{"id":10858,"date":"2024-05-20T06:57:47","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T06:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/?post_type=article&p=10858"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:17:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T15:17:42","slug":"2024-charles-schwab-challenge-at-colonial-country-club-preview","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/article\/2024-charles-schwab-challenge-at-colonial-country-club-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club – Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a scintillating PGA Championship that saw Xander Schauffele finally win his first career major, the Tour heads south to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge played at the legendary Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the event’s name has changed numerous times, Colonial CC has hosted this tournament since 1946, making it the longest-running event on the PGA Tour held at the same location. From its beginning, the tournament has seen the most illustrious names in golf among its champions, including Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson. Colonial is one of those rare gems that has stood the test of time, challenging the world’s best golfers year after year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Colonial’s storied past speaks for itself, much has changed since it hosted the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge. The course that Marvin Leonard opened in 1936 has undergone an extensive makeover as renowned architects Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner embarked on the most significant renovation project in its history. The goal was to modernize the course in different ways and restore it as much as possible back to its original form. Hanse says the objective is getting the course back to something that looks as if it\u2019s \u201cbeen there forever.\u201d \u201cIt will still be the revered Colonial course we are all familiar with seeing and playing, but the Hanse work will improve, update, and maximize the legendary course and routing”, said Colonial’s general manager Frank Cordeiro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colonial CC is a challenging tree-lined shot-makers course with tight fairways, numerous doglegs, and small greens. It is perhaps the PGA Tour’s quintessential positional course that places a premium on accuracy off the tee and on approach. Ball-strikers with past success on “less than driver” courses, who can be creative and shape their shots, and spike with the putter on the bentgrass greens will have an advantage. Jordan Spieth, perhaps, summed up Colonial best by saying, “Fit it into tight windows, hit fairways, and control the ball on the green.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an average winning score of 13-under over the last dozen years, the list of recent past champions here is full of quality ball-strikers who can roll the rock including Daniel Berger, Kevin Na, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Chris Kirk, and Zach Johnson. Two of the last three winners, Sam Burns and Jason Kokrak took a more aggressive route off the tee by hitting driver at a 72% clip as compared to the field average of 58%. One thing both have in common with the previous group – both were among the best putters on Tour. While last year’s winner, Emiliano Grillo only hit driver 46% of the time, he followed the same approach-putting combination, gaining 4.7 strokes on approach and ranking second on the greens gaining 7.4 strokes with his flatstick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Field<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The week after a major notwithstanding, along with the fact that it is not a “Signature” event, there is a sneaky-strong field at this week’s edition of the Charles Schwab Challenge with 11 of the top 30 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh off a stint in a Louisville jail cell, the field is headlined by world No. 1 and local Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler. Colonial’s most consistent contender, and another local, Jordan Spieth returns for the 12th consecutive year where he has ten top-14 finishes, including a win in 2016. Max Homa, Brian Harman, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, and Keegan Bradley round out the list of elite players teeing it up this week. Other past champions in the field are Emiliano Grillo, Daniel Berger, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Kevin Kisner, Zach Johnson, Chris Kirk, and Rory Sabbatini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Charles Schwab Challenge being an invitational event, there will only be 132 players in the field with the top-65 and ties making it through the cut-line. One of the storylines to follow is how golfers perform this week who were either in contention or who struggled at last week’s PGA Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Colonial Country Club – History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Located on the south bank of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River and just to the northwest of Texas Christian University sits Colonial Country Club. Founded in 1936 by Marvin Leonard, it was created out of his stubborn resolve to prove the naysayers wrong regarding the successful establishment of bentgrass greens in Texas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonard convinced two visionaries in the golf architecture world, John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell to assist and help design the layout of the course. Bredemus drew up much of the original plan with Maxwell coming in after to improve the course by adjusting the routing of the holes. Maxwell specifically focused on toughening up holes 3-5 which today make up the “Horrible Horseshoe”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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