Three bets to ponder for the Crowne Plaza Invitational
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Three in-form players lead the betting ahead of the 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational with Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk all priced at 14/1 to land the top prize at Colonial.
However, with little to split the leading trio the Ladbrokes News team is plumping for just one of them, alongside two players at much bigger prices, as part of a trio of ante-post temptations.
As a two time-winner of this tournament Johnson gets the nod over fellow market leaders Kuchar and Furyk.
Having picked up the trophy in 2010 and 2012 the American clearly knows what it takes to win on this course and with one win and four top 10s already this year the 2007 Masters winner is not struggling for form.
Johnson ranks fifth for driving accuracy on the PGA Tour this year, with his 71.79 per cent eclipsing both of his nearest rivals.
Such accuracy, coupled with his obvious winning know-how, makes him impossible to ignore for an outright winner.
The oft-orange clad Fowler may gain as much attention for his poster-boy image as he does his golfing ability but it still stands out when the 25-year-old is priced at 50/1.
Tying for fifth at the Masters this year showed that the Californian can turn it on when mixing with the big boys and with two more top 10s in 2014 – including third at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship – a return to form cannot be discounted.
He may have failed to shoot sub-70 in nine rounds since his Masters showing but at 50/1 an each-way bet on him rediscovering his touch could prove a shrewd bet.
With just one top 10 and three top 25 finishes this season it’s easy to see why Weekley is among the chasing pack at 50/1, but the reigning champion should not be ignored despite a poor showing for returning winners.
The tournament has only been successfully defended by one man – inaugural winner Ben Hogan twice secured back-to-back victories in the 1940s and 1950s – but the 40-year-old is approaching form at just the right time.
His T5 finish at the HP Byron Nelson Championship last time out came off the back of scores of 67, 68, 68 and 68 and if he can maintain that form here a fourth PGA Tour win could well be on the cards – with 263 shots enough to have won on seven of the last eight tournaments.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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