Charles Schwab Challenge 2025 Tips: Six to stop Scottie in Texas?

Our second major of the season is behind us, with world no.1 Scottie Scheffler winning his third major. However, the PGA Champion is back in action in his home state of Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club.

Our star golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his usual long-read preview. He has picked out six golfers he likes the look of, but can any of them stop Scheffler in his tracks? Here is his Charles Schwab Challenge 2025 Betting Tips...

Scottie Scheffler has played some incredible golf over the last three seasons, consistently appearing at the top of leaderboards and picking up titles at will. That being said, there has been a sense that he hasn't quite gotten enough out of the majors that his dominance deserves. He put that right in spectacular fashion on Sunday at Quail Hollow.

Scheffler entered the final round with a three-shot lead, but due to a faltering start he let several players back into it, including the charging Jon Rahm. However, there's nobody in the game at present with the unnerving calmness and ability to effortlessly change gears as the world No. 1.

This is what he did at the turn, making three birdies in the first seven holes of his back to again burst clear, and with the challengers all falling away, he was able to coast to a five-shot win for his third major championship win.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

The Charles Schwab Challenge first took place in 1946 and is one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour. It has always been held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, making it the longest-running tournament/course combination on tour.

Legendary golfer, Ben Hogan—who spent much of his life in Fort Worth—is the most successful player in the event's history. He won the first two renewals in 1946 and 1947, then added further titles in 1952, 1953, and 1959—setting the record at five wins.

Nobody else has won the tournament on more than two occasions, with a group of 10 two-time winners including Lee Trevino (1976, 1978), Corey Pavin (1985, 1996) and Phil Mickelson (2000, 2008).

Last five winners:

• 2024 – Winner: Davis Riley (-14)

Runners-up: Scottie Scheffler, Keegan Bradley (-9)

• 2023 – Winner: Emiliano Grillo (-8, playoff)

Runner-up: Adam Schenk (-8)

• 2022 – Winner: Sam Burns (-9, playoff)

Runner-up: Scottie Scheffler (-9)

• 2021 – Winner: Jason Kokrak (-14)

Runner-up: Jordan Spieth (-12)

• 2020 – Winner: Daniel Berger (-15, playoff)

Runner-up: Collin Morikawa (-15)

Davis Riley produced a dominant display to win his first solo PGA Tour title at Colonial Country Club last year. He took the lead at the halfway mark and then converted his four-shot 54-hole lead, beating Scottie Scheffler and Keegan Bradley by five strokes.

Riley returns to defend his title this week.

THE COURSE

Colonial Country Club was designed by the duo of John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell in 1936. Alongside its association with this event, it has also hosted the 1941 US Open, the 1975 PLAYERS Championship and the 1991 US Women's Open.

The course undertook an extensive renovation at the hands of Gil Hanse in 2023, with the aim of restoring it closer to the original design. Greens were lowered and some repositioned; all bunkers got rebuilt; a couple of holes had their yardages lengthened; and an authentic barranca was installed aside several fairways.

Colonial CC is a par 70, measuring 7289yds, and possesses 4x par 3s (194-248yds), 12x par 4s (385-480yds) and 2x par 5s (581-639yds). It has traditionally provided a stern test—averaging a winning score of -13.2 over the past 10 renewals—and for the most part, those course changes didn't alter this last year.

This traditional, tree-lined course is reasonably flat and tight, and requires a strategic approach to overcome it. There are constant doglegs in both directions, smart bunkering and water comes into play on six holes, playing a particularly important role at the finish.

The challenge off the tee is one of the most demanding on tour, ranking 3^rd in driving difficulty last year. Its narrow fairways are tough to find and penal should you miss, with bunkers littering the landing areas; the thick bermudagrass rough tough to play out of; and the dense gathering of trees often leaving players without a shot into the green if missing on the wrong side.

Although bermudagrass covers most of the course, the small and subtly-contoured greens are bentgrass. Speedy if weather permits, they rank about average in putting difficulty.

