Charles Schwab Challenge 2025: Course and current form stats

• Colonial has short course with smallish greens

• Harman [50/1] can challenge favourite Scottie [11/4]

• Solid Rai [40/1] to figure highly this week

Tournament and Course Notes

Opened in 1936, Colonial Country Club is an old fashioned layout that has stood the test of time. The course is a strange mix of Bermuda grass fairways and Bentgrass greens.

It's normal for courses this far south to have putting surfaces sown with Bermuda, which is much better suited for coping with the heat of a typical Texas summer. However, the club's founder Marvin Leonard was determined to install Bentgrass greens and, nine decades later, these remain in place.

The layout typifies an era in which Colonial was built, with trademark smallish greens and narrow fairways. It is a parkland course which rewards straight driving, rather than raw power. And with its heavily-bunkered greenside sand, accuracy has become the order of the day. The average fairway landing area width is between 25 and 30 yards.

Following the completion of the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge, architects Gill Hanse and Jim Wagner undertook a $25m restoration project of the course. Numerous elevated greens were lowered to match the surrounding terrain, while bunkers were given a significant facelift. A few new bunkers were also added during this extensive upgrade while irrigation has been improved, which will help the Bentgrass putting surfaces to flourish.

Colonial is situated around two-and-a-half miles south-west of Fort Worth city centre, close to the Trinity River. Water comes into play on six holes, much of it on the back nine, while its tree-lined fairways provide plenty of subtle changes in direction. In addition to the 76 previous stagings of this event, which began shortly after World War Two, Colonial has also hosted the US Open (1941) and Players' Championship (1975).

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Six To Watch

Man of the moment, Scottie Scheffler 11/43.75, goes again at a venue where he is yet to claim a victory.

The newly-crowned PGA Championship winner has stood on the Colonial podium in each of his last three visits but has failed to hold aloft the trophy.

Twelve months ago he was beaten by Davis Riley 40/141.00, who just happened to finish tied-second to Scheffler at Quail Hollow on Sunday.

World No 24 Brian Harman 50/151.00 has the game to prosper at Colonial. With length off the tee hardly an issue, the former Open Championship winner will fancy his chances.

The 38-year-old has posted a brace of podium finishes in 2025, including a victory at last month's Texas Open. Although his record at Colonial is mixed, there have been four T15s from 12 attempts.

World No 40 Lucas Glover 50/151.00 has always favoured accuracy over power. He's fifth in the PGA Tour category for 'Approaches from 50-75 yards' and he's enjoyed podiums at two courses this year where the greens are on the small side (Pebble Beach & TPC Sawgrass).

One golfer who can combine solid current form, with a decent course history, is Harris English 33/134.00.

The former world No 10 has won five times on the PGA Tour, which includes the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

English tied-second at Quail Hollow on Sunday and, over the years, has registered a couple of T-5s at this week's venue.

Finally, the consistent Englishman Aaron Rai 40/141.00 might be worth a flutter. He travels to Fort Worth on the back of a respectable tied-19th at last week's PGA Championship.

His iron game is pretty good, and he's solid off the tee, despite not being one of the Tour's longest drivers.

He leads the stats for Driving Accuracy and if he can find some inspiration with the putter, he might end up near the top of the Colonial leaderboard this weekend.

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Stroke Averages

Lowest Eight At Colonial Country Club (2019-24)
Average .... (Rounds)
68.20: Davis Riley (10)
68.72: Scottie Scheffler (18)
68.73: Jordan Spieth (22)
69.06: Lucas Glover (16)
69.21: Gary Woodland (14)
69.30: Daniel Berger (20)
69.50: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (14)
69.50: Brian Harman (22)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

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