Following the PGA Championship that was won by Scottie Scheffler in convincing fashion, next up on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Charles Schwab Challenge. This event will be played at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7,289 yards, bentgrass greens) in Fort Worth, Texas, which has been the home of the Charles Schwab Challenge since this tournament’s inception in 1946. This is the longest running event and course relationship on the PGA TOUR, and the Charles Schwab will be the fourth and final tournament played in Texas this season. Davis Riley (-14) is the defending champion of this tournament after winning by five shots a year ago. There will be 135 players competing at the Charles Schwab Challenge this week and a standard top-65 and ties cut following the first two rounds.
Colonial is a difficult tree-lined course that features narrow fairways, small greens, 64 bunkers and water in play on six holes. While on the longer side, Colonial has many dog leg holes and being accurate is far more important than being long at this par 70. Colonial is a classic example of a less-than-driver second-shot course, where being in strong form with both your irons and putter is essential for success. Of the last five winners at Colonial, three have finished the event top-eight in both SG APP and SGP. With Colonial being a traditional par 70 with 12 par fours and only two par fives, elite par four scorers are smart targets at this venue.
Below, I have featured four of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Charles Schwab Challenge, which all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Summer Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Emiliano Grillo ($7,400) – Grillo has been very successful at Colonial throughout his career. The Argentinian professional won the Charles Schwab Challenge two years ago, which is just one of his five top-25 finishes at Colonial. Grillo has only missed one cut in nine starts at this par 70 and he returns to the Lone Star State in compelling form this week.
Grillo is on the heels of a T-20 at the Myrtle Beach Classic, which is his eighth made cut and third top-25 finish in his last 10 starts. Grillo has gained strokes on approach at three consecutive tournaments and he is an outstanding bargain at this cheap price tag.
Ryo Hisatsune ($7,100) – While Hisatsune missed the cut in his Charles Schwab debut last season, the 22-year-old is playing excellent golf right now and he should redeem himself with a quality finish this week. Coming off a T-37 finish at the PGA Championship last week, Hisatsune has made five of his last six cuts and he gained strokes on approach and with his putter during all five of these made cuts. Hisatsune has finished inside the top-20 three times during this stretch and he ranks 18th in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 50 rounds.
Hisatsune is clearly underpriced for this form and he brings top-25 upside at an affordable cost this week.
Mark Hubbard ($7,000) – After getting off to an ugly start this season, Hubbard’s game has been resurrected. In his last three solo starts, Hubbard has finished T-12 at the Corales Puntacana Championship, T-5 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and T-7 at the Myrtle Beach Classic, in that order. Including two 6-under 65s at the Texas-based TPC Craig Ranch for THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Hubbard has shot under par in 10 of these past 12 rounds.
Now, Hubbard will look to carry this momentum over to Colonial, where he has never missed a cut in six starts. Hubbard just finished T-9 at this course two years ago and this type of finish isn’t out of the question this week given his stellar form.
Nico Echavarria ($7,000) – Echavarria has never competed at Colonial before, but he has the tools to flourish at this venue and is way underpriced for his upside. Echavarria just finished T-41 at the PGA Championship last week while gaining strokes on approach and with his flat stick in the process, which marked his fifth made cut in a row. The Columbian has made 10-of-14 cuts this season, including six finishes of T-32 or better, most notably with a runner-up at the Sony Open in January.
Echavarria has been brilliant on the greens this season, ranking sixth in SGP and his expertise in this department gives Echavarria strong upside at Colonial. For six years running, the winner at this par 70 has finished the tournament top-seven in SGP.
