Charles Schwab Challenge Power Rankings: The 10 Best Golfers at Colonial Country Club
By Todd Moser
We turn our attention from the PGA Championship with the Charles Schwab Challenge in what is a fairly loaded field, headlined by Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa.
This week is one of the oldest tournaments on the PGA Tour as it heads back to Texas for what was known for years as The Colonial. The course has been in the rotation since, I believe, 1946; however, it underwent a huge $20 million renovation by architect Gil Hanse, so we have to be a little wary of past results.
Let's breakdown everything ahead of the Charles Schwab with our power rankings.
The Charles Schwab at Colonial Power Rankings
10. Thomas Detry +5500
The Belgian Detry returns to our power rankings this week coming off an impressive run at the PGA finishing T-4. That was his third Top Five this year, so he certainly has the game. He doesn’t have much course history here with his only start being last year which he finished T-21. This guy can score. He ranks 10th in strokes gained putting, 25th in scoring average, sixth in birdie averages, and fourth in total putting.
9. Austin Eckroat +5500
Interestingly, besides Scottie Scheffler, the only golfer on our list with a win this year is Eckroat. He won the Cognizant in Palm Beach and has maintained solid form since. He finished T-18 at the PGA last week. Like Detry, he only has one start at Colonial, a T-16 last year.
He ranks 13th in driving accuracy, 25th in putting average, and a reasonable 42nd in strokes gained on approach. If he can lower that just a bit, we should find his name on the leaderboard.
8. Brian Harman +4000
There are a lot of guys on our rankings that were expected to win this year, but haven’t. Harman came close at The Players finishing T-2 but was no factor in last week’s PGA finishing T-26. He has two Top 10s and a Top 15 at Colonial including a T-8 in 2021. These are pretty goods odds for a major winner. I’m expecting a good result.
7. Emiliano Grillo +12500
Wait a second here. Who won this event last year? And who’s odds are +12500? Sign me up for that.
Not only did Grillo win last year, but he has a nice history at Colonial with three other Top 20s including a third in 2018 and a T-8 in 2021. I suppose when your best result is a T-54 in your last five events the oddsmakers aren’t making you a contender, but 125:1? I can’t pass that up.
6. Max Homa +2200
We all keep waiting for Homa to get his first win of the year, so there’s a bit of FOMO in this pick. He was not a factor in last week’s PGA Championship, finishing with a T-35 some 13 strokes behind the winning score. He does have three Top 10s this year and finished T-9 here a year ago. Like Harman, is this his breakout week?
5. Tony Finau +2800
Finau made yet another putting change last week. He continues to change putters and grips searching for the right combination. His T-18 at the PGA last week was a good start. He has a solo second and a T-4 at Colonial and is a good bet if he figures out that putting.
4. Jordan Spieth +2200
Spieth is still searching for his A-Game, but it’s hard to ignore his history here. He has six Top 10s including a win, two seconds, and a T-7 last year. The Dallas native is always a best bet at Colonial.
3. Justin Rose +5500
Rose seems to have found his game after a good run at the PGA Championship finishing T-6. Rose has a win here, a T-3, and a T-12 last year. His strong ball striking suits this course well, and given his odds, this is a no brainer pick.
2. Collin Morikawa +1200
Morikawa saw his friend Xander Schauffele finally get off the schneid by winning last week’s PGA. Perhaps that will provide some motivation this week after another disappointing final round. I was concerned about ‘major burnout’ from last week, but I researched his RBC performance the week after The Masters, and he had the lead before another poor final round. It also helps that he finished second here in 2020.
1. Scottie Scheffler +275
It should come as no surprise to see Scheffler as our pick to win this week. I think he comes into this week with a chip on his shoulder after all the noise from last week. He can play the tournament and spend time with his family in his nearby home. His worst finish here in the past two years is a T-3. Look for an improvement this week.
Longshot Plays at The Charles Schwab at Colonial
Ryan Palmer +40000
This week's long shot is Palmer, who is a member at Colonial.
The grizzled veteran’s game is not what it once was, but he has local knowledge and has finished sixth or better four times. You can also get him at +2200 for a Top 10 finish.
Mark Hubbard +8000
Hubbard has yet to miss a cut this year and got some TV time at last week’s PGA playing with Scottie Scheffler in the final two rounds. He has a third and a T-4 as his high finishes on the year. He finished T-9 here last year. Like Detry, he has good scoring stats with a 13th in scoring average, a 13th in birdie average, and 14th in putting average.
First Round Leader (FRL) Plays at The Charles Schwab at Colonial
For some small pancake bets, here are the guys I like as potential FRLs with their current first round scoring average in parenthesis.
Scottie Scheffler (1) +1000
Collin Morikawa (4) +2500
Alejandro Tosti (7) +12500
Beau Hossler (12) +8000
Thomas Detry (31) +5500
Jordan Spieth (75) +3300
Justin Rose (81) +5500
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.