With the 2nd Major in the rear view mirror we head to the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge next on the schedule at the historic Colonial Country Club.

Emiliano Grillo won last year in a playoff over Adam Schenk. Scottie Scheffler was again toward the top of the leaderboard finishing in 3rd place. Max Homa also finished top 10.

In 2022 Sam Burns shot a 65 on Sunday and drilled a long putt to edge out Scottie Scheffler in a playoff to win. Scheffler shot a disappointing 72 in the final round relinquishing the lead. Tony Finau and Jordan Spieth were the other notable names to finish top ten.

The Charles Schwab Challenge will be held at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Colonial is one of the longest-tenured courses on tour; hosting since 1946. Only Augusta National has been on the schedule longer.

Colonial underwent a restoration project over the last year. The course was slightly shortened with changes to some tee boxes and sight lines. The greens have also been restored. Ultimately the changes shouldn’t have a huge impact on how the course plays.

The course is a par 70 measuring 7,160 yards with small Bentgrass greens, it plays to a wide range of skill sets and we’ve seen that in the previous winners.

Much of Colonial’s yardage comes from the 635 yard par five 11th hole and the 247 yard par three 4th hole.

The starting holes at Colonial are relatively easy before getting into the intricacies of the course. The opening hole is one of the two par fives and also the easiest hole on the course. The 2nd hole is a 390 yard par four and plays as the 2nd easiest hole. Par fours measuring 400-450 yards make up nearly 40% of the holes at Colonial.

Hitting fairways and good approach shots are the preferred ways to attack Colonial. Distance can help but isn’t a necessity. Driving accuracy is lower than tour average at just 57% of fairways hit. Driving distance is lower as well, coming in at an average of 277 yards. Accuracy over distance is optimal this week.

There is a strong correlation between top 10 finishers here and strokes gained approach. Approach shots from 150-175 yards make up 25% of all approach shots. Ultimately, ball striking, accuracy, and putting is what leads to success.

Colonial boasts some of the smaller greens on tour with greens in regulation percentage coming in at 65%. This will lead to golfers relying on their around-the-green game and scrambling. It will be even more necessary if the winds pick up which it looks like they could. Fortunately Scrambling is a bit easier around Colonial. There could be numerous shots from around the green but they shouldn’t be all that difficult.

The field consists of 136 golfers with the Top 65 and ties making the cut after 36 holes to play the weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

2024 Charles Schwab Challenge: The Key Stats

• Approach
• Approaches from 150-175 yards
• Fairways Gained
• Par 4 Scoring: 400-450 yards

Charles Schwab Challenge Historical Cut Line

• 2023: +2
• 2022: +2
• 2021: +2
• 2020: -1
• 2019: +3

Previous Winners

2023: Emiliano Grillo -8
2022: Sam Burns -9
2021: Jason Kokrak -14
2020: Daniel Berger -15
2019: Kevin Na -13

Golfers to Consider

Tom Hoge

This is a course that rewards good iron play and Hoge is one of the best iron players on tour. He hasn’t lost strokes since August of last year. He’s also been putting well gaining strokes in five of his last six tournaments.

Hoge has played well this year only missing one cut in fifteen tournaments. He’s finished inside the top 20 in seven appearances this year. Over the last 24 rounds Hoge is 5th in strokes gained approach, 5th in opportunities gained, 1st from 125-150 yards and 17th from 150-175 yards.

Daniel Berger

It took a while but Berger is finally starting to show signs of his former self since coming back from injury. He came 15th most recently at the Byron Nelson where he gained strokes in each of the strokes gained metrics gaining six strokes tee to green. That former self won the Charles Schwab back in 2020 where he gained over five strokes both in approach and putting.

Over the last 24 rounds Berger is 4th in fairways gained, 2nd from 150-175 yards and 15th in strokes gained approach.

Lucas Glover

Glover has been a ball striking machine. He’s gained strokes off the tee in five straight tournaments and strokes on approach in 11 straight. He’s finished top 20 in three of his last six tournaments.

Over the last 24 rounds Glover is 2nd in opportunities gained, 10th in strokes gained approach, 10th around the green, 11th in fairways gained and 5rh from 125-150 yards. He’s been great on par fours. He’s 2nd in par four scoring and more specifically 7th on par fours from 400-450 yards.