Zach Johnson didn't play his best round but held it together for a 69. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The best moment of the first round was a quiet exchange between caddie and player in the ninth fairway. Ryan Palmer had hit a 303-yard drive on his final hole and followed that up with a wedge to 5 feet. His caddie, James Edmondson, whispered, “Make that putt and you’ll tie my course record.”

Edmondson is a Colonial member and three-time club champion. With Edmondson's encouragement, Palmer made the putt for an 8-under 62. He knows the course so well, Palmer was not afraid to hit driver on most holes and knew his numbers so well, he never needed to look at his yardage book.

Observations

Frustrated: Zach Johnson seemed ready to make his move. He was 1 under and had 98 yards into the sixth green. Johnson pushed his sandwedge 10 yards right of the hole, into a bunker and made bogey enroute to a 69. It was such a bad shot, I wondered if Johnson had been in a divot. “Not a bad lie, just a bad swing,” was his answer. Frequently this season, Johnson seems ready for a charge that doesn’t materialize. He says a “lack of fundamentals” is the problem and while Johnson did not elaborate, he could be referring to his putting.

Johnson ranked eighth and 11th in strokes gained-putting the last two seasons but is 101st this year. He has always had an unusual address position while putting, with his hands even with -- or even slightly behind -- the golf ball. Johnson worked hard last season in getting his hands slightly forward at address but they appear to be even with the ball this year.

Inconsistent: Jason Dufner has had plenty of good rounds this year but has not had a good tournament. He has yet to post a top-10 finish and it’s puzzling. Dufner ranks 72nd in FedExCup points and is 47th in scoring average at 70.857. Dufner has struggled on the weekend, ranking 115th in third-round scoring and 165th in the final round. When a player consistently struggles, he knows he has to make changes. Dufner shows flashes of great play and then fluctuates. That is very frustrating for the player because the game keeps teasing him into thinking everything is fine and he doesn’t know whether to make changes or stay the course.

Color coordinated: Daniel Summerhays knows why he shot 65 in the opening round. Part of it was due to taking 23 putts and making nine birdies while averaging a tournament leading 1.182 putts per green. Those are all good reasons, but Summerhays wanted to talk about his clothing. He wore an orange shirt with gray pants and Summerhays says every time he wears that color combination he plays well. In fact, Summerhays says he might wash the shirt just so he can wear it again this week. If Summerhays keeps taking just 23 putts per round, it won’t matter what color combination he wears.

Let it fly: Colonial is known as a golf course for shot makers. The theory is you play for position off the tee, sacrificing distance for accuracy. Matt Every had a different plan and went with driver more than most other players. Every hit only eight fairways but averaged 302 yards off the tee. It led to a 5-under 65. Every reasoned a cool spring has lead to sparse bermuda rough and the course is not as punishing as it has been in the past.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Following an 1-under 69 in Thursday's opening round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, defending champion Zach Johnson reflects on his play with Fred Albers from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A year ago, on the 72nd hole, Zach Johnson suffered a penalty for improperly marking his ball before his final putt. It cost him two strokes. It did not cost him the tournament.

It did cost him good-natured ribbing for the next 365 days.

"You can say that," he said.

Johnson won the 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial thanks to having a three-shot lead over Jason Dufner going to the final hole on Sunday. On the putting surface, Johnson's ball was in the line of Dufner's putt, so Johnson moved his ball marker ... then forgot to move it back when it came time to putt out.

Johnson's margin of victory went from three shots to one. He took full responsibility for the miscue, making fun of himself and smiling whenever anybody brought up the incident.

"I probably wouldn't be laughing as much if it influenced the outcome," he said. "Once again, I made a mistake. Live and learn."

During a charity event back in Johnson's hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Ben Crane and Stewart Cink addressed the crowd about "Golf 101." Of course, they brought up how to properly mark the ball, then proceeded to bring out a marker the size of a hubcap, with the slogan, "Remember Colonial."

"I had some peers of mine that poked fun at me at pretty good length," Johnson said. "It was pretty good."

Johnson would love to go to the 72nd hole this week with a similar advantage. He'll be sure to properly mark his ball this time. And then perhaps the ribbing will finally go away.

By Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy Insider

There are some weeks in which seasoned one-and-doners just plug a guy in and forget about it. This is one of them.

Zach Johnson is the most obvious play for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He's the defending champion, also won in 2010, sits No. 1 in all-time earnings at the event and has earned more at this tournament than any other in his career.

He has yet to log a top-15 finish this season, but his tie for 19th at THE PLAYERS Championship was his best in a full-field event. (He shared 18th place at the 30-man Hyundai Tournament of Champions to open the season.)

I'd burn him if I didn't already exhaust my one, self-imposed mulligan on a defending champion (Tiger Woods, Bay Hill). So, I'll ride a guy that likely went unlisted in games that require participants to fill in an entire season's worth of starts in January: Henrik Stenson.

