Week 21 Approach Shots: Crowne Plaza Invitational

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The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is the last of four legs of the Texas Swing on the PGA TOUR, with Anthony Kim having captured the first leg with his playoff win at the Shell Houston Open. No player has ever won the Texas Grand Slam. Nine players, many of them Hall of Famers, have won three titles, including Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead.

TV/Radio (all times ET)

TV: GOLF CHANNEL (Thu.-Fri., 2-6 p.m.); CBS (Sat.-Sun. 3-6 p.m.) RADIO: PGA TOUR NETWORK - Sirius 209, XM 146, PGATOUR.COM (Thu.-Sun. 12-6 p.m.)

Key links

• Expert picks | Tee times • Rankings | Fantasy Insider • Inside the Field | Course

Weather

The weather should be mostly sunny through the weekend. Temperatures in the low 70s, high 90s. Winds will be from 5-10 mph. Updated weather info

STRONG FIELD: Six of the top 10 in FedExCup standings are in the field this week, including No. 2 Jim Furyk, No. 3 Phil Mickelson, No. 5 Tim Clark, No. 7 Dustin Johnson, No. 8 Ben Crane and No. 10 Steve Stricker.

Also in the field:

• Last four major champions: Stewart Cink (2009 British Open), Lucas Glover (2009 U.S. Open), Y.E. Yang (2009 PGA Championship) and Phil Mickelson (2010 Masters Tournament).

• 2010 TOUR winners: Ryan Palmer, Ben Crane, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Cameron Beckman, Hunter Mahan, Derek Lamely, Jim Furyk, Jason Bohn, Tim Clark, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day are in the field.

• Seventeen of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, including No. 2 Phil Mickelson, No. 4 Steve Stricker, No. 5 Jim Furyk, No. 6 Ian Poulter and No. 8 Paul Casey.

• Twenty-one major championship winners -- nearly 20 percent of the field.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Young stars have won the first three legs of 2010 Texas Swing. Anthony Kim won the Shell Houston Open (jumped from 18th to 2nd in FEC; is currently No. 4); Adam Scott won the Valero Texas Open (jumped from 89th to 17th in FEC; is currently No. 17); Jason Day won the HP Byron Nelson Championship (jumped from 126th to 23rd; is currently 23rd).

Since 1946, when the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and Shell Houston Open joined the Valero Texas Open and HP Byron Nelson Championship on the schedule, there has never been a year in which all four Texas events were won by 20-somethings (has happened with 3 of 4 three times -- 2001, 2000, 1981).

Can a fourth young gun win in Texas this week at Colonial Country Club? Fourteen 20-somethings have won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, with the last being Sergio Garcia in 2001 at the age of 21. In the field this week are 30 players in their 20s with a chance of joining Texas Twenties Kim, Scott and Day.

PINK OUT PART DEUX: The 2009 "Pink Out" was activated in support of defending champion Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 20, 2009. In less than five days, the tournament and community pulled together an impressive show of support. Since then, the tournament and title sponsor have made a commitment to breast cancer awareness as a whole and the program has evolved into a charitable platform that touches every aspect of the event.

For this year's "Pink Out," players, fans, sponsors and wives are encouraged to wear pink on Saturday in support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and breast cancer awareness. IHG and Crowne Plaza will donate $100 for every birdie and $500 for every eagle made on Saturday. Tournament guests are encouraged to make donations directly via Komen's text-to-donate program. Fans can make a $10 donation by texting KOMEN to 90999.

At 5:30 p.m. following play on Saturday, 210 pink balloons will be released at the 18th green. The number is significant in that every three minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. So from the start of the third round until 5:30 p.m., 210 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

ON THE LINE: Phil Mickelson, a two-time winner of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (2000, 2008), can take over the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking with a win (A solo second won't quite do it as he would still be 15/100ths of points behind Tiger Woods). A win or second-place finish would move him to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings.

Columnists' predictions

Each week, PGATOUR.COM columnists will predict the winner. Here are their picks for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Columnist Pick Comment Stan AWTREY BRIAN GAY: He's coming off a good week in Dallas, has the ideal game to compete at Colonial and has been successful here before. Craig DOLCH STEVE MARINO: Steve Marino lost in a playoff here last year and has had consecutive top-10 finishes at Colonial. He's ready for his breakthrough victory on the PGA TOUR. Melanie HAUSER PHIL MICKELSON: The next chance on a course where he's a two-time champ and owns one of the best closing holes ever. That under-one-branch-over-another-drop-it-to-9-feet stunner in 2008. Just in case you forgot. John MAGINNES PHIL MICKELSON: I would like to get creative and pick someone like Corey Pavin or Kenny Perry but the smart money is on that left-handed fellow. According to the nerds we may have a new No. 1 player in the world by Monday and his name is Phil.

HORRIBLE HORSESHOE: Colonial CC shows its teeth over the stretch of holes from No. 3-5 known as the "Horrible Horseshoe." In the tradition of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass/THE PLAYERS Championship (Nos. 16-18), the "Green Mile" at Quail Hollow GC/Quail Hollow Championship (Nos. 16-18) and the "Bear Trap" at PGA National/Honda Classic (Nos. 15-17), the "Horrible Horseshoe" is the toughest stretch at Colonial as evidenced by the stats from 2009:

DEFENDING CHAMP: Steve Stricker's win in 2009 was the first come-from-behind victory at Colonial since 2001 (Sergio Garcia). He has a solid record at the Crowne Plaza Invitational with five made cuts in seven starts and three top 25s in 2009 (1), 2007 (T24) and 2005 (T13). Stricker is playing for the first time since the Masters Tournament, as he has been sidelined due to chest pain caused from inflammation in the joint where the clavicle meets the sternum.

MADE FOR COLONIAL: Justin Leonard, a Dallas native and resident, has never missed a cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in 16 career starts. Career highlights at the famed layout include 10 top-25 finishes in 16 starts, including five top-10 showings. Leonard owns sub-par career scoring averages for all four rounds at Colonial, including identical 68.75 averages in the second and third rounds. Leonard posted a career-low 61 in the final round in 2003 on his way to a runner-up finish.