The most noteworthy difference in the way the renovated venue played last year is around the greens. That lowering of the putting surfaces reduced the severity of the challenge to get up and down—with scrambling percentages increased, it ranked as the second-easiest around-the-greens test on tour in 2024.

Colonial Country Club is a real test of precision ball striking, where very little is given, and everything is earned. The par 3s are lengthy as a group, with each close to or over 200yds, including the 248yd 4^th; the par 4s showcase plenty of variety, though danger lurks more prominently on the better birdie chances; and despite ranking as the two easiest holes on the course, the par 5s—made up of the easier 589yd 1^st and the 639yd 11^th—are no gimmes.

THE WEATHER

There have been some severe storms in recent days in this area. However, apart from the potential for some light rain on Thursday, conditions from Tuesday to Saturday are predicted to be largely sunny and clear with high temperatures.

Notwithstanding the occasional 25mph gust, winds look largely gentle throughout the event and while the forecast is suggesting that those storms could return for Sunday, that is too far away to play into our thinking this week.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation/Proximity from 125-175yds

Quality iron play into these small greens is a must at Colonial, and we should pay particular attention to players who have a strong wedge game—with approaches between 125-175yds holding the most importance.

Davis Riley ranked 2^nd in approach and 6^th in greens-in-regulation on his way to victory last year. Runner-up, Scottie Scheffler ranked 3^rd in GIR and 18^th in approach; 4^th-place finisher, Collin Morikawa ranked inside the top 10 in each area.

Emiliano Grillo ranked 6^th in approach and 8^th in GIR when he won in 2023. The Argentinian beat Adam Schenk in a playoff, who ranked 12^th in approach, while 3^rd-place finisher, Scottie Scheffler was 1^st in GIR and 4^th in approach.

Sam Burns hit his irons well in 2022, ranking 7^th in GIR and 12^th in approach; five of that year's top 10 ranked inside the top 10 in approach.

Jason Kokrak ranked 2^nd in GIR and 8^th in approach in 2021; Daniel Berger was 5^th in approach and GIR when winning in 2020; and both Kevin Na and Justin Rose ranked 1^st in each of those areas when recording their respective wins in 2019 and 2018.

• SG: Off-the-Tee and/or Driving Accuracy

This is a tough and penal driving course, where players need to be in control of their ball off the tee. We see many big hitters go well, but few do so without combining that power with at least a reasonable level of accuracy.

Each of last year's top four ranked inside the top seven off-the-tee, with runner-up Keegan Bradley and 4^th-place finisher Collin Morikawa ranking 4^th and 1^st in driving accuracy, respectively.

Four of the top five in 2023 ranked inside the top 25 in driving accuracy, as 3^rd-place finisher Scottie Scheffler led the field OTT.

2022 winner Sam Burns ranked 6^th OTT, runner-up Scottie Scheffler ranked 2^nd and 3^rd-place finisher Brendon Todd ranked 7^th, as well as 1^st in driving accuracy.

Meanwhile, Jason Kokrak merged power with accuracy to rank 1^st OTT when winning in 2021; 2018 and 2016 winners, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, ranked inside the top six OTT; and Kevin Kisner ranked 2^nd in driving accuracy on his way to victory in 2017.

• SG: Putting (bentgrass)
• Par 4 Scoring

Proven bentgrass putters should have an advantage and putting has been key here in the previous 10 years, with one winner during that time—Justin Rose in 2018—ranking outside the top 10 on the greens.

In addition, we should also look for players who rank high on the par 4s, which dominate the setup at Colonial Country Club.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSES)

Valspar Championship (Innisbrook Resort – Copperhead Course)

The Copperhead Course is a tight, tree-lined course with several doglegs, posing a similarly demanding tee-to-green challenge to Colonial CC. They rank closely to one another in all-round ball-striking difficulty, while approaches between 150-175yds are commonplace.

