The Loop

Can Jordan Spieth answer Rory McIlroy at Colonial?

May 20, 2015

The second Texas two-step of the PGA Tour season begins this week with the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. You can finally take a break from putting Rory McIlroy in your lineup because the World No. 1 has lept across the pond to play in the BMW PGA Championship. Well, unless you're also in a European Tour fantasy golf league. If that's the case, you might need to reevaluate things. . . But back to Colonial, which has as rich a history as any non-major thanks to Ben Hogan winning here five times and getting honored with a statue by the clubhouse. Who will follow in his footsteps this week and take home the plaid jacket? Here's our PGA Tour Fantasy Golf lineup:

Jordan Spieth: There's not much to find fault with here. Oddsmakers have Spieth as an overwhelming favorite (5 to 1), he finally rested after a busy stretch of golf, and he's finished in the top 15 in both prior trips to Colonial. We've seen what Rory McIlroy did in response to Spieth winning the Masters. This is a great opportunity for Spieth to reply in his own way. And check out this gray sweater vest he wore recently:

Ben Hogan would approve.

Adam Scott: The defending champ has fallen out of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he still makes our list of the game's top-10 ball-strikers. Scott led the field in proximity to the hole by more than six feet during his win last year. Whether he's converting birdie putts or not, that sort of iron play should provide plenty of points.

Zach Johnson: No one has played Colonial better in recent years than ZJ, who had a remarkable four-year run from 2010-2013 in which he won twice and added a third and a fourth. Johnson benefits from this being one of the shorter courses on tour and his accuracy off the tee makes him extra valuable this week.

Ryan Palmer: While ZJ has played the Crowne Plaza Invitational the best in recent years, there's probably no golfer who has played Colonial more than Ryan Palmer during that time. The Texas native is a member at the Fort Worth club and that familiarity with the course has paid off the past three years with three top-15 finishes, including a pair of T-5s.

Bench: Boo Weekley and Kevin Kisner.

And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:

__Yahoo! lineup: Palmer, Spieth, Senden, Weekley.

Bench/backups: Scott, Kisner, Poulter, Na. __

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Knockout/One-and-done pick: Zach Johnson.

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