Jordan Spieth is 8/1 favourite for the Charles Schwab Challenge and seems sure to be a popular selection.
The Texan always enjoys fervent support in his home state and his record at Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, is remarkably consistent. Even when arriving in poor form, Spieth has played well at Colonial and he won the tournament by three shots in 2016.
Last month Spieth secured his second PGA Tour title in the Lone Star State – a two-shot triumph over Charley Hoffman in the Texas Open – and jaunty Jordan has roared up the world rankings this year.
Spieth slumped to 92nd in the rankings after missing the cut in the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January, but he starts this week at 28th.
In the four months since the Farmers, he has finished in the top-four five times on the PGA Tour and has ended up no worse than 48th in any of his last ten tournaments.
Spieth struggled with his putting at the US PGA, complaining of technical faults in his stroke on his way to 30th place, but he will be the man to beat at Colonial if he has managed to find the solution to his flat-stick issues since leaving South Carolina.
Reed Gunning for Tenth Title
The 18/1 on offer for Patrick Reed winning at Colonial seems full of juice given how well he played over the weekend of the US PGA Championship.
Reed outscored everyone over the closing two rounds at Kiawah Island, carding a 69 and a 70, and he can be expected to contend for a tenth PGA Tour title this week if he carries that Major form to Texas.
The Ryder Cup star is a short-game master – one of the best scramblers in the business – and his comfort levels in Texas are high – he was born in the Lone Star State and still lives there.
Last year was the strongest Colonial gathering in history – Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka were in attendance – and Reed still managed to finish seventh.
Mickelson Poised for Lap of Honour
Phil Mickelson looked frazzled after his US PGA Championship heroics on Sunday night and told the assembled media that he would be having a fortnight off, but the legendary left-hander appears to have had a change of heart and is listed in the tee-times for the Charles Schwab Challenge.
It would be a remarkable effort should the 50-year-old shrug off his Kiawah Island exertions to contend at Colonial – frontrunning to become the oldest Major champion in history will surely have taken its toll.
However, Mickelson is a two-time Colonial victor who knows the venue well and if punters learned one lesson from the US PGA, it is to never underestimate Phil The Thrill.
The 60/1 on offer may appeal to old romantics thinking he can complete a Colonial hat-trick to close a dream fortnight and his short-game class comes in handy around the tiny Colonial dancefloors.
*All odds correct at time of writing