The PGA Tour makes is final stop in Texas for the 2021-22 season for the Charles Schwab Challenge, which begins Thursday at the iconic Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.
Field Level Media’s golf experts preview the event and provide the best bets in the field, highlighted by PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE
Fort Worth, Texas, May 26-29
Course: Colonial Country Club (Par 70, 7,209 yards)
Purse: $8.4M (Winner: $1.512M)
Defending Champion: Jason Kokrak
FedExCup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-5:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 5:30-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 1-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6:30 p.m. (CBS).
PGA Tour Live: Daily feeds on ESPN+
Social Media: @CSChallengeFW (Twitter)
NOTES
–Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) and Bubba Watson (knee) withdrew this week and were replaced in the field by John Huh and Scott Piercy. The field does include five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking.
–Colonial has played host to a PGA Tour event since 1946, making it the longest-running non-major event on tour at the same venue. It is well-known for hole Nos. 3-5 dubbed the “Horrible Horseshoe.” It played 284 over par in 2019, making it the most difficult three-hole stretch on tour that season.
–Sponsors exemptions include Erik Compton, the 42-year-old who has received two heart transplants. His T20 last year was Compton’s first top-20 on tour in six years.
–2021 Ben Hogan Award winner John Pak also received a sponsors exemption.
–The champion traditionally receives a restored sports car. This year’s winner will receive a 1979 Pontiac Firebird.
–The tournament scoring record of 259 was set by Zach Johnson in 2010.
BEST BETS
–Thomas (+1100 at BetMGM) will make his third event start as he attempts to win consecutive events for the second time (2017 Tournament of Championship, Sony Open). His odds have lengthened slightly since opening at +1000 as Thomas has been backed by a modest 3.4 percent of the winning tickets and 3.3 percent of the handle.
–Scottie Scheffler (+1200) is coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship but the Texas native still has four wins among seven top-20s in his past nine worldwide starts. Scheffler opened at +1100 and has been backed by 4.4 and 5.2 percent of the action, respectively.
–Jordan Spieth (+1200) leads the tour with 16 top-10 finishes in his home state of Texas since 2013. That includes a win in 2016 and his third runner-up finish in this event last year. Spieth leads at BetMGM with 8.3 percent of the bets and is second with 12.8 percent of the handle backing him at BetMGM, where he is the second biggest liability. He has been supported by and 7 and 9 percent, respectively, at DraftKings.
–Collin Morikawa (+1600) is making his third event start. He lost in a playoff to Daniel Berger two years ago. He opened at +2000 at BetMGM, where Morikawa leads with 15.6 percent of the handle, making him the book’s biggest liability this week.
–Viktor Hovland (+2000) is fourth on tour in birdie average at 4.64 per round. He has been backed by 6.0 and 10.4 percent of the action and is the third biggest liability at BetMGM.
–Will Zalatoris (+2000) lost in a three-hole playoff to Thomas on Sunday as he continues to seek his first PGA Tour title. He is also +2000 at DraftKings, where he has been backed by 4 percent of the bets and handle.
–Abraham Ancer is another Texas resident coming off a solid showing with a T9 last week. He is being offered at +4000 at DraftKings, where he has drawn 5 percent of the bets and handle.
–Tom Hoge (+5000) lives nearby in Fort Worth. Already a winner on tour this season, he is coming off a T9 last week.
–Field Level Media