Charles Schwab Challenge: Top 10 power rankings at Colonial

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The PGA Tour is back at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club

If you were to blindly look at this week’s PGA Tour field, what tournament would you guess you’re looking at? Maybe the Players Championship? Perhaps the Memorial or genesis invitational?

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Wrong. It’s the Charles Schwab Challenge at historic Colonial Country Club. A confluence of unfortunate circumstances from the Covid-19 pandemic put the PGA Tour schedule on hold for three months from the suspension of the Players Championship on March 11.

Players have been itching to get back to competition, even if it means it will initially be without galleries like this week.

The top-five players in the Official World Golf Rankings are here in Fort Worth, Texas, for this 148-player event. Seven of the top 10 in the OWGR are also present, making this one of the more star-studded fields in the tournament’s 74-year history.

Notable absences include No. 5 Adam Scott, No. 7 Patrick Cantlay, No. 10 Tommy Fleetwood and No. 11 Tiger Woods.

The field is missing some international talent like Scott, Fleetwood or No. 22 Hideki Matsuyama due in part to the stringent quarantine process players coming to the US must complete.

Internationals who are in the field tend to be those who are now based in the US.

Bettors, DFS players or fans just trying to get a read on how the Charles Schwab Challenge will play out have a tough task. Will a player who had momentum early in the year continue to play well? Or is this a clean slate?

My top 10 for Colonial features a good mix of playing styles. Much of the top-ranked players would be considered more of the bombing type. That goes opposite of the style conventional to win at Colonial, which includes hitting the narrow fairways and small bentgrass greens.

How length can come in handy for one is that the rough generally isn’t too penal. Also, the par-3s are all between 175-225 yards.

The par-5s are not too difficult but also yield few eagles. Short iron play is key in this aspect.

The course is a Perry Maxwell design measuring 7,209 yards for a par of 70. It shouldn’t play too much differently than during the tournament’s usual date in mid-May. This year, the CSC was originally scheduled for May 21-24.

We may see who has kept in shape during quarantine. Early weather forecasts predict temperatures in the 70s-90s during tournament week with dry conditions and low winds. The nasty Texas wind looks like it might be tamped down in the single digits miles per hour, but guys will be burning a lot of energy walking 72 holes in the heat.

Here’s to a safe week for all the players, caddies and tournament staff so the PGA Tour can continue on and fill a void in the sports world.

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