He sits atop my Power Rankings and while he's just 2-for-3 at Colonial with no top 25s, he's been populating leaderboards for months. Prior to an early exit at last week's Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria, he tied for fifth at THE PLAYERS. It was his third top 10 in a five-event span.

Kevin Streelman is No. 2 in the Power Rankings. He's extremely tempting as a one-and-done. I love that he chalked up his breakthrough victory in Tampa as just another step in his career, and I won't talk you out of him. Call it a coin flip, but Stenson leads the PGA TOUR in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation.

David Toms ranks third in all-time earnings in the event. He epitomizes the profile of what it takes to succeed on the classic track, but he has just one top-45 finish in eight stroke-play starts this season.

Jim Furyk is fifth in earnings, but we'll continue to remain patient for a potential start as Colonial ranks 12th on his personal ranking of prize money earned. The others inside the top nine and on site are Rory Sabbatini (sixth), Corey Pavin (seventh), Tim Herron (eighth) and Tim Clark (ninth).

Clark would serve as a sensible option in two-man games unless you're holding off for the Travelers Championship or Wyndham Championship. However, he hasn't banked more money in any other tournament he hasn't won than at Colonial. He's also flashed enough form this season to warrant the spot.

SUMMARY

Last week: Jason Day; T27; $46,565.00

Overall Record: 19-for-21

Earnings: $4,262,889.51

Wins: 1

Top 5s: 5

Top 10s: 10

Top 25s: 14

Missed Cuts: 2

Withdrawals: 0

Disqualifications: 0

Here is the live interview schedule for this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. All interviews will be streamed in the live video player, which is available above starting Tuesday.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Corey Pavin, 2:15 p.m. ET
John Peterson, 2:30 p.m. ET

Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Zach Johnson, 10 a.m. ET
Rickie Fowler, after pro-am
Sang-Moon Bae, TBD

 

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The final pairing of Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia tees off at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. Here's a closer look at each of them, plus who and what else to watch for this afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.

Webb Simpson (1:30 p.m. ET): The reigning U.S. Open champion seemed to turn the corner at Hilton Head, where he finished second after losing in a playoff. This week, he's third in fairways hit and enters Saturday five back.

Jason Dufner (1:30 p..m ET): He had six birdies and just one bogey in the second round and is one of the best ball-strikers in the game. He also finished sixth here two years ago.

Zach Johnson (1:50 p.m. ET): The last four finishes for Johnson here: T32, T22, T12, T2. See the trend? A couple late bogeys on Friday hurt, but Johnson is still in the mix four back.

Adam Scott (1:50 p.m. ET): Playing for the first time since his Masters victory, Scott is in position to go after his second PLAYERS title (he won here in 2004). He's just four shots back.

Hunter Mahan (2 p.m. ET): After struggling in his last few starts, Mahan has turned it around here, hitting 75 percent of his greens in regulation.

Matt Kuchar (2 p.m. ET): No player has ever won this tournament two years in a row. After a 66 Friday, Kuchar has a chance and enters the third round just four shots back.

Ryan Palmer (2:20 p.m. ET): The Texan is playing with a heavy heart after a longtime friend was killed in a car accident Thursday night. He's wearing the initials "CA" on his hat in honor of him.

Henrik Stenson (2:20 p.m. ET): The 2009 champion is in contention again after making two eagles in the second round (on the par-5 second and ninth holes). When he won here four years ago, he shot a final-round 66.

Lee Westwood (2:30 p.m. ET): The Englishman has finished fourth, fifth and sixth here. All that's missing is a win. He's the only player without a bogey through the first two rounds.

Tiger Woods (2:40 p.m. ET): It's been a dozen years since Woods has won here, but he said all facets of his game are clicking right now and it's showed so far with his best 36-hole start in his history here.

Sergio Garcia (2:40 p.m. ET): Like Woods, Garcia has won here before (in 2008), but he's struggled at times playing alongside the world No. 1 with five his last six rounds in the 70s when the two have been paired.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Robert Castro opened with a course record-tying 63 to take a three-shot lead on Thursday. Whether he still has that lead by the time he tees off Friday afternoon, who knows. Conditions appear to be good for scoring again and already a few players -- Tiger Woods among them -- have started to make a move. Here's a look at who and what to watch for this afternoon.

Roberto Castro (12:46 p.m. ET): A big reason Castro was able to go so low in the opening round was because he hit close -- six of his approach shots were inside 5 feet. That will be a tall order come the afternoon when the wind is expected to increase along with the temperature, making for a firm, fast golf course.

Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler (1:18 p.m. ET): After failing to break 70 in 16 of his last 17 rounds, which included a pair of missed cuts and two other finishes near the bottom of the leaderboard, Mahan was "stress free" with a 67 Thursday. Given his accuracy, he should fare well here (two years ago, he finished sixth). Fowler, on the other hand, struggled to a 73 and will have some ground to make up to make the cut.

Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell (1:28 p.m. ET): Both were 2 under on Thursday, and McDowell comes into this week having recently won at another Pete Dye course (Harbour Town).

Zach Johnson (1:49 p.m. ET): Perhaps lost in all the headlines Thursday was Johnson, who was superb with seven birdies and just one bogey. Johnson has played progressively better here the last three years, finishing 32nd, 22nd, 12th and second.

Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker, Adam Scott (1:49 p.m. ET): McIlroy finally broke par here with a sublime 66 in the opening round and he finally appears to be comfortable around this place. His last two wins have also come on Pete Dye courses. Stricker was nearly as good with a 67 and between the three the group made just two bogeys.

 

MARANA, Ariz. -- Jason Day did most of the heavy lifting on Wednesday as he bolted to a 6-up lead through his first 10 holes.

Zach Johnson did manage to cut into the Aussie's lead briefly when play resumed on Thursday, sinking a 5-footer for birdie at the 11th hole to get to 5 down. But Day finished the former Masters champ off with 2-foot birdie putt on the next par 5 after Johnson missed from 15 feet.

"I think I missed two greens out of the 13 holes that I played," Day said. "I hit a lot of good quality shots, and I putted great, so obviously holing a 40-footer on ... 4, and then a 20-footer on 5, and then another 10-footer on 6 to get that momentum rolling was obviously good."

Day, who shot 5 under and didn't drop a shot to par, will play the winner of the match between Charl Schwartzel and Russell Henley.

 

To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here.

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MORE TOP 100: Back to No. 19 | Forward to No. 17 | Top 100 archive

2013 PREVIEW: Last year marked the third two-win campaign of Zach Johnson's career. The steady man from Iowa didn't miss a cut until June and didn't miss another the rest of the year. Johnson, who went 3-1 in the Ryder Cup, has a Presidents Cup team to make this year so he'll need more of that consistency.

2012 DEFINING MOMENT: Johnson had already posted two runner-up finishes when he went to Fort Worth and won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial for the second time in three years -- despite a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole for playing his ball from the wrong place on the green. Five weeks later, Johnson notched another victory, this time in a playoff, at the John Deere Classic, a tournament he considers his hometown event. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Zach hit one of the great shots of the year when his approach out of the fairway bunker on the 18th hole in the John Deere playoff rolled up to within a foot of the cup. He does not hit the ball overly long but makes up for that with precision and putting. Johnson is one of the more physically fit players on TOUR. -- Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: Classic case of it all coming together ... yet again. Basically copied his career year of 2009 with two wins and in excess of $4.5 million. He's not a first-round knockout artist like some of his behemoth brethren. Instead, ZJ is a surgeon, a tactician. What's great is that he has no issues teeing it up 25 times. You're likely going to get bonus starts at the Sony Open and RBC Heritage in addition to title defense at Colonial and the John Deere Classic. Don't hesitate late in the first round. -- Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert

SOCIAL MEDIA: Find him on Twitter | Facebook

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2012 QUICK REVIEW

Regular Season ranking 4th

Final Playoffs ranking 12th

Best finishes

1st P1

Crowne Plaza Invitational John Deere Classic

By the Numbers Starts: 25 Cuts made: 24 Rounds played: 94 Top-10 finishes: 6 Money List rank: 6th

TOUR ranking Driving distance: 168th Driving accuracy: 14th Greens in regulation: 101st Strokes gained-putting: 8th Scoring average: 14th

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NOW IT’S YOUR TURN What is your prediction for Zach Johnson in 2013? Fill out the form below and let us know

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- In his ninth season on the PGA TOUR, Zach Johnson has put together quite a resume. The 36-year-old Iowa native has nine victories and an incredible 44 top-10 finishes. He's also finished second seven times. In 2009, Johnson won twice -- the Sony Open and Valero Texas Open -- had nine top 10s and finished sixth in the FedExCup standings. In 2007, Johnson won twice -- the Masters and the AT&T Classic -- had a total of five top 10s and finished seventh in the FedExCup standings. But this season might just be his best to date. "Yeah, it's in there," Johnson said after his first-round 65 at The McGladrey Classic on Thursday. "I could probably answer that question better next week." Johnson, who tees of in the second round at 12:35 ET, won the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and the John Deere Classic, while taking runner-ups at the RBC Heritage and THE PLAYERS Championship. So far, he's had six top 10s and he finished 12th in the FedExCup standings. BEST SEASONS FOR ZACH JOHNSON

PGA TOUR season	Wins	2nd	Top 10s	FedExCup finish	Earnings
2012	2	2	6	12th	$4.5 million
2009	2	1	9	6th	$4.7 million
2007	2	1	5	7th	$3.9 million

What do you think? Is this Johnson's best season on the PGA TOUR? If not, was it 2007 or 2009?