Notable correlating form:

Sam Burns:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Valspar (1^st, 1^st)

Davis Riley:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Valspar (2^nd)

Jason Kokrak:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Valspar (2^nd)

Kevin Na:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Valspar (2^nd)

Sean O'Hair:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / Valspar (1^st, 2^nd)

Keegan Bradley:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / Valspar (2^nd)

Adam Schenk:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / Valspar (2^nd)

Webb Simpson:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd, 5^th) / Valspar (2^nd)

Scott Stallings:

Charles Schwab Challenge (4^th, 4^th) / Valspar (3^rd)

Adam Hadwin:

Charles Schwab Challenge (5^th, 8^th) / Valspar (1^st)

St Jude Championship (TPC Southwind)

TPC Southwind is a par 70 of a similar length, possessing narrow, doglegged and tree-lined fairways. It ranks closely to Colonial CC in approach and short-game difficulty—into, on and around the small putting surfaces—and requires a high percentage of approaches from 125-175yds.

Notable correlating form:

Daniel Berger:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / St Jude (1^st, 1^st)

Sam Burns:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / St Jude (2^nd, 5^th)

Harris English:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd, 5^th) / St Jude (1^st, 4^th)

Adam Schenk:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / St Jude (6^th)

Webb Simpson:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd, 5^th) / St Jude (2^nd, 3^rd)

Andrew Putnam:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd) / St Jude (2^nd, 5^th)

Ryan Palmer:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd, 5^th, 5^th) / St Jude (3^rd, 4^th)

Scott Stallings:

Charles Schwab Challenge (4^th, 4^th) / St Jude (2^nd)

RBC Heritage (Harbour Town)

As a strategic, tree-lined course with small greens, Harbour Town follows a similar theme to the aforementioned venues. It ranks comparably to Colonial CC in all areas, with the long game severely tested, and has many approaches from 125-175yds.

Notable correlating form:

Emiliano Grillo:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Heritage (2^nd)

Kevin Kisner:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Heritage (2^nd)

Daniel Berger:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Heritage (3^rd, 3^rd)

Kevin Na:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / Heritage (4^th, 4^th)

Matt Kuchar:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / Heritage (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd)

C.T. Pan:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd) / Heritage (1^st)

Webb Simpson:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd, 5^th) / Heritage (1^st, 2^nd)

Brendon Todd:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd, 5^th) / Heritage (4^th)

Hayden Buckley:

Charles Schwab Challenge (5^th) / Heritage (5^th)

ZOZO Championship (Narashino Country Club)

There are many courses that somewhat correlate with Colonial, but I'm going to finish with ZOZO Championship host, Narashino Country Club in Japan. This layout is of a similar length, with tight, doglegging, tree-lined fairways and small bentgrass greens.

Notable correlating form:

Emiliano Grillo:

Charles Schwab Challenge (1^st) / ZOZO (4^th)

Keegan Bradley:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd) / ZOZO (1^st)

Collin Morikawa:

Charles Schwab Challenge (2^nd, 4^th) / ZOZO (1^st)

Andrew Putnam:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd) / ZOZO (2^nd)

Sebastian Munoz:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd) / ZOZO (4^th)

C.T. Pan:

Charles Schwab Challenge (3^rd) / ZOZO (6^th)

Hayden Buckley:

Charles Schwab Challenge (5^th) / ZOZO (5^th)

Robby Shelton:

Charles Schwab Challenge (9^th) / ZOZO (4^th)

THE FIELD

World No.1 and last week's runaway PGA Championship winner, Scottie Scheffler, will tee it up in his home state this week. Hideki Matsuyama is the only other player from the top 10 in attendance, at No. 7, and there are a further six members of the top 25, including Brits, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre.

Davis Riley returns as the defending champion, and he is one of nine former winners in the field, which includes Emiliano Grillo (2023), Daniel Berger (2020), Kevin Kisner (2017), Jordan Spieth (2016) and Chris Kirk (2015).

