After watching Brooks Koepka successfully defend his title at the PGA Championship last week, the Tour takes a break from all the hoopla of a major tournament. That doesn’t mean the stakes aren’t as high for the 122 players scheduled to peg it up at the invitation-only Charles Schwab Challenge, which gets underway Thursday from Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Justin Rose returns to defend his title and is the betting favorite along with Jon Rahm, in a strong field of players with a number of them competing just last week.
Odds to Win Charles Schwab Challenge at BookMaker.eu
Justin Rose +950
Jon Rahm +950
Jordan Spieth +1250
Xander Schauffele +1300
Rickie Fowler +1350
Francesco Molinari +1850
Paul Casey +2775
Bryson Dechambeau +3050
Tony Finau +3300
Louis Oosthuizen +3555
Kevin Kisner +3985
Ian Poulter +4475
Jason Kokrak +5050
Scott Piercy +5050
Emiliano Grillo +5065
Matthew Fitzpatrick +5575
Brandt Snedeker +6555
Rory Sabbatini +7000
Billy Horschel +7050
Abraham Ancer +7250
Zach Johnson +7500
Chez Reavie +7525
Joel Dahmen +7555
Kevin Na +8000
Tyrrell Hatton +8050
Si Woo Kim +8500
Sungjae Im +8555
Byeong Hun An +8850
Ryan Palmer +9000
Daniel Berger +9000
Russell Knox +9050
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +9050
Graeme McDowell +9050
Danny Lee +9500
Jhonattan Vegas +9500
Charley Hoffman +9575
Corey Conners +9850
Pat Perez +10000
Jim Furyk +10000
Kevin Tway +10000
Branden Grace +10500
Max Homa +10500
Sam Burns +10500
Talor Gooch +11500
Jason Dufner +11550
Brian Harman +12500
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +12500
Aaron Baddeley +13500
Nick Taylor +13500
Michael Thompson +13500
Field - Any Other Player +250
Odds Analysis
Justin Rose +950
Rose had so much fun at Colonial last year he decided to return in an effort to defend his title. He played here to meet Tour requirements and ended up with a three-shot win over Koepka firing 66 or lower in all four rounds. Recent form has been inconsistent, but his ball-striking was a thing of beauty here last year and Rose remains one of the best. He won the Farmers Insurance Open in January and has two other top-10s since then. He’s also placed outside the top-50 three times with a MC, so it might be too much to expect him to repeat.
Jordan Spieth +1250
The stars are getting aligned for Spieth to claim his first win since 2017. A solid effort at Bethpage Black enabled him to tie for third. That came after an 11-under performance the week prior at the Byron Nelson where Spieth proclaimed he “was” in a slump. The game has come together the last two starts and he returns to a layout that yielded him a victory in 2016 with a pair of runner-up finishes in between.
Emiliano Grillo +5065
An interesting selection with a nice payout, that’s why he’s on my radar. Grillo improved his results at Colonial in each of his past three starts from a T55 in 2016 to T24 two years ago and solo third in 2018. “I love this course. My past results don’t show that, but I was expecting a week like this, to be honest,” Grillo said after last year’s showing. His putting was the best among the field last year and anything similar should have him ready to pounce at the top of the leaderboard.
Abraham Ancer +7250
This is a longshot pick but you have to take a chance on the underdog every now and then to get the gargantuan payday. A resident of San Antonio, Ancer has familiarity with Texas golf and he’s coming off a top-20 at the PGA Championship, so he should at least be a confident player. Ancer is one of the top players off the tee but he doesn’t do it with distance, which will set him up for success on the approach. His metrics in strokes gained categories could allow him to take down Colonial.
Course: Colonial Country Club – 7,209 yards, Par 70
Colonial is the longest running host layout of any non-major event, so there is plenty of history to extract. At just over 7,200 yards, the course has always played at par 70 and is average in terms of length compared to other Tour tracks. Scoring hasn’t been a problem over the years with the field averaging 69.83 per round last year while rewarding consistent ball-striking. Every course has a signature hole or holes, and Colonial is no different. Known as the Horrible Horseshoe, holes 3, 4 and 5 can influence players. The par-4 fifth has been the most difficult in every playing since 2005 with No. 3 and No. 4 close behind.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel, CBS
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