Power Rankings: Charles Schwab Challenge

As it concerns the age-old idiom that everything is bigger in Texas, even the PGA TOUR contributes to it in the context of its commitment with five stops across the 2026 season. It matches only the TOUR’s home state of Florida for most turns as a host. This week’s Charles Schwab Challenge is the fourth in the series and what is the back half of the second fortnight in the Lone Star State.

As it has since its debut as the backdrop for all 80 editions of the tournament, Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, is presented to test 132 entrants keen on slipping on the tartan jacket on Sunday.

Continue reading below for the piece of active trivia associated with the tournament that gauges how avid of a fan you are, how Colonial sets up and more.

In addition to the oak anniversary celebrating 80 years as a site for the PGA TOUR, the Charles Schwab Challenge also has reached a peculiar 25-year milestone of sorts. It was in 2001 when Sergio Garcia prevailed both for the first time on the PGA TOUR and as a tournament debutant. Neither achievement has been repeated since at Colonial.

As of midday Monday, about a quarter of the field is comprised of first-time participants in the tournament, and among them, only four have captured at least one victory on the PGA TOUR, so there’s another fairly sized cohort in position to reset the clock on both angles. History is not on their side in the macro, either, as no other active tournament has gone as long without a breakthrough champion.

On the other side of the spectrum is four-time PGA TOUR winner Ryan Palmer. This is his 23rd appearance. No one else in this week’s field has made as many starts. The member at Colonial claims but a T3 in 2016 as his best result. This week’s commitment is his last as a 40-something.

Not unlike similar smatterings of talent at other storied tracks, Palmer and dozens of others alongside him this week have experienced everything that Colonial and the unforgiving winds and weather that Texas can unleash. Most recently as it concerns the course, this will be the third year after Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner renovated the stock par 70. They added 80 yards to extend it to its historical long of 7,289 yards, but scoring hasn’t been affected. It’s landed within a stroke above par since they completed the project, in line with its recent history. It’s a narrative that played out just last week at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, where Wyndham Clark’s 30-under was just one stroke off Scottie Scheffler’s tournament record set last year and before Lanny Wadkins and his crew overhauled TPC Craig Ranch. Touring professionals always vocalize the desire for consistency. Done and done.

With bentgrass greens averaging only 5,000 square feet and prepped to roll up to 13 feet as measured by the Stimpmeter, Colonial perennially slots among the stingiest in yielding scoring opportunities. That and the ubiquitous breezes typically stand shoulder to shoulder as enforcers on the 90-year-old layout. The par 4s and pair of par 5s also rise up against all other courses the PGA TOUR utilizes. And while no one plans to pour in lots of putts for par breakers on a course that’s ranked inside the top four most challenging in the stat in each of the last three years, if there’s going to be a breakthrough, it’ll likely because of a hot putter. Garcia was exactly that very early in his career.

Bermudagrass fairways are flanked by same strain of grass in the rough – TifTuf – which is trimmed to a familiar 2½ inches. So, accepting a depth of the field also as familiarly challenging in the macro, the ultimate variable remains controlled by Mother Nature.

For the eight dozen commits who made the short commute across the Dallas Metroplex since last week, they’ll feel warmer air at Colonial. Daytimes temperatures will climb easily into the 80s and perhaps touch 90 degrees mid-tournament. Rain almost never isn’t forecast in the heart of spring in these climes, but it’ll be hit and miss with daytime heating. And while it’s early, the only threat of the wind kicking up is for the final round on Sunday. The curious component is that it’s expected to push from an easterly direction instead of a prevailing south or southwest.

Once the tournament concludes, the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5 will determine the next groupings from those pathways for entry into next week’s the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X, where you can connect with him.

MONDAY: Power Rankings
TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider; Expert Picks*; Sleepers**
SUNDAY: Points and Payouts; Qualifiers

* Rob also is included in Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf that publishes on Tuesday.
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