2024 Charles Schwab Challenge Betting Preview
It’s sad to see the second major of the year in the rearview mirror, but at least it was a memorable one. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget where I was when I heard Scottie Scheffler was arrested before the start of the second round. I was just lying in my bed, but still, I’ll never forget it.
We were so close to a Bryson DeChambeau outright hit at +2800, which would have gotten us back in the green for the year. Unfortunately, Xander Schauffele’s birdie putt on 18 lipped in. Nonetheless, we still turned a small profit on the week thanks to a top 10 from Justin Thomas.
We now turn our attention to 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge Predictions. There are 132 golfers set to tee it up this week in Texas as the field is stronger than expected, with Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and a few other big names playing at Colonial Country Club. The course will look different than the last time we saw it, as Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner just completed a $20 million renovation.
The course was lengthened, the greens were lowered, barrancas were added to many of the holes, and a lot of the greenside bunkers were turned into grass bunkers. This was already a difficult golf course, and the renovations should make it even tougher.
This is a par-70 that now measures 7,289 yards. With several doglegs and forced layups, this is one of the only courses where distance off the tee isn’t a major advantage. The average Driving Distance here in 2023 was only 283 yards. Even with this being a less-than-driver course, the fairways are still difficult to hit given how narrow they are (just 27.5 yards wide on average).
Essentially, I view this as a test of second shots and in. Elite scramblers like Jordan Spieth and Kevin Na have excelled well here in the past. As long as golfers keep the ball in play off the tee, it really comes down to approach play, around the green play and putting.
The greens here are relatively small at 5,000 square feet on average and feature bentgrass. Additionally, a good track record in Texas and playing in the wind will certainly come in handy this week.
Find my 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge Predictions below.
- Starting bankroll: $1,000
- Last week: +$10
- Current bankroll: $490
2024 Charles Schwab Challenge Predictions
As noted in the course preview, Colonial is a place where the shorter hitters stand a chance. My outright card this week features three shorter hitters, and I’m backing all of those outright bets up with a top-10 bet as well.
Brian Harman
Harman has been inconsistent since winning The Open last summer but seems to be trending in the right direction. He gained 5.7 strokes on approach at the PGA Championship and has gained strokes around the green in eight of his last nine starts.
He’s always been a good putter and has never had an issue finding fairways. This course really fits his game, so it’s no surprise to see him post nine top-35 finishes in his last 10 starts here (with three top 10s).
Denny McCarthy
McCarthy is coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship, but that course was built for bombers. While he’s accurate off the tee, he does not carry the ball very far. He stood little chance at that event, especially with the softer conditions.
He should find Colonial much more to his liking. He has always played his best on shorter courses and has talked at length about how much he likes difficult courses. This is routinely one of the top 10 toughest courses on Tour, and with heavy wind in the forecast, that should be the case again this week.
He’s come so close to winning over the last couple of years with playoff losses at difficult golf courses in Muirfield Village and TPC San Antonio (Oaks), so I like his chances to contend at this number.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
C-Bez has not won on the PGA Tour, but he has been in contention several times. More importantly, he has seven professional wins between the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
At the very least, he knows how to win. His biggest issue is always the driver, but that shouldn’t be a big disadvantage this week. He’s a top-10 iron player in the field, he’s an excellent scrambler, and he can get red-hot with the putter.
Prior to last week’s missed cut, he had rattled off four straight top-30 finishes, so the incoming form is solid. In his last two appearances at this event, he has tied for 21st and tied for 15th.
Good luck this week!