Current No. 3 amateur David Ford gets in via a sponsor exemption; as does Matt Wallace after his top-20 finish in last week's PGA Championship; and we're also joined by 17-year-old sensation Blades Brown and recent first-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Neal Shipley.

Charles Schwab Challenge Odds

SELECTIONS 

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Scottie Scheffler 5/2, Jordan Spieth 22/1, Daniel Berger 25/1, Hideki Matsuyama 25/1, Tommy Fleetwood 25/1,

Scottie Scheffler is back to being a serious problem, and it may just be that he sandwiches his PGA Championship win in between victories in Texas. Having said that, he's been left frustrated with his attempts to win here in recent years, finishing a distant 2^nd last year; missing out on a playoff by one shot in 2023; and losing a playoff in 2022.

In addition, winners here—and I know Scottie is no ordinary winner—don't usually feature prominently the previous week, and I'm hoping to find another player who can fly in somewhat under the radar in the aftermath of the PGA Championship.

1 pt J.J. Spaun each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 45/1

J.J. Spaun is in the ball-striking form of his life at present, which has helped him to put together a string of impressive results in 2025. He hasn't enjoyed the best of times at Colonial in the past, but there's little reason why he can't put that right this week.

Spaun began his season with a 3^rd-place finish in the Sony Open and has only missed one cut in his following 13 starts. He has twice improved on that performance in Hawaii, finishing two-shots adrift of Joe Highsmith in the Cognizant Classic and of course, losing out to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at TPC Sawgrass.

His form dipped slightly following that disappointment, but he has looked much better in the last two weeks, arriving here after finishing 17^th in the Truist Championship and 39^th in the PGA Championship.

He has excelled with his iron play this season, ranking 4^th in approach, and is looking especially strong with his wedges, ranking 19^th from 125-150yds. Additionally, his driving has also been highly promising, as he's added some power in 2025—doing so while losing little in terms of accuracy—and ranks 7^th in this field off-the-tee in the last three months.

Spaun has teed it up five times at Colonial—withdrawing twice, missing two cuts and recording a lonely 63^rd-place finish. However, he has some encouraging comp form, having recorded two 6^th-place finishes in the ZOZO Championship and with his only previous PGA Tour win coming in the 2022 Texas Open, he has winning form in this state.

1 pt Davis Thompson each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 55/1

After former No. 1 amateur, Davis Thompson won his first PGA Tour event in the John Deere Classic toward the end of 2024, I really expected him to go on this year. That hasn’t quite happened, but he had been playing well prior to missing the cut last week and having performed well here on debut last year, I’m expecting him to kick-star his season at Colonial.

Thompson has made 14 appearances in 2025, recording three top-25 finishes and four missed cuts. His 10^th-place finish at THE PLAYERS Championship is his best result, and he finished 23^rd in the Truist Championship in the week before the PGA Championship.

He’s one of the strongest tee-to-green performers in this field according to any timeframe, ranking 12^th over his previous 20 rounds and 13^th in the last three months. The driver has continued to thrive, combining power with accuracy to rank 27^th off-the-tee, and he’s also much improved with his irons after a sluggish start to the season in approach, ranking 9^th in the last three months—looking at his best with wedge in hand.

Thompson’s best putting display this year has come on bentgrass, as it did last year when winning the John Deere Classic. He was also solid enough on this week’s surfaces when finishing 17^th on debut last year, and with his long game looking in good shape, he can improve on that this week.

1 pt Mackenzie Hughes each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 66/1

Mackenzie Hughes missed the cut last week after enduring a torrid time on the greens. As one of the most reliable putters on tour, he should be able to put that behind him and currently driving the ball about as straight as ever in recent months, he can handle this tight, strategic layout.

Hughes’ season was slow to get going, as he struggled to find any consistency across his game. That all changed at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as he finished 22^nd, and in his seven following starts he has amassed three top-10s: finishing 2^nd in the Myrtle Beach Classic, 3^rd in the RBC Heritage and 10^th in the Houston Open.

