Zach Johnson is looking to repeat as champion this week in Texas
When talking about the life of an athlete, an often-overlooked aspect is the amount of travel. Every single road trip requires another airplane ride, another hotel room, and another foreign town. Golf is unique in that there are no “home” games. Even if a golfer happens to live in a town that also hosts a tournament, which still means that for every other tournament they have to be away from home for the duration of the tournament. A duration that most likely includes a practice round or two before competition begins. Assuming the player does a good job and makes the cut, that means that their work week is Wednesday through Sunday, all of which they spend away from their homes. So next time you’re twiddling your thumbs in a strange hotel room or sitting around waiting for a connecting flight in an airport terminal, think of those poor golfers who have to put up with this every week. Ask yourself, “Would it be worth it?” The answer of course, with a $1,116,000 wining share, is yes. Sign me up!
Tournament: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
Date: May 19th to the 22nd
Location: Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
Defending Champion: Zach Johnson (-21)
About the course: The Colonial holds the distinction of being the longest running event on the tour still being held at the original site. The course runs short, with a par 70. With fewer shots players might be expected to have higher scores, yet since 2000 when Phil Mickelson was the champion every winner has shot at least -11 under in victory. Last year in particular saw the field shoot very well, with only five holes on the whole course (holes three, four, five, nine and 18) where players averaged over par. Granted, that may have been helped by Zach Johnson who’s -21 was two strokes better than any other previous champion.
Golfers to watch: Matt Kuchar has managed to finish in the top 10 five out of 10 tournaments this year, yet he hasn’t finished once inside the top three. With a relatively thin field, this could be the week, and if not, he’s still likely to put up a good score. Other than his poor outing at the Masters, Hunter Mahan hasn’t finished worse than 39th with six top-10 finishes. He’s also first on the tour in birdies per round, averaging 4.62, making him a great choice to win come Sunday. Ben Crane managed a third place finish at this event last year and on a short course he’ll be able to take advantage of his short game. David Toms has been hitting 71.9% of greens in regulations and has a driving accuracy of 74.5%, both second on the PGA, and both helpful on this weekend Par 70. Zach Johnson has only finished inside the top 10 once this year, he is the defending champion and the way he dismantled the course last year makes him worth consideration. Over his last three tournaments, Jason Dufner has finished 14th, 3rd and 6th. Ride his hot streak to another strong outing this week and take home fantasy golf glory.