This week's tournament -- the last of five in Texas this year -- is sponsor-less. Formerly the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, the event at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth will simply be called the Fort Worth Invitational this season before picking up Charles Schwab as a sponsor next year. Regardless, the field is solid with the U.S. Open looming just a few weeks away and Colonial presents one of the more unique challenges of the PGA Tour season.
Let's take a look at this week's contest.
Event information
What: Fort Worth Invitational | Where: Fort Worth, Texas | When: May 24-27
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Field and odds
- Jordan Spieth: 7-1
- Jon Rahm: 12-1
- Rickie Fowler: 16-1
- Justin Rose: 22-1
- Webb Simpson: 22-1
- Brooks Koepka: 25-1
- Jimmy Walker: 25-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 25-1
Field strength: B+
That's a pretty great field of shot-shapers and ball-strikers. Not included in the rankings are Matt Kuchar, Bryson DeChambeau and Adam Scott. When those three are so far down the odds sheet as to not be included in our weekly list, you know it's a pretty good tournament. It's also worth noting that Rose is playing to fulfill the Tour's requirement that you have to play one place you haven't played in the last five years. He chose a good one.
Three stories to watch
1. Spieth still searching: Coming into this week, Jordan Spieth is 190th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. One-hundred and ninetieth! Jordan Spieth! The tough part for him is that he's second overall in strokes gained from tee to green, which means he's passing up opportunities to potentially win multiple golf tournaments because he can't make a putt. In all but two of the tournaments he's played this year, Spieth has lost strokes to the field.
2. Joaquinn's big bid: Aaron Wise has (deservedly) gotten a lot of buzz after his win last week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but let's talk about how Niemann, age 19, is looking to grab his PGA Tour card. He finished sixth at the Texas Open last month and has gobs of talent. It's not difficult to see him contending at a fun, interesting course like this one.
3. Course as the star: For the second week in a row in Texas, the golf course will play a starring role in this weekly circus. Colonial is not as dramatic as Trinity Forest, but its relatively short layout and interesting angles provide opportunities for guys who are not big bombers to win this tournament (like Kevin Kisner last year). Even better, it provides opportunities for guys who are big bombers to win as well as Rahm has been in contention here in the past.
Past winners
- 2017: Kevin Kisner
- 2016: Jordan Spieth
- 2015: Chris Kirk
- 2014: Adam Scott
- 2013: Boo Weekley
That's a really, really good list of ball-strikers, and I expect another one to join them this week.
Fort Worth Invitational picks
Jon Rahm
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| Winner: I'll never forget the monster fade he hit on No. 17 here last year late when he was in contention. He has pretty much every shot at this point and is coming in with zero missed cuts in individual stroke play tournaments so far this season. Odds: 12-1 |
Jordan Spieth
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| Top 10: Four top 10s in his five outings here including a win sandwiched by a pair of T2s. If he putts at all, I think he gets his first victory of 2018. To be clear, I don't think there's anything wrong with Spieth. I just think it's taking him longer than usual to get in a groove with his putter. It's fair to envision him correcting to the mean and reeling off multiple wins over the next few months. Odds: 7-1 |
Ryan Palmer
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| Sleeper: Four top 15s in the last six years, and Palmer finished top 25 at The Players a few weeks ago. He needs something good to go his way, and in a field this deep, I love him at that number. Odds: 100-1 |