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Charles Schwab Challenge 2019: Power ranking the top ten at Colonial

By Mike Randleman

FORT WORTH, TX - MAY 27: A general view of the 18th green as Justin Rose of England looks over a putt during the final round of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 27, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX - MAY 27: A general view of the 18th green as Justin Rose of England looks over a putt during the final round of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 27, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 24: Jon Rahm of Spain walks up the fairway on the third hole during round one of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 24, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 24: Jon Rahm of Spain walks up the fairway on the third hole during round one of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 24, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

I’ve long credited Jon Rahm for his consistency as a young pro, so I feel obligated to cut him some slack for a missed cut last week at the PGA Championship. It was his first MC since August and Bethpage Black had a way of making life difficult for plenty of talented players.

Still in 2019 the Spaniard has racked up eight top-10s including a T9 at the Masters and a team win with Ryan Palmer a few weeks back at the Zurich Classic.

Speaking of top-10s, Rahmbo has two at the rechristened Charles Schwab Challenge. He debuted with a T2 (66-69-70-66) to finish one off the pace in 2017 and in 2018 was T5 (68-70-64-68). For those keeping track at home, that’s eight rounds of par or better and a cumulative 19-under mark.

"“You know, it’s an old-school golf course and I believe old traditional golf courses give any kind of player a chance to win it,” Rahm said before the 2018 tournament. “So there are so many different ways of playing it. You can play it like I do and hit drivers all over the place and be aggressive. You can play it more conservative. Hit irons, make sure you hit fairways. There are just many ways to do two. At the end of the day, you need to hit greens on this golf course. You need to be able to hit the greens and not be out of position too much.”"

Rahm was among the leaders here in 2018 in driving distance at 325.1 yards average. He hit 58.93% fairways, which doesn’t jump off the page, but that’s a good mark for him especially with bowling alley like aiming points. He hit 77.78% of greens in regulation, and gained .585 strokes on the greens.

For the season, Rahm is third in strokes gained off the tee (.892) and 15th overall (1.444). He’s 12th in approach from 175-200 yards and sixth in par-4 scoring.

If the course plays wet like it could this week, that’s all the more advantage.

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