Whether by accident or design, the PGA Tour tends to do a good job when it comes to post-major golf. When we've all been through an intense week, surely nobody – players, caddies, writers, fans – wants anything resembling that which came before. What's needed here is a change of pace, ideally from something established that all of us can ease into without having to speculate too much.
We get it at Harbour Town in April, and now we get it at Colonial Country Club in May. This is a heritage PGA Tour event, dating back to the end of the Second World War, one with a fixed home that itself harks back to another age. So does the winner's plaid jacket which, while objectively awful to look at, adds another flourish of traditionalism in a tournament won by some of the most old school ball-strikers this sport has ever produced.
There is one recurring theme from Southern Hills and it comes from Perry Maxwell, who designed both courses. That in turn creates the odd similarity, but in truth the respective challenges differ in more ways than intensity. This is a flat, mid-length par 70, stacked with shorter par-fours, its fairways are narrower, rows of trees more dense. It won't be as difficult, of course, but nor will it be a pushover – particularly if forecast winds arrive as scheduled.
Further contrast likely comes from the type of player who ought to contend here. Yes, a big-hitter won it last year and one of them might do it again, but an absence of power won't be the handicap it was in the PGA Championship. This is a place where Kevin Na faced challenges from Andrew Putnam and CT Pan, but Tony Finau, too. More so than a lot of courses, it levels the playing field for a smaller-than-usual field of 120.
One glance at the betting reveals that the field is good given the timing, with Scottie Scheffler favourite to bounce back from last week, and Justin Thomas a 12/1 shot to somehow regather himself and go back-to-back. But the appeal comes from right behind these two, with JORDAN SPIETH a painfully obvious but absolutely necessary selection.
Believe it or not, Spieth played better than Thomas from tee-to-green last week, another poor putting display keeping him pegged to the periphery as his childhood friend won the very major which still eludes him. It was no doubt a missed opportunity for Spieth, who benefited from a good draw and would've relished putting together the sort of charge that instead came from Thomas, a worthy champion whatever happened in behind.
Putting continues to be an issue for Spieth, who was gifted the RBC Heritage when it ought to have again cost him. Subsequently second in the Byron Nelson after a three-putt from nowhere during the final round, a season which has brought one win (and accompanying plaid jacket) but two near-misses and some major frustrations will have to go down as bittersweet for the time being.
There can be no doubt about his long-game, though, and that will give Spieth enormous satisfaction. He knows as we all should that his tee-to-green game will be key to success going forward, so that when a good putting week comes along, something good happens – just as it did to Thomas. It's certainly no exaggeration to say that if Spieth were to find his at the right time, he'd be extremely difficult to beat.
Simpson powered from the cut line to 10th place last Saturday, before labelling a third-round 65 one of the best of his life. He followed it with a decent enough 72 which saw him drop to 20th under easier conditions, but all in all it was a fine week's work, and potentially an important one.
At 48th in the world and 125th in the FedEx Cup standings, Simpson needs a good summer to access the Playoffs and you can be sure they're moving from back of mind to front, because he's yet to miss them.
Harman finished 34th last week but that's all because he couldn't compete off the tee, having been slightly below his best in terms of hitting fairways and likely to have been left behind regardless. Nevertheless, his iron play remained very good, the best it's been all year in fact, and that was following a strong ball-striking display in the Wells Fargo.
Spieth, Daniel Berger and Sergio Garcia are the only other recent examples at a course where a bit of nous goes a long way, but Riley is on his way to the very top and in time his name will slot in alongside those three. As such, I can overlook the fact he's making his course debut, another factor which is against him.
In his favour is the way he's playing, having been second, fourth, fifth, ninth and 13th in seven starts dating back to the middle of March. First he rode his putter to the runner-up spot at the Valspar, then again to fifth place in Mexico, but over the last two weeks he's been in the mix without it having properly fired.
At the time of writing, STEPHAN JAEGER is just on the fringes there and however his second round ends, it seems to be a continuation of some promising recent form.
The German has really picked up of late, first finishing 29th alongside Joel Dahmen at the Zurich Classic, then adding finishes of 15th, sixth and 38th across his next three starts in a fruitful five-week run of golf.
Key to his improvement has been the best sustained run of iron play he's so far managed, ranking 35th in Mexico and then 11th on his next two starts. Put that alongside one of the very best short-games on the PGA Tour and good things will happen on the right course, especially once his putter warms up.
As he says himself, chipping and putting are his main strengths so if this run of better approach work continues, he can get in the mix under the right circumstances. On that we have to take a little on trust because it's his debut here, but he's got some correlating Korn Ferry Tour form where he's a six-time winner, and I love how streaky he is.
Finally, a very small bet on TYLER DUNCAN is recommended.
At 10th in driving accuracy and 40th in greens, accuracy is Duncan's game in a nutshell and it's translating to solid strokes-gained stats: he's 61st off the tee despite being a short hitter, and 68th with his approaches. He needs a course where a fairway hit really is an advantage and that's Colonial, where he's made the cut on both visits and opened with a round of 65 in 2020.
That came in the strongest field this event has ever attracted so no wonder he faded to 38th, but I'm not surprised it's back on the schedule as he tries to nudge his way inside the vital top 125 from a current perch of 131st, for all that his exemption for winning takes him through next season too.
A former winner of the RSM Classic when getting the better of Simpson, it's no coincidence that his best recent form came at the Heritage (12th) nor that last year's best was at the Sanderson Farms (14th). Yes, this tells us he's not been contending but he's also been 13th at the Wyndham and if he does get a chance to win again, it'll be on a course like this.
He showed at Sea Island that he can grab such an opportunity with both hands and that came after two better displays in the run-up. This time his form may not look particularly strong, but his iron play fired in the Byron Nelson, on a wide, low-scoring course which won't have suited him, so the move to Colonial might just do the trick.
Posted at 2145 BST on 23/05/22
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at and .