Charles Schwab Challenge Each-Way Tips: 33/1 Fleetwood can strike

• 33/1 Tommy Fleetwood can gain a first PGA Tour win

• 40/1 Chris Kirk is a past winner and loves Colonial

• 100/1 Andrew Putnam is suited to this type of test

One of the first things to notice when looking at the recent history of the Charles Schwab Challenge is the discrepancy in winning scores.

Zach Johnson won with 21-under in 2010, Justin Rose with 20-under in 2018 and Jordan Spieth with 17-under in 2016.

But last year, Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler went to extra holes after posting 9-under, the same number that Adam Scott had shot in 2014 before he saw off Boo Weekley in a playoff.

In 2019, Kevin Na was the only player to make it to double digits under par.

Of course, those contrasting numbers are explained by weather conditions, particularly wind speed, so a check of the weather forecast seems a decent way to start.

Right now, it doesn't look too extreme, with maximum winds of 15mph. It's a factor, as it always is in Texas, but one that doesn't lead to a change of betting strategy.

Perhaps that makes the 2020 and 2021 editions the best guides given that they were won with 15-under (Daniel Berger) and 14-under (Jason Kokrak) in scorable conditions.

In both years, approach play and putting seemed to hold the key.

Berger ranked fifth in SG: Approach and 7th for SG: Putting while five of the top eight were in the top 10 for SGP. Runner-up Collin Morikawa was 5th for Approach and third-placed Bryson DeChambeau 8th.

Two years ago, Kokrak was 7th for Putting and 8th for Approach. Five of the top six were in the top 20 for putting, including top-ranked Sebastian Munoz, who finished tied third. Four of the top eight ranked in the top 10 for Approach.

In last year's windier edition, Burns was 6th for SGP and 12th for Approach although SG: Off The Tee was more important.

Tommy Fleetwood @ 33/1

First pick is Tommy Fleetwood, who seems to have all angles covered.

He ranks 26th for SG: Approach, 40th for Putting and 9th overall for Strokes Gained.

The Englishman was in the top 10 with 18 to play at Oak Hill last week before a poor start to his final round but tied 18th was a decent effort and followed on from fifth at Quail Hollow and 15th at Hilton Head.

He's had positive Strokes Gained numbers in every main category in his last three events so there are no weaknesses.

Fleetwood made his debut in this event last year and finished tied 35th which will hopefully be a good marker and a run to the quarter-finals of the WGC-Match Play at Austin CC bodes well as that course correlates strongly with this fellow Texas layout.

If some of the leading lights such as Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland are slightly battered and bruised by contending at Oak Hill, Fleetwood has the chance, the form and confidence to slip in and gain his first PGA Tour success. Take the 33/1.

Chris Kirk @ 40/1

This event has thrown up numerous repeat winners down the years.

Ben Hogan won five times while Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Nick Price, Corey Pavin, Ben Crenshaw and Lee Trevino are among the two-time winners.

Chris Kirk will be hoping to join that latter bunch having won this title in 2015.

That's one of seven top 15s he owns at Colonial CC and the most recent came last year.

Kirk was actually the first-round leader 12 months ago and lay fifth at both 36 and 54 holes so it was a slight surprise to see him fade to 15th.

His secret to success here? Kirk said a few years back: "It's been a course that's suited guys who hit the ball right to left over the years, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, Stricker, some other guys like that, and I definitely fit in that category.

"I think that I've always been a very good iron player. I may not have driven the ball as well as some guys over the years, but I've always been a very good, solid iron player and control my distance really well and usually play well in the wind, and if you pair that with making a putt here or there, that usually does well around here."

Another reason, said Kirk, was that it suited 'feel' players. "This has been my favourite tournament on the tour for a long time because of that.

"I love the way this golf course is and love the way it plays. I would say the Sony Open in Hawaii is one of the other courses that plays really similar to this, ball generally bouncing a lot on the ground and tough to hit fairways and kind of small little greens. I love that style of golf."

Kirk was third at the Sony Open earlier this year which backs his theory up and, of course, a month later he took victory in the Honda Classic.

That was his first PGA Tour win in eight years following some tough times on and off the course and he's in the right place to add another.

Since his Honda win, Kirk has ticked over nicely, making seven of eight cuts, adding a top 10 in the Texas Open on his most recent start in the Lone Star State, a top 25 at Augusta and tied 29th in last week's US PGA.

He's around 50th in both SG: Putting (49th) and Approach (53rd) this season and 18th overall in Strokes Gained.

Andrew Putnam @ 100/1

There are two I like at a three-figure price this week - Andrew Putnam and Eric Cole.

The former gets the vote but a few lines first on Cole, who continues to take the eye.

A runner-up in the Honda Classic to Kirk, he's since posted fifth in Mexico, 23rd at the Byron Nelson and 15th at last week's US PGA.

Cole's tee-to-green numbers are excellent but his putter has been a tad cold recently.

This is also his first Colonial start so preference is for Putnam who has had five previous cracks at this event.

Putnam made the top 20 on debut in 2018, closed with a 66 to take third place in 2019 and added 15th last year when middle rounds of 65-67 put him in the top dozen with 18 to play.

A fourth place at January's Sony Open reaffirmed his liking for this style of golf and, despite being the lowest seed in his quartet, he won all three group games in the WGC-Match Play to reach the knockout stages in Austin.

The 34-year-old, a winner of the 2018 Barracuda Championship, was 12th after 54 holes in the following week's Texas Open (finished 29th) and two starts ago he was fourth at halfway and seventh with a lap to go in the Mexico Open.

If he can tidy up his Sundays, Putnam - who ranks 16th for SG: Putting and 41st in Approach - can make a mark.

When finishing third after making 20 birdies, he said in 2019: "Yeah, I feel like this course really fits my game. I'm a pretty good putter and felt like I could start rolling it on my line."

There is plenty to like at 100/1.