Charles Schwab Challenge: Top 10 power rankings at Colonial

Xander Schauffele seeks better fortune at Colonial.

Xander Schauffele hasn’t had great success at Colonial, but I’m predicting the tide to turn in 2020.

The 26-year-old made the cut in his Charles Schwab Challenge debut in 2017 with a T-48 (71-70-71-71). He missed the cut the next two years, although he only missed by two shots (72-72) in 2018 and by one in 2019 (76-67).

The Californian is already a four-time career winner on the PGA Tour. He hasn’t won in the 2019-2020 season but has knocked on the door. Schauffele was solo second at the WGC-HSBC Champions and T-2 at the Tournament of Champions.

He’s finished in the top 25 in seven of nine starts in the US, and you could still argue he hasn’t shown his best stuff. His last five starts have not resulted in a top-10.

This is a new slate for Schauffele, who should come to Texas hungry for his first trophy since the 2019 Tournament of Champions.

The X Man has no big weakness in his game. That shows up in his strokes gained stats, all of which are in positive figures. He’s ninth in SG tee to green (1.561) and 14th in SG approach (.781).

He can be a little wayward off the tee, but I like his ability to navigate Hogan’s Alley from the fairway or rough. He ranks ninth in greens in regulation (72.22%).

Schauffele has a relatively cool and calm demeanor on the course. Perhaps no fans on the course will play to his advantage?

Either way, it sounds like he’s anxious to return to competition based on his comments from a Q&A session with his father, Stefan, in May hosted by Hyland.

“I’ve been itching…to get out there. It doesn’t really matter who’s around,” Schaffele said. “I think with certain tournaments it might feel very different, but for the most part, I think the first few months we’re just going to be excited about playing.”