The Loop
Fantasy Fix: Zach Johnson HAS to play well at Colonial. Right?
By Alex Myers
Brendon Todd won the HP Byron Nelson Championship and no, we didn't pick him. Then again, did Brendon Todd even pick Brendon Todd? Anyway, now that we've established some guidelines for predicting surprise winners, maybe we won't be so caught off guard in the future. Up next, the PGA Tour stays in the Dallas area for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial -- a rare week when distance takes a back seat to accuracy. It also seems to be a rare week in terms of predictability. So forget about the Brendon Todds of the world. We're going with a lot of big names who have fared well at this event and we feel confident. Very confident. At least, for now. . .
Starters -- (A-List): Matt Kuchar. Is he ever going to have a bad week again? Last week at the Byron Nelson, I swear I never heard the guy's name once, but there he was on a final leader board once again at T-7. Amazing. He nearly finished atop the final leader board here last year, coming up one shot short of winner Boo Weekley.
(B-List): Zach Johnson. ZJ's last four finishes at Colonial? WIN, fourth (what happened?!), WIN, and third last year. There's not much else to say.
(B-List): Jason Dufner. A runner-up here in 2012, the Hogan lover would love nothing more than a win at the venue with which his idol is perhaps most identified. Dufner has had a disappointing season thus far, but perhaps hanging out with the NBA's MVP, Kevin Durant, will motivate him.
(C-List): Kevin Na. Na is still searching for win No. 2 on the PGA Tour, but he's had a fantastic 2013-14 season with three top-5 finishes and more than $1.7 million in earnings. He's never missed a cut at Colonial and has five top 25s in his past seven starts.
Bench/Backups: Brian Davis, Jim Furyk, Graham DeLaet, Boo Weekley.
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Zach Johnson. See above. The dude owns this place. In a PGA Tour season marked by unpredictability, we can count on Zach. Right?
Previously used: Keegan Bradley (Doral), Tim Clark (Sony), Graham DeLaet (Phoenix), Luke Donald (Valspar), Rickie Fowler (Honda Classic), Jim Furyk (Heritage), Bill Haas (Farmers), Billy Horschel (Zurich), Charles Howell III (Humana), Freddie Jacobson (Valero), Dustin Johnson (Northern Trust), Martin Laird (Kapalua), Graeme McDowell (Bay Hill), Adam Scott (Masters), Jordan Spieth (Houston), Henrik Stenson (Players), Jimmy Walker (Pebble -- winner!), Gary Woodland (Nelson).