Fort Worth Invitational: Expert Picks

Tournament Information

Fort Worth Invitational

Date: May 24^th – 27^th

Course: Colonial Country Club

Purse: $6.9MM ($1.2MM to each winner)

FedEx points: 500 to the winner

2017 Winner: Kevin Kisner (-10)

Course: Colonial Country Club -Opened in 1936 by John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell, this 7,209 yard par 70 course runs along the Trinity River. The course is long with some well-placed bunkers around the greens but by and large it is fairly flat with some generous fairways. Importance is placed on solid drive distances and good approaches to the green. Putting is one of the more crucial attributes here.

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Starting 4

Jordan Spieth. If nothing else, Jordan HAS to be picked here. He finished 2^nd in 2015, won the tournament in 2016 and 2^nd again last year. This will be my third time using Spieth this year. Putting has been struggling a bit, something to keep watch of over the next few tournaments but he should be fine here.

Kevin Kisner. With top ten finishes each of the last three years here he is another favorite. He is coming off back to back missed cuts which is rough; however his last 7 tournaments have been a mixture of missed cuts and top 15 finishes. He is currently 12^th in strokes gained putting and 61^st in birdie average.

Webb Simpson. The Players Champion took last week off and now he comes to Colonial Country Club where he finished third in 2016 and fifth last year. He now has finished in the top 30 in six consecutive tournaments and he is fifth in strokes gained putting. As you watched at the Players Championship, his adjustment to belly-putting has worked wonders for his game.

Brian Harman. Some stumbling from Brian recently with a 74^th place finish at Wells Fargo and a missed cut at the Players Championship brings him to Colonial where he has top 25 finishes each of the last three years. He is currently 30^th in strokes gained putting and 48^th in total strokes gained. His aim at improving his concentration this year and correlating it to his admiration for hunting has helped as he sits 24^th in the Fedex Cup ranking.

Bench 2

Danny Lee. This one is a bit tumultuous. His last 10 tournaments consists of three finishes in the 50’s and 60’s, six missed cuts and one 7^th place finish at the Players Championship. He will have to harness that recent strong play at Fort Worth where he finished in the top 25 each of the last three years.

Adam Hadwin. Seven finishes within the top 25 over his last ten tournaments, Adam finished fifth here in 2015, 22^nd in 2016 and 53^rd last year. He is 26^th in strokes gained tee to green, 22^nd in strokes gained around the green and 34^th in total strokes gained.

2018 Stats:

Starting 4: Average Finish 45^th (34th percentile)

Bench 2: Average Finish 46th (35th percentile)

Missed cuts: average of 1.5 per tournament