precise from tee to green. Players who excel at hitting fairways and greens are usually the ones who end up at the top of the leaderboard. Last year, Toms finished tied for 4th in both fairways and greens hit in regulation. Once players are on the greens its pretty easy going from there. as the small greens of Colonial allow you to be very aggressive. With winds expected to be around 25-30 mph on Thursday and Friday, don’t expect to see a lot of low numbers hit the board until the weekend.
For those of you looking to place a wager on the Crowne Plaza Invitational, here is a look at the three golfers I feel have the best shot at bringing home a win this weekend.
Zach Johnson
There’s a lot to like here. Johnson set the course-record on his way to a win here in 2010 with a 21-under 259. Johnson came back and finished 4th at this event in 2011, giving him three straight finishes inside the Top 10 at Colonial. On top of a strong track record here, Johnson comes in playing some of the best golf of his career. In his last three starts, he has finished runner-up twice, including his most recent start at the Players Championship. What makes Johnson so dangerous at Colonial is the fact that he is as accurate as they come off the tee. In 2012, he is 8th overall in driving accuracy.
Jason Dufner
I normally don’t like to take someone who just won the previous week, but I can’t help myself. Dufner’s win last week at the Byron Nelson Championship was his second victory in his last three starts. His game is ideal for this course. On his way to a win last week, he ranked 1st in greens in regulation and 2nd in fairways in regulation. On the season, he is six in driving accuracy and 13th in greens hit in regulation.
Sergio Garcia
While Garcia hasn’t won or even finished inside the Top 10 on the PGA Tour this season, I believe there’s a good chance he will find himself in contention on Sunday. Garcia won this event back in 2001 and had a strong showing at Colonial last year with a T16. He comes in off a T5 at the Volvo World Match Play Championship and hasn’t missed a cut on the PGA Tour in 15 straight starts. Definitely worth a look this week.
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One Response to “2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational Predictions”
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I won’t get off phil mchkolson , but watch out for rickie fowler or matt kuchar, I do like your pick zac johnson. Thank you