Crowne Plaza Invitational Preview

Colonial is usually a kind course to the field, so expect a wild shootout again this week. Last year, David Toms held on for the win despite a third-round 74 thanks to back-to-back 62’s to start his week. With some wide-open approaches, it’s just a matter of who can convert the medium birdie putts that will be there all week.

Here’s a look at the best bets…

Zach Johnson (15/1): The 2010 champion hung around last year too, shooting four sub-70 rounds including Sunday’s 65 to take a solo fourth. Johnson has finished top-2 in two of his past three starts.

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David Toms (25/1): The defending champ has made eight straight cuts at Colonial, and showed some guts last year in coming away with the victory. After two 62’s to open up the week he blew a big lead on Saturday, but came storming back with a 67 on Sunday to win it. In his last start, two weeks ago at The Players, his final-round 65 put him at T10.

Charlie Wi (60/1): He lost a seesaw battle to Toms last year but never really slipped up, shooting four sub-70 rounds and finishing just one stroke off the lead. Wi was T25 at The Players two weeks ago, and a month ago went T4 at the Texas Open.

Bill Haas (30/1): Haas has fared very well in two career starts at Colonial, going T13 in 2010 and T8 last year.

Hunter Mahan (25/1): After some struggles at Colonial over the years, Mahan had an impressive week a year ago, shooting 70 or better in every round and posting a T10. He has cooled off a bit of late though, following his win in Houston with a T12 at the Masters, a T53 at the Wells Fargo and a missed cut at The Players.