The Canadian’s putter was failing to fire at the start of the year, but he’d found his stride on the greens before heading to Quail Hollow, ranking 6^th in this field from the start of March to the beginning of May. To complement this, he’s hitting the ball with greater precision, ranking 31^st in driving accuracy in the previous three month—a huge positive for a player who can be wayward off the tee.

Hughes has played Colonial on five occasions and recorded a best of 8^th in 2019. In spite of his sometimes erratic long game, he does have a good book of form on tight, tree-lined courses—finishing 3^rd in the RBC Heritage, 3^rd in the Valspar Championship and 4^th in the ZOZO Championship in the last three yea

1 pt Tom Kim each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 80/1

Tom Kim’s struggle for form has been one of the surprises of the season. However, there was a crumb of encouragement to be taken from his 71^st-place finish last week, and as a friend of Scheffler and local resident, he can finally fire some life into his season in Fort Worth.

Kim has recorded just two finishes inside the top 40 in 13 starts this season, with the best of them coming when 7^th at Pebble Beach. He’s made the cut at each of the first two majors, and though eventually finishing 71^st of the 74 players who made the cut at Quail Hollow, there was one striking positive in the final round.

He’d lost his touch in approach after initially looking strong in the early part of the season, but looked to have rediscovered it on Sunday—ranking 6^th in the field—and in gaining 2.3 strokes, he produced his best round in approach since the Valspar Championship two months ago. He’s remained one of the strongest wedge players on tour despite his poor form, ranking 3^rd from 125-150yds and 5^th from 150-175yds, and still finding plenty of fairways, this course could just ignite his year.

Kim debuted at Colonial last year and opened with three rounds in the 60s to sit 11^th entering the final round, before a four-over 74 dropped him to 24^th. He’s also recorded top-25 finishes in limited starts at the RBC Heritage, St Jude Championship and ZOZO Championship, emphasising his suitability to this type of test.

1 pt Kevin Yu each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 80/1

Kevin Yu is one of the best ball strikers on tour and having found something on the greens in recent weeks, this looks a good spot for him to pick up his second PGA Tour title.

Yu has recorded five top-20 finishes across 15 appearances this season. His strongest performance came two-weeks ago when 4^th in the Myrtle Beach Classic, and he finished 51^st in last week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

His ball-striking numbers this season are excellent. He’s long and straight with the driver, ranking 9^th off-the-tee, and is almost equally strong with his irons, ranking 14^th in approach and 15^th in greens-in-regulation. He possesses the required strength with the wedges, ranking 13^th from 150-175yds and finding his two best putting performances of the season in his previous two starts—including ranking 4^th last week—he has an ideal profile for this test.

Yu showed plenty of promise on debut last year, opening with rounds of 69-69 to sit 25^th at the halfway point, before a difficult weekend saw him drop to 61^st. He’s also finished 12^th in the Valspar Championship and 16^th in the ZOZO Championship on his latest starts in those events, which suggests he’s capable of sustaining that start he made at Colonial last year.

1 pt Chris Kirk each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 100/1

Following a sluggish start to the season, Chris Kirk has improved in the last two months. He’s a former winner of this event and with his iron play now looking much better, he is an appealing price to contend this week.

Kirk didn’t record a single top-25 across his first six starts this season, but he’s since recorded two in his seven latest starts, finishing 18^th in the RBC Heritage and 22^nd in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He battled to a 55^th-place finish in the PGA Championship and fired his best round of 68 in round four—the joint fourth-best score on Sunday.

His tee-to-green game has been sound for most of the season, ranking 35^th in this field since February and he’s especially excelled in approach, ranking 20^th. The wedges look in good shape, ranking 26^th from 125-150yds and appearing to have the driver under better control in recent weeks, his long game is primed for the challenge.

Kirk won here back in 2015—one of seven top-20 finishes for him at Colonial. He’s also recorded two top-10s at the RBC Heritage and with plenty of alternate form on similarly strategic, tree-lined courses, he fits the bill in Fort Worth.

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