PGA Championship Co-Runners-up Scheffler and Hovland are among the favorites this weekend at Colonial. Let’s take a look at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge Odds by Jazzsports.
While it is not one of the PGA Tour’s Designated Events, the Charles Schwab Challenge at historic Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, has attracted a strong field for this year’s event. Many of the top golfers in the world are playing in this event just a week after a difficult challenge at the PGA Championship.
Colonial was called “Hogan’s Alley” after legendary golfer Ben Hogan won the first two events here in 1946-47 and five of the first 13. No other golfer has won this tournament more than two times—those winners include the likes of Phil Mickelson, Lee Trevino, Ben Crenshaw, and Nick Price.
Sam Burns is the defending champion of this event, defeating Scottie Scheffler on the first playoff hole in 2022.
Colonial Country Club was built in 1936 and has hosted this event since its inception. It’s a 7,209-yard, par-70 course that challenges players early. Holes 3-5 are known as the “Horrible Horseshoe” and features the three hardest holes on the course for players in last year’s event. No. 3 is a par-4, 483-yarder, No. 4 is a monster 247-yard par 3 that also features an elevated green, and the par-4 fifth hole’s fairway cuts through trees on the left and a river on the right.
This will be the final year under the current configuration that’s been in place since 2016, as a refurbishment to the course is planned prior to next year’s tournament. Zach Johnson, also a two-time winner here, holds the course record with a 21-under 259 in 2010.
Scottie Scheffler (+450) continued his incredibly consistent run of golf in 2023 at last week’s PGA Championship, rallying with a 65 on Sunday to finish tied for second. In the process, he overtook Jon Rahm for the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. Scheffler has two wins this season—compared to four at this point last year—but in 11 events in 2023, the 2022 Masters champ has placed in the top 10 nine times. The other two times, he finished 11th and 12th. With five top-fives in his last seven events (including a win at The Players Championship), it’s almost automatic that Scheffler will be in contention here.
Viktor Hovland (+1200), who finished co-runner-up with Scheffler at Oak Hill last week, has two top-25 finishes here on both trips to Colonial. Like Scheffler, the Norwegian has been a sure bet to at least get to the weekend; Hovland has made 18-straight cuts. Hovland’s only win this season is in the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial money event, but he’s been money at the big events this year: third at The Players, seventh at the Masters, and second last week.
Jordan Spieth (+1000) returns home to Texas to play in this event after a wrist injury forced him out of the AT&T Byron Nelson two weeks ago. He made it through at Oak Hill, coming out healthy after a 29th-place finish at the PGA. Spieth won this event in 2016 and is the tournament’s all-time leading money winner. Spieth generally delivers at courses that he excels at, so contending here would be no surprise.
Tony Finau (+1000) didn’t have the best weekend at the PGA, scuffling through four rounds to finish 72nd, but he will be happy to return to Colonial. He was fourth last year, runner-up in 2019, and owns three other top-20 finishes in seven starts here. Finau has been no stranger to winning as of late, owning four victories in the last 10 months, including outdueling Jon Rahm at the Mexico Open earlier this month.
Sam Burns (+2000) has missed two-straight cuts, but he’s comfortable in the role of defending champion. He went back-to-back at the Valspar Championship in 2021-22 and showed at the WGC-Match Play that he’s still got it, beating Scheffler in the semifinal on his way to a win in that event.
Justin Rose (+2500) won here in 2018, which was his last win until taking the title at Pebble Beach earlier this year. He’s made five-straight cuts and just over a month off after the RBC Heritage seemed to do him well, as the Englishman came in ninth at the PGA last week.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2800) has been flying under the radar a bit, but he’s put in nothing but strong performances as of late. No missed cuts since the WM Phoenix Open over three months ago, including three-straight top 20s with a fifth at the Wells Fargo Championship. His debut here was a 35th, so he has something to build on.
Cameron Davis (+4000) is coming off a career-best finish in a major with a fourth at Oak Hill. Top 10s against strong fields at The Players and RBC Heritage have also been bright spots and was up to seventh last year at Colonial.
Kurt Kitayama (+5000) proved that he can win against the best by taking home the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, and he followed things up with a top-five in the PGA Championship last week. He was just 40th here last year, but it was his debut in this event, so he knows what he’s up against.
Emiliano Grillo (+7000) missed the cut last week, but the extra couple of days of rest gives him a chance to focus on a course where he’s performed well. Four top 25s (including two top 10s) in eight tries at Colonial, and before the short outing at the PGA, Grillo had a run of three-straight top 25s that included a seventh at Harbour Town and fifth at the Mexico Open.
It’s tough to ignore Scheffler, even at the low odds, given his run of top finishes this year. Even if he doesn’t win, you can almost be assured that he will be in contention. We like Spieth a bit more than Hovland, and there’s good value in Burns to repeat and Rose to becoming a two-time winner.
Here are the latest odds from JazzSports for the PGA Tour’s 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.
GOLFERS | ODDS TO WIN 2023 CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLEGE |
Scottie Scheffler | +450 |
Jordan Spieth | +1000 |
Tony Finau | +1000 |
Viktor Hovland | +1200 |
Collin Morikawa | +1500 |
Max Homa | +1500 |
Sungjae Im | +1800 |
Sam Burns | +2000 |
Justin Rose | +2500 |
Rickie Fowler | +2500 |
Tommy Fleetwood | +2800 |
Join Us to receive your daily golf content! Make sure to stay tuned for the latest Golf Betting Odds,
Golf News, & PGA Tour Schedule. Check out our Golf Tournaments Highlights every week!
Follow us on Social Media for 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge Odds & Official World Golf Ranking, and more updates!