The second major of the PGA Tour season started a bit slow, with many of the big names struggling early, but spectators were on the edge of their seats late, as a furious comeback by 15-time Tour champion Justin Thomas gave him the victory in a playoff over major championship wizard Will Zalatoris.
The week after a major can often be an emotional letdown, but the field for this week’s event, the Charles Schwab Challenge, is surprisingly strong, with Thomas and Zalatoris both among the seven players currently inside the top 15 of the world rankings.
Is it fair to expect much from either? We do not see too much of a dropoff, if any, this week at Fort Worth’s famed Colonial Country Club, as evidenced by their lofty places in this week’s power rankings:
15. Webb Simpson
The seven-time Tour winner had been in a huge slump since 2022 started but might be rounding back into form after rocketing up the PGA Championship leaderboard following a third-round 65 in difficult conditions. Webb ended up finishing a more-than-respectable T20. While he has missed four cuts in six Colonial starts, his other two results were a solo-third and a solo-fifth. His experience and all-around game make him impossible to ignore here.
Odds: 40-1
Odds Rank: 15th
World Rank: 48th
Last Six: 20, MC, 59, 35, 35, 48
Best at Colonial: 3rd (2016)
14. Sebastian Munoz
Two weeks ago, Munoz opened the AT&T Byron Nelson by shooting an unconscious 12-under 60, the new course record. The Colombian was not quite able to hold onto the lead, eventually finishing T3, but there is a good mix of recent success and course history with Munoz, who also finished T3 at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge. Munoz led the field in pars last week at the PGA Championship and has obviously shown that he can go low as well, particularly as of late.
Odds: 60-1
Odds Rank: 26th
World Rank: 54th
Last Six: 20, MC, 59, 35, 35, 48
Best at Colonial: 3rd (2021)
13. Abraham Ancer
Ancer looked to be in the midst of emerging from a surprisingly forgettable season when he got into the thick of contention at the PGA Championship a week ago, placing fifth through 54 holes. However, he was a considerable disappointment on Sunday, shooting a 3-over 73 to fall into a tie for ninth. Still, it was an encouraging performance for Ancer, who has at least been making cuts, and has finished T14 in each of the past two editions of the Charles Schwab Challenge. It helps that he ranks third on Tour in driving accuracy.
Odds: 60-1
Odds Rank: 26th
World Rank: 19th
Last Six: 20, MC, 59, 35, 35, 48
Best at Colonial: 14th (2021, 2020)
12. Talor Gooch
Few players on Tour this season have been more consistent than Gooch, who has notched 12 finishes inside the top 25 in 19 2022 starts. Gooch played very well a week ago in his native Oklahoma, closing with a 68 to finish T20. The 30-year-old showed impressive resiliency at Colonial a year ago, carding four straight birdies to start his back nine and finishing T14 after collapsing on the front after sitting inside the top 10 through 54 holes. Gooch is currently 6th on Tour in strokes gained: around-the-green and boasts the 15th best scoring average.
Odds: 35-1
Odds Rank: 9th
World Rank: 35th
Last Six: 20, MC, 14, 18, MC, 7
Best at Colonial: 14th (2021)
11. Viktor Hovland
The third Tour season for the ultra-talented 24-year-old has stagnated since a great start, with the Norwegian finishing T18 or worse in his last five starts. Hovland was not part of the story a week ago at the PGA Championship either, with three rounds of even-par 70 combining with a Saturday 75 to engender a pedestrian T41 result. On the plus side, Hovland has the same amount of wins (2) and three more top-2 finishes (5) than he does missed cuts (2) over the last two seasons. In his only Schwab Challenge start two years ago, Hovland played the weekend 68-66 to finish T22.
Odds: 20-1
Odds Rank: 5th
World Rank: 7th
Last Six: 41, 27, 18, 33, 9, 2
Best at Colonial: 22nd (2020)
10. Tommy Fleetwood
At last week’s PGA Championship, the 31-year-old from England shot better in each round than he did in the round prior, including a Sunday 67 that tied two others for the low round of the final day. Fleetwood’s strong finish catalyzed a T5 result, his fourth top-5 in his major championship career. However, it does keep a frustrating record of close calls going, having posted 22 top-10s on the PGA Tour without a victory. Could that week in Oklahoma lead to something better this week in Texas? This is his event debut, but he is difficult to overlook, having finished inside the top 25 in his six of his last seven individual, stroke-play events.
Odds: 40-1
Odds Rank: 15th
World Rank: 41st
Last Six: 5, 59, 10, 14, 35, 16
Best at Colonial: Debut (2022)
9. Mito Pereira
There is perhaps no storyline more intriguing this week than the inclusion of Pereira, who held a one-stroke lead on the 72nd hole of last week’s PGA Championship, in just his second major championship start, only to send an awkward-looking drive into the water, leading to a double-bogey. The Chilean was able to stay in shockingly good spirits after the historical collapse, and if his memory is short enough, his shot-making (4th in greens in regulation and 10th in strokes gained: approach-the-green) has been strong enough that there should not be any other reason to pick against him at Colonial, where he is making his tournament debut.
Odds: 50-1
Odds Rank: 20th
World Rank: 49th
Last Six: 3, 17, 26, 13, 27, MC
Best at Colonial: Debut (2022)
8. Sam Burns
The World No. 10 has been a bit streaky this year but is trending upwards after a T20 at the PGA Championship last week. Third in the FedExCup standings, Burns notched the second of his two 2022 victories in March at the Valspar Championship. He putted tremendously at Southern Hills, which could give him an edge at Colonial, an event he has not played since before his 2021 breakthrough season.
