Crowne Plaza Invitational preview: Course form could be the key

For once America really does play second fiddle to Europe and doesn’t it show. You’d struggle to buy your second Rolls Royce with the money going on the awkwardly named Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Punters are pointing their bank balances at Wentworth instead. Most top flight golfers have also crossed the pond or stayed at home rather than turn up in Fort Worth. Which is a pity because this is such an unusual and intriguing PGA Tour course, where picking your way carefully around the doglegs with quality shot-making is considered far more of a plus than ripping it as far as the eye can see. Quite how Tim Herron slipped under the radar with his power game last year still has many scratching their heads. A swift look at the betting shows how little people expect him to regain his title.

Nothing sums up this event more than two-time winner Kenny Perry, who revealed that he was suffering so much eye trouble during his last victory he could barely see where he was going and had to play his shots from memory. So course nous is clearly an important ingredient too.

The real problem is there are many you could fancy if you could only be sure they’d bring their A game. Favourite Jim Furyk for instance. He’s got a tidy enough game off the tee, but the rest of his recent stats make for rather dismal reading. It’s four years since he had a top 10 here and his last three outings this season have produced two missed cuts and a 28th. Given his recent wrist trouble I think he’s a miss.

Then there’s Perry himself, who absolutely shredded this course two years ago but whose handy looking stats don’t accord with a miserable set of recent results. He’s not been the same since knee surgery last year.

I would much rather be looking at second favourite Stewart Cink, who has stronger record than Furyk in this tournament, including fourth last year, and has two top fives in his last three outings.

Rory Sabbatini must also be worth a look. He’s tailed off from the run started at the Masters, but he has some form here and is well overdue a win.

David Toms is a very popular pick on the basis of four top 10s here this century. I just wish his recent form wasn’t so lacklustre.

Others worthy of note are, in no particular order: Arron Oberholser (4th last year and some recent form); Rod Pampling (four top 20s this season, sixth here two years ago and third last); Jonathan Byrd, who let himself down with one bad round last week, but still finished ninth; and Nathan Green who seems to be finding some form again and was fourth here last year.

The stats alone would flag up a number of players, but three who particularly catch the eye are Bob Estes, who produced a fair performance last week and leads the putting stats here, Jerry Kelly still trying to put mind over matter and like Estes showing particularly well for accuracy and putting, and Steve Elkington, who tops the driving accuracy stats and also looks more than handy with a putter.

Watch out for the weather though: wind and rain Thursday could make things a bit tricky.