Paulie’s Picks: 2017 Dean & Deluca Invitational

Well, that was a pretty good week at the Byron Nelson with our Longshot Danny Lee and BH An both finishing in the top 5. Let’s try and continue that success this week as the Tour heads to Colonial. This is one of the weeks where course history is key. Nearly all of the players who have succeeded at this course in the past seem to play extremely well here year after year. Let’s get into this week’s picks:

DraftKings

Jason Dufner $9,000

Dufner is my favorite player this week. He has been knocking on victory’s door over the past month but has faltered on Sundays. He finished 13th at the Byron Nelson after shooting 72 and finished 11th at the Heritage after a final round 76. He has a pretty good track record at Colonial. He has finished in the top six in three of the last five years.

Pat Perez $7,600

Perez is a very consistent ball striker who has made every cut this year. Perez had a victory in the fall at the OHL Classic and has had recent success. He finished 22nd at the Players and second at the Wells Fargo. He has had success at this track as shown by his three top 10s in his last six appearances.

Ryan Palmer $7,900

Palmer is a Colonial member who has three top fives in his last five appearances. Palmer has been striking the ball well as shown by his 27th finish at the Nelson, 6th at the Texas Open and 11th at the Heritage. If he can get his putter going, he can contend this week.

One-and-Done

Jason Dufner (25-1)

I expect Dufner to be a popular choice this week based on the reasons listed above.

Bud Cauley (25-1)

Cauley is on a hot streak with three straight top 10s. He has had success in his last two appearances at Colonial as shown by his 21st and 14th place finishes. He is a good option this week if you don’t want to use Dufner.

Paul Casey (25-1)

Casey may be a good contrarian pick this week. He is a very good ball striker who has had moderate success at Colonial and who has produced decent but not eye-popping results this year. He has finished in the top 13 in two of his last four appearances here. He has finished 22nd or better in six of his last seven events.

Longshot to Win: Nick Taylor (80-1)

Taylor has been playing great the last four events with finishes of 8th, 9th, 22nd and 22nd. He has shown consistency in all aspects of his game during this span. His game suits Colonial and he’s had moderate success with finishes of 47th and 27th in his last two appearances here. At 80-1, I’m more than willing to toss a few shekels on him.