Odds: 30-1
Odds Rank: 8th
World Rank: 10th
Last Six: 20, MC, MC, 1, 26, 9
Best at Colonial: Debut (2022)
7. Chris Kirk
Kirk was barely mentioned during last week’s PGA Championship, but at the end of the week, there he was: in a tie for fifth place. For the week, he was extremely solid, shooting four rounds of 71 or better, and finishing second in the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Outside of his putting, Kirk has been statistically tremendous this season, and even on the greens, he gained strokes for the week at Southern Hills. Now he comes to Fort Worth in strong form and with a lot of experience, having played this event 11 times. He won the 2015 edition, his most recent win on Tour, and has finished T16 or better six times.
Odds: 50-1
Odds Rank: 20th
World Rank: 67th
Last Six: 5, MC, MC, 35, MC, 5
Best at Colonial: Win (2015)
6. Max Homa
The two-time season champion came into the PGA Championship off a win, having taken the Wells Fargo Championship in his last start. That momentum did him well at Southern Hills, as Homa’s T13 was far-and-away his best start in a major championship. In his last eight individual-event starts, he has six finishes of T17 or better, and we suspect that consistency will keep him in the conversation at Colonial this week. A T27 two years ago is his best result in three starts here.
Odds: 25-1
Odds Rank: 20th
World Rank: 29th
Last Six: 13, 1, 48, 35, 13, 17
Best at Colonial: 27th (2020)
5. Collin Morikawa
As unreal as Morikawa has been in major championships (two wins among five top-10s in ten starts), it was shocking to see him never really make any kind of push last week at Southern Hills, where he failed to shoot a single under-par round and finish T55. It should be noted, though, that he finished Sunday strong, carding birdies on four of his last six holes. His putting has been atrocious in his last two starts, but for the season, he has actually been in the positive in strokes gained: putting (84th). And speaking of putting, he missed a three-footer here two years ago to lose in a playoff against Daniel Berger. Still, that solo runner-up was in his first attempt at Colonial, and he added a T14 last year, with just one round in the 70s between the two events.
Odds: 12-1
Odds Rank: 3rd
World Rank: 4th
Last Six: 55, 26, 5, 9, 68, MC
Best at Colonial: 2nd (2020)
4. Will Zalatoris
It was yet another close call a week ago for Zalatoris, who spent the entire week in Southern Hills near the top of the leaderboard, and while he was shaky at points on Sunday, the 25-year-old also had a number of incredible recovery shots that allowed him to reach the playoff he lost to the surging Justin Thomas. He now has five top-10s in just eight major starts, including two runner-ups. Is he too mentally drained after a week in major contention to make a run at Colonial this week? It could be a factor, but we do not feel comfortable doubting the Tour leader in strokes gained: approach-the-green and strokes gained: tee-to-green.
Odds: 20-1
Odds Rank: 5th
World Rank: 14th
Last Six: 2, MC, 6, 5, 26, 38
Best at Colonial: Debut (2022)
3. Justin Thomas
All eyes will be on Thomas this week, just a few days after he pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in major championship history, overcoming an eight-shot deficit to win the PGA Championship. This could end up being similar to last year when Phil Mickelson missed the cut at Colonial after winning the PGA Championship and did not really seem to care. More likely, though, Thomas comes into the week extremely confident after having put an end to a winless drought in both majors and regular events and plays well regardless of how he spends Monday through Wednesday. Two years ago, Thomas finished T10 here after opening with a 64.
Odds: 8-1
Odds Rank: 1st
World Rank: 5th
Last Six: 1, 5, 35, 8, 35, 6
Best at Colonial: 10th (2020)
2. Scottie Scheffler
Is the heater over? The PGA Championship took down a lot of the world’s best a week ago, with none being more surprising than Scheffler, who missed the cut after a second-round 77. The world No. 1, who starred for the University of Texas, had won four times in his previous seven individual starts, including a triumph at The Masters. This has not been a great event for Scheffler, having missed the cut last year after finishing T55 in 2020. Keep in mind though, that even in the midst of that insane hot streak, there was a T55 at THE PLAYERS thrown in there the first start after he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational. As surprising as last week was for him, there is no reason to expect him to start slumping.
Odds: 10-1
Odds Rank: 2nd
World Rank: 1st
Last Six: MC, 15, 1, 1, 55, 1
Best at Colonial: 55th (2020)
1. Jordan Spieth
Speith’s performance at Southern Hills (T34) was a considerable letdown given the implications of him winning (completing the career grand slam), and that he was coming into the week with a win and a runner-up in his previous two Tour starts. Even if it stung a little seeing his PGA Championship victory go to his close friend, Spieth is still a very safe pick this week in Fort Worth. A Dallas native who always seems to play his best in these local events, Spieth gave away this tournament to an extent a year ago after holding the 54-hole lead, but that runner-up was his third here, in addition to a three-shot victory in the 2016 edition. In nine attempts, he has finished in the top 10 seven(!) times.
Odds: 10-1
Odds Rank: 2nd
World Rank: 1st
Last Six: 34, 2, 1, MC, 35, 35
Best at Colonial: 1st (2016)
Next Five: Jason Kokrak, Harold Varner III, Beau Hossler, Ryan Palmer, Justin Rose