The PGA Tour moves back to Texas this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Dallas as we already begin the build-up to the third major of the year which is already looming large on the horizon next month.
Emiliano Grillo was the man who took down this tournament last year and the Argentine will be back to attempt to make a successful defence of the title. Despite a major last week a pretty good field is going to oppose him here.
Recent Winners
2023 – Emiliano Grillo
2022 – Sam Burns
2021 – Jason Kokrak
2020 – Daniel Berger
2019 – Kevin Na
2018 – Justin Rose
2017 – Kevin Kisner
2016 – Jordan Spieth
2015 – Chris Kirk
2014 – Adam Scott
The Course
The Colonial Country Club will forever be remembered as the first course the PGA Tour used on its return to action. This is a regular stop for the tour although it is usually used a little earlier in the year than this. The one thing we know is needed around here is accuracy. This is a treelined track where the grass tends to be juicy, and a wet spell ahead of the tournament isn’t going to change that this week either.
If you look at the list of winners above, they are all clean ball strikers or exceptional putters and in some cases both, so that gives us an early indication of what to look for. There have been slight changes to the course since last year so it remains a par 70 which now measures 7,289 yards so it is far from long by modern standards. The rough is said to be three inches so it is significant. As ever when the tour heads to Texas the wind is a factor and is set to deliver a significant breeze for the opening three days. We are all set up for a big week for the ball strikers. Bentgrass greens being used for the first time could only further emphasise the need to strike it well.
The Field
We have a much better field than you might imagine we would get the week after a major championship. We have two current major holders teeing it up with The Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and The Open winner Brian Harman both looking to get their hands on this title. Jordan Spieth is generally ever present in the Texan tournaments and he has a tee time this week while Collin Morikawa will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing Sunday at Valhalla here.
There are plenty of other notables in the field including Max Homa and Tony Finau while the international challenge will be led by Sungjae Im, Si Woo Kim and Christiaan Bezuidenhout among others. There isn’t as much of a European charge in Texas this week but those that are teeing it up include Sepp Straka, Justin Tose and Aaron Rai. Adam Scott, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover and Tom Kim are some of the others who will want to go well here.
Market Leaders
Scottie Scheffler had an interesting week to say the least at the USPGA Championship last week but he is the 3/1 favourite to win this tournament off the back of that. This is what is becoming an increasingly rare thing for Scheffler in that it is a competition he hasn’t yet won and I’m sure he’ll be looking to put that right sooner rather than later. I don’t think the effects of last week will have any impact on him here and he feels a worthy favourite, albeit plenty short enough.
Collin Morikawa put himself in a position to win a second USPGA Championship last week but couldn’t get anything going in the final round of the tournament. He is 12/1 to bounce back and claim this title and he certainly has the ball striking requirements to go very well in this event. He should have won this tournament in 2020 but fell to Daniel Berger in a playoff so he might think he has unfinished business here. That final round last week puts me off at the price though.
Max Homa is next in the betting at 20/1. He is a very good ball striker and he merits being the position that he is in the betting on that alone. He has won at Riviera so isn’t beyond winning on ball striking courses which provide a real test and he was inside the top 10 here last year. He arrives here with a couple of top 10 finishes in his last four starts but he couldn’t really get that spark last week. Most of his wins have come in California though which is a bit of a concern.
The only other player in the field who is shorter than 25/1 is the man who will carry plenty of support in Jordan Spieth. He hasn’t been at his best this season I think it is fair to say but he knows this place well and even though you would think his long game isn’t at the level required he has a wonderful record around here with a win, three seconds and another four top 10s. Sometimes you have to ignore profile and take notice of the form. If you back Spieth this week you’ll be doing exactly that.
Main Bets
I’ve been waiting for this tournament to come around for a while because I’ve liked Keegan Bradley in an event of this kind and finally we have the chance to back him and he is a reasonable price as well. I am even more inspired to back him after a very solid week at the PGA where he posted rounds under 70 on all four days and led the field in total driving which is a massive factor around here. He isn’t a regular in this tournament so the fact it is in his schedule the week after a major suggests to me he has identified it as a place where he can go well. His long game has looked good for a while and with new greens taking away any disadvantage he might have with the putter, Bradley looks a corking main bet to me.
The other main bet that I like is Taylor Moore, who is another who is an excellent driver of the golf ball with a long game that should serve him very well around here. Much like Bradley, Moore also posted four rounds in the 60s at Valhalla last week with his ball striking very much coming to the fore and he has been in solid form this season. Either the strength of the field or the length of the course has caught him out so far but both fit his wish list this week. He showed his class when he took down the Valspar Championship last season and I think he’s primed for a big run here.
Outsiders
Adam Schenk was the closest challenger to Grillo here last year having lost out to the Argentine in a playoff. He was also close to winning the Valspar that Moore won last season so you get the feeling the door will open for Schenk at some point. His driving is one of the best on tour in terms of ball striking and he has already recorded a top five in Texas this season so we know that conditions in this part of the world won’t be an issue for him. When he has lost out one or two iron shots have been costly but if he can dial them in a little cleaner here then he’ll soon look a big price.
Adam Svensson was just outside the top 10 in ball striking at the USPGA Championship last week where he was sixth in an elite field for greens in regulation, on a course which was probably slightly beyond him length wise. This one will fit him a lot more so I expect this excellent ball striker to get himself into position to go well here. Generally the Canadian struggles on the greens but these are new greens so that might well help him out this week. Svensson posted a top 10 finish at Riviera and while he has made his last six cuts, a bad round has always cost him. If he can put four rounds together here he should be somewhere in touch come Sunday.
Tips
Back K.Bradley to win Charles Schwab Challenge (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-8)
Back A.Svensson to win Charles Schwab Challenge (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-8)
Back them here:
Back T.Moore to win Charles Schwab Challenge (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 61.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-8)
Back A.Schenk to win Charles Schwab Challenge (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
