The PGA Tour Is Back In Texas With The Charles Schwab Challenge At Colonial Country Club

Welcome back to another week on the PGA Tour, which is by no means slowing down after a phenomenal PGA Championship at Kiawah. This week brings us to Fort Worth, Texas, home of one of the Tour's oldest stops and one of the Tour's five "invitational" tournaments (the others being the Genesis, the Arnold Palmer, the Heritage, and next week's Memorial).

Last year this was the first tournament back from COVID. It was really the country's first foray back into sports. Because it was the first event back, the field was stretched to a full 156 players (instead of the usual 120 for this event) and featured the biggest names in the game. With this event being sandwiched between the PGA and next week's Memorial, you might think the field this week would be a lot weaker, but a lot of big names that enjoyed Colonial last year have returned to build a very respectable field this week.

In last year's edition, Daniel Berger held out against Collin Morikawa in a playoff after Collin failed to convert a couple of short putts down the stretch that would have won the tournament outright. You can see from the leaderboard below just how stacked this event was.

2020 Leaderboard

Recent Winners

The Course

Colonial Country Club is a private par 70 course measuring just about 7,200 yards. It was designed by John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell in 1936 and has hosted this event (under a wide variety of different names) since 1941. It's not a terribly long course. You're going to find NINE par 4's here measuring under 450 yards. That don't mean much to us weekend hackers, but to these guys that means a ton of drivers and wedges. That 7,200 number makes it look a lot longer for a par 70 than it actually is thanks to that 247 yard par 3 4th and the 3-shot par 5 11th.

1 and 2 are generally regarded as easy birdie holes, and then you get the Horrible Horseshoe for holes 3-5. Love me a good nickname for a stretch of holes. The two par 4's are the two longest on the course and demand accuracy off the tee. That 247 yard number for the par 3 sandwiched between speaks for itself, and the green is elevated there too. So you get sandbagged a bit to start off your round and then get hit in the face.

Overall, this course suits a player with accuracy off the tee and precision on their approaches. It is by no means a bomber's paradise. The list of recent winners will back that up.

Best Hole - Par 4 5th, 481 Yards

None of the holes on the Horrible Horseshoe are all that scenic, but I simply have to take one of those holes given that in many years, it's the toughest 3-hole stretch on the entire Tour. The 5th is a dogleg right with the Trinity River and trees bearing down on you on the entire right side of the hole. Even on your approach, there's no room to breathe on the right. The rough left off the tee is thiccc, so you're forced to try to hit the perfect tee shot down the left side of the fairway.

Here's an instructional video on how to play the hole from Colonial head pro Dow Finsterwald, Jr, where he oddly goes tee-to-green and then putts left-handed.

The Weather

Could be some weather afoot. Bit of wind too, but nothing like most of these guys saw last week.

TV Coverage

Thursday: Golf Channel 4-7 PM ET

Friday: Golf Channel 4-7 PM ET 

Saturday: Golf Channel 2-5:30, CBS 5:30-7 PM ET

Sunday: Golf Channel 12-2 PM, CBS 2-6:30 PM ET

PGA Tour Live Featured Groups for Thursday and Friday

The Trophy

This thing is a behemoth. I like that about it. If you're gonna be a tournament in Texas, you gotta go big and that's exactly what they've done here. Pretty sweet eagle on top there too. You only really get birds involved with your trophy at the Sanderson Farms and I believe that trophy is quite simply a chicken. This is a superior bird and this is a superior trophy. Plus you get a plaid jacket, which technically isn't unique (see the Heritage) but it's a sweet touch regardless. All in all, this ensemble is a 7.4/10.

The Field

Hometown kid and former champion Jordan Spieth is the current favorite at the Barstool Sportsbook at +1000. He broke through for his comeback win in Texas a few weeks ago in San Antonio and it's clear that the books are rightfully respecting him as #back by making him a tournament favorite again. It really is a course that fits his game well. The distance advantage others have over him at many other courses is mitigated here, and there's few better than him with a wedge in his hands. I wouldn't fault anyone for taking him this week.

My official pick is going to be Collin Morikawa at +1400. I continue to be a big fan of this guy and I'm taking him for a lot of the same reasons anybody would take Spieth. Extreme accuracy, unreal ball-striker… he finished strong at the PGA last week and one of these weeks he's going to be merely average with the flatstick. The rest of his game is so good that that's all he really needs to be on the greens. Average. This tournament was essentially his last year and he flat out blew it. He knows it and he's cited it as a learning experience on his way to winning the Workday Classic a few weeks later and eventually last year's PGA. I think he'll be determined to right the wrong that was letting that tournament slip away last year so he's the pick.

Other Plays

Will Zalatoris To Win +2200, Top 10 +250 - Same bucket as the two above. Ball-striking maestro. Dallas native. Would make a lot of sense.

Kevin Kisner Top 10 +700, sprinkle to win +10000 - Missed 4 straight cuts, but has won here before and that putter can put him in business in any given week.

Harry Higgs To Win +10000 - Coming off the Top 5 last week and all that great content? This is just a fun one to have on the card.

Corey Conners +3300 1st Round Leader - 1RL last week before fading, but this is really a hedge on all the great ball-strikers. He's had an awesome year and I don't think it would surprise anybody in the know if he won here.

Finish in a Playoff +400 - I keep saying we're due. It's gonna happen soon. It's got to. Look how bunched up last year's leaderboard is. Give us a playoff!

Tony Finau To Win +1600 - (WARNING: This is merely a FOMO pick. Been chasing that Tony win for like 4 fucking years and there's just no way I'm going to miss the boat. This pick will be a mainstay here for the foreseeable future, ride or don't.)