Dean & Deluca Invitational 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2
By Luke Norris
3. Paul Casey, Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker
Round 1: 1st tee, 12:55 p.m.
Round 2: 10th tee, 7:55 a.m.
With his spot in the U.S. Open now secure, Billy Horschel comes to the Dean & DeLuca Invitational riding high after a dramatic playoff victory over Jason Day this past Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson. And that had to feel good. Coming into the Byron Nelson, Horschel, a former FedExCup champion, was in a bit of a mini-slump. After a T-13 finish at the Arnold Palmer, he missed the cut at the RBC Heritage, the Valero Texas Open and THE PLAYERS Championship before getting it together and posting four rounds in the 60s in Dallas.
Brandt Snedeker comes into the week looking to regain the momentum he had before injuring his hand at The Masters. Prior to the injury, he had five top-20 finishes over the course of nine events. After being forced to miss THE PLAYERS, he looked a bit rusty at the Byron Nelson with rounds of 73 and 72 and missed the weekend. His recent success at Colonial, a T-2 finish in 2015 and a T-17 last year, should help boost his confidence.
The final member of this group is Englishman Paul Casey, who’s the highest-ranked member of this trio at No. 14. As is usually the case with Casey, he’s just been solid thus far this season. He’s made his last ten cuts and hasn’t finished lower than 22nd in his last four starts. It’s a little surprising that Casey decided to skip the BMW PGA Championship but Europe’s loss is Texas’ gain. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had a ton of success at Colonial. He skipped out a year ago, tied for 43rd in 2015 and missed the cut in 2014.