The First Look: Charles Schwab Challenge

The PGA TOUR returns to Colonial Country Club and one of the longest-standing TOUR venues is ready to welcome many of the game’s best.

The field of the Charles Schwab Challenge is chock-full of notables and soon-to-be stars ready to win one of the TOUR’s most storied titles with lots on the line: This week marks the final chance to qualify for the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday via the Aon Swing 5 and Aon Next 10.

It’s the 80th playing of this event at Colonial, and it’s set to be a special one.

Here’s everything else you need to know from this week – the second of two in a row in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

FIELD NOTES: Ludvig Åberg returns to action on TOUR after finishing T4 at the PGA Championship. Åberg has notched six top-10 finishes on TOUR so far this season and all six have come in his last seven weeks – including three in a row. This is Åberg’s tournament debut. … In all, there are seven golfers in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking who are teeing it up at Colonial including Åberg, J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama and last year’s winner Ben Griffin. … Griffin is looking to become the first golfer since Ben Hogan all the way back in the 1950s to successfully defend his title at Colonial. … This marks Thomas’ return to the Charles Schwab Challenge for the first time since 2022, where he missed the cut. Thomas comes into the week after a T4 at the PGA Championship. … Speaking of returns after the PGA Championship, Alex Smalley is also back on TOUR after his dream-like run at Aronimink Golf Club, where Smalley was in the final group for both Saturday and Sunday. Smalley has recorded six top-25 finishes in a row heading into this week including two T2s (at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the PGA). … There are plenty of other notables teeing it up at Colonial including Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland. Fowler, too, is on his own little springtime heater – he had three top-10 finishes in a row heading into the PGA Championship and would have dialed up another solid result had it not been for a final-round 75 at TPC Craig Ranch. … Among the past champs in the field are Davis Riley, Emiliano Grillo and Chris Kirk.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Georgia Tech sophomore Albert Hansson won the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational presented by Charles Schwab at Colonial in September to earn a spot in the Charles Schwab Challenge. He earned the spot via a five-man playoff, and this week will mark his PGA TOUR debut. … The rest of the sponsor invites are filled with PGA TOUR winners, veterans and notables including Matt Kuchar, Ryan Palmer, Charley Hoffman, Nick Hardy, Zac Blair, Camilo Villegas, Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner,who won the event in 2017.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The next Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, and this week marks the final event for golfers to earn points to qualify. … With his win at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, Wyndham Clark now tops the Aon Swing 5 with Brandt Snedeker (after his win at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic) remaining in second. … Mark Hubbard sits third while Jackson Suber (who finished solo fourth) and Zach Bauchou (tied for sixth) both jumped into the Aon Swing 5 with their finishes at THE CJ CUP. Bauchou leads No. 6 Keith Mitchell by less than two points. Snedeker, Hubbard, Suber, Bauchou and Mitchell are all in the field. … There were no changes to the standings of the Aon Next 10 after Sunday at THE CJ CUP, with Min Woo Lee continuing to lead the way.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Colonial Country Club, par 70, 7,289 yards. This year will mark the third after Gil Hanse’s ambitious $25 million restoration of the venerable Dallas layout. Hanse was tasked with returning the course to its original look and greens were relocated, bunkers were removed, previously elevated greens were lowered, and some sightlines were made cleaner – much to the overarching approval of the TOUR’s best. The classic layout puts emphasis on accuracy off the tee to have success.

72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Zach Johnson (2010)

18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Keith Clearwater (second round, 1993), Lee Janzen (fourth round, 1993), Greg Kraft (third round, 1999), Kenny Perry (third round, 2003), Justin Leonard (fourth round, 2003), Chad Campbell (third round, 2004), Kevin Na (fourth round, 2018)

LAST TIME: On a tough final day in Texas, Ben Griffin managed to hold on tight at the Charles Schwab Challenge despite two bogeys in his final six holes to defeat Matti Schmid by one. Griffin was 3 under through two holes but let the chasing pack into the mix. Schmid was the early leader before he had a turbulent closing stretch. In all, Schmid made six bogeys, six birdies and a double bogey in his final-round, 2-over 72. His solo second was his best-career TOUR finish. Griffin and Schmid took a four-shot lead into the final round and stayed 1-2 on the leaderboard. Bud Cauley finished third alone while Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler finished tied for fourth.

How to follow (all times ET)

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
• Saturday: 1-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6:30 p.m. (CBS)
• Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+:

• Thursday-Friday: 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Saturday: 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ and consists of four streams:

• Main feed (Stream 1): Primary tournament coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group (Stream 2): New "marquee group" showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups (Stream 3): Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured holes (Stream 4): Combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free at PGATOUR.com/liveaudio:

• Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m.
• Saturday: 1-6:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 1-6 p.m.