The PGA Tour’s 2020 season resumes this week with the 73rd edition of the former Colonial National Invitational (currently, monetized as the Charles Schwab Challenge). It marks the first official Tour event following a nearly three-month long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
An impressive field will be on hand in Fort Worth, Texas, including each of the top-five ranked players in the world, headlined by world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.
For the opening two rounds at Colonial, the Northern Irishman will be joined by world No. 2 Jon Rahm, and No. 3 Brooks Koepka.
Here’s a look at the top-three featured groupings:
Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka
Making his debut at Colonial, McIlroy will look to extend his run of seven consecutive top-5 finishes, which includes a win, ironically, in China.
Rahm and Koepka have each posted runner-ups at Colonial recently – with the young Spaniard taking second to Kevin Kisner in 2017, and Koepka grabbing a distant silver during Justin Rose’s 2018 romp.
Rahm enters Texas off seven top-10 finishes in his eight most recent starts, including a pair of victories on the European Tour (Spain, Dubai).
Koepka, meanwhile, has struggled badly while trying to fight back from a painful knee injury. However, the four-time major winner is said to be healthy and will be in search of his first top-10 since the Tour Championship last August.
Name (World Rank): Last Seven Starts
McIlroy (1st): 5, 5, 5, 3, 4, 1, 3
Rahm (2nd): 3, 17, 9, 2, 10, 2, 1
Koepka (3rd): 47, MC, 43, 17, 34, WD, MC
Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler
Maybe a couple rounds with his longtime friends (Thomas and Fowler) – at a place where he’s seen success (a win and five top-10s in seven starts), will get Spieth’s game back on track. The 26-year old Dallas native, who has seen his once all-world status crumble the past two years, finds himself ranked a mind-boggling 56th in the world.
While Spieth is the local legend, the real headliner of the trio will be world No. 4 Thomas, who already owns two wins on the season, and enters as one of the game’s truly elite stars (128 straight weeks inside the world top-10).
Fowler, who has fallen outside the top-25 for the first time in seven years, will tee it up at Colonial for the eighth time in his career. The fan favorite has three top-20s with a T5 in 2012 his career best at the tight Texas track.
Name (World Rank): Last Seven Starts
Thomas (4th): 6, MC, 3, MC, 1, 5, 17
Fowler (26th): 18, MC, 37, MC, 10, 5, 9
Spieth (56th): 58, 59, 9, MC, 55, 16, 43
Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose
World No. 5 Johnson will be making just this third appearance at Colonial where he’s posted T14 (2014) and T74 (2008). The 35-year old South Carolina native has entered just four U.S. Tour events in 2020, mixing a pair of top-10s (T10, T7) with two results outside the top-30 (T48 and T32). He’ll be joined by No. 13 DeChambeau, who is reportedly stronger and longer this season – although length is not usually a huge advantage at Colonial’s tight, meandering layout.
Prior to the shutdown, the former SMU (Texas) star had posted three consecutive top-5 finishes (4th, 2nd and T5). On the cautionary side, he’s missed the cut in three of his four appearances in Fort Worth.
Filling out the threesome is the veteran Rose, who ran away with the title in 2018. The former world No. 1 will making his first start since announcing his departure from equipment manufacturer Honma.
Name (World Rank): Last Seven Starts
Johnson (5th): 48, 10, 32, 2, 7, 30, 57
DeChambeau (13th): 4, 2, 5, 52, 8, MC, 15
Rose (14th): MC, MC, 56, MC, 2, 5, 20
