Crowne Plaza Invitational: Jordan Spieth favourite for victory in Texas

Jordan Spieth is back in action at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and, with Rory McIlroy playing at Wentworth, has assumed his place at the head of the betting.

The boy wonder gets another chance to tee it up in his home state of Texas, significantly his first since becoming a major champion, and were it not for some extremely negative comments after a missed cut at Sawgrass would make plenty of appeal.

But when the man in possession of the swing says he doesn't know what's gone wrong with it, taking a single-figure price - however modest the field, however impressive the talent - just doesn't seem a wise policy and instead perhaps Zach Johnson is worth one more go.

This proven PGA Tour winner was my main fancy at Sawgrass and performed much better than Spieth to finish on the fringes of the top-10, despite continuing to struggle with the putter.

As a general rule it's best to swerve those who can't find the cup but this is Johnson we're talking about, and at some stage he will rediscover his confidence on the greens.

With some impressive ball-striking figures and a course record which includes two wins and two further top-five finishes, he looks the most likely champion if Spieth continues to struggle off the tee.

Colonial Country Club is known to favour those who strike the ball with great authority and defending champion Adam Scott is out to a tempting price at 30/1.

However, it took his very best golf to win this last year and it's been a bit of a struggle since, so instead let's chance Ian Poulter at 40s.

Poulter has been hitting the ball as well as at any other stage in his career and, like Johnson, just needs to rediscover his putting boots to cross the line.

Here at the Crowne Plaza, where the emphasis is on keeping it in the fairway, the Englishman should be under less pressure than most and can justify his controversial decision to avoid a trip to Wentworth.

Poulter has carded 10 good scores from just 12 rounds at the course, his best finish being a solid eighth, and has played well enough all season to be considered a major factor.

Louis Oosthuizen is another for whom a tee-to-green examination is ideal and he can bounce back at 50/1.

The former Open champion has gone close in Texas several times, shooting a final-round 74 to blow a chance to win the Byron Nelson last year and twice contending in Houston.

Here at the Crowne Plaza he's been 19th and 38th in two visits, both decent enough efforts, and with four top-10 finishes from just nine starts in 2015 arrives in good shape.

Finally, chance Steve Stricker and David Lingmerth at big prices.

Stricker really catches my eye as a former champion who can be backed at 66/1, simply because many have come to the conclusion that he's not going to add to his collection of PGA Tour titles now that he's in semi-retirement.

But recent interviews suggest the man from Wisconsin is determined to remain a factor when he does tee it up and his decision to return here after a five-year break may be significant.

Lingmerth is out of form - hence the three-figure price - but with a round of 64, a 65 and two 66s in just eight knocks at Colonial he clearly loves the place.

The Swede thrives on tough courses as we saw when he finished 13th in the Arnold Palmer and it's far from impossible that he pops up again.