2021 Charles Schwab Challenge: Golf betting guide and picks

The 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge takes center stage once more this week, almost a year on from Golf’s return.

How cool was that?!, an exhilarating 103rd PGA Championship produced golf’s oldest Major Champion last week at Kiawah Island as 50-year-old Phil Mickelson claimed his sixth Major title and proved once more that age is just a number. Even after victory, Mickelson has decided to tee it up at Colonial Country Club this week as part of a surprisingly strong field for a week after a Major.

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The PGA Champion will be joined by the World’s second-ranked golfer Justin Thomas this week as part of a 121 man field that includes three of the top ten players in the World per the Official World Golf Ranking. Defending champion Daniel Berger look’s to defend the title he won last year in what was the PGA’s first return to action following the COVID pause. Berger beat Collin Morikawa in a playoff in 2020 after Morikawa had a short putt that would have extended the playoff lip out.

Colonial Country Club is set to celebrate its 75th anniversary this week as the longest-standing host site on the PGA schedule. While this week’s tournament has undergone many name changes over the years, the event has been held at Colonial since way back in 1946.

Colonial Country Club, home of the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge

Par 70
7,209 Yards
John Bredemus and Perry Maxwell Design
Bentgrass Greens
121 Player Field/Top 65 and Ties make the cut

Past Champions

2020: Daniel Berger (-15)

2019: Kevin Na (-13)

2018: Justin Rose (-20)

2017: Kevin Kisner (-10)

2016: Jordan Spieth (-17)

2015: Chris Kirk (-12)

The Favorites at the 2021 Charles Schwab Challenge

The odds used in this article are provided by WynnBet and are current at the time of the article, for more betting news and information check out the newly launched Betsided

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2016 Champion Jordan Spieth +900 open’s as the favorite this week in an event that he has had great success in over the years. Jordan has recorded a win and three top 10 finishes at Colonial since 2015 and he comes into this year’s edition in fantastic form. World number two Justin Thomas +1100 follows close behind and will be looking to rebound from a disappointing outing at last week’s PGA Championship.

Last year’s runner-up Collin Morikawa +1300 is next up and he is followed by Abraham Ancer +1750, 2020 Champion Daniel Berger +1750, Tony Finau +2000, and Patrick Reed +2000 to close out the Favorites tier at this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

It’s a bit jarring to see Ancer listed amongst this group, but he does come into this week in excellent form and will be aiming to take a step further than last year’s T14th place finish at Colonial.

Pick from the Favorites

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Patrick Reed +2000

Reed is more than likely never priced as highly as he should be and it seems there is some value in this spot at the back end of the Favorites range. Aside from a missed cut at the Valspar several starts ago, Patrick has been playing some really nice golf in recent events. The 2018 Masters Champion has two top 10 finishes in two of his last four starts, and even after a difficult start at last week’s PGA he managed to fight his way back for a 17th place finish. Reed’s ball-striking caught the eye last week, especially during Sunday’s final round, and if he can carry that into this week to go along with his excellent putter he should do well once more at an event that he has had some success at over the year’s.

The Midtier

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Two ball-striking wizards in Corey Conners +2250 and Joaquin Niemann +2500 kick off the middle range this week. Conners started strong at the PGA Championship last week before fading some over the next three rounds, but he still managed a top 20 finish at a Major and really has become a player that is near or in contention more times than not.

Two Texans can also be found near the top of this range this week with both Scottie Scheffler +2500 and Will Zalatoris +2500 joining Niemann in the 25/1 range. It’s difficult to count out either this week after both recorded another fantastic finish at a Major championship, and it would hurt to miss out on the Willy Z win were it to happen this week. But I’ll go ahead and pass at this number due to concerns around the putting.

Instead, I’ll look to Justin Rose +3000 in this range who looked to have the putter working last week, and who has a nice track record around Colonial. Rose has not played a ton of golf since the Masters in April, but he does have two top 10 finishes now in his last three starts. Justin won the Charles Schwab Challenge in 2018 and he narrowly missed out on the playoff at this event last year on his way to a 3rd place finish.

Sungjae Im +3000, Phil Mickelson +5000, and Billy Horschel +5000 can all be found in this range, but I’ll look instead to two others in this spot. First, Charley Hoffman +4000 who has continually strung together strong starts for the majority of 2021. Hoffman has put together five top 20 finishes or better now dating back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, with his best result coming in his most recent Texas start at the Valero Texas Open where he finished runner-up to eventual winner Jordan Spieth.

Gary Woodland +4000 has continued to look like the Gary Woodland of old in recent starts. Woodland has gained strokes with his irons in consecutive starts now, and in those starts, he was 5th at the Wells Fargo and was in contention for the Majority of last week’s PGA Championship. He struggled off the tee during Sunday’s final round, but that is an area that should be somewhat mitigated at the Charles Schwab Challenge, with a premium placed more on accuracy than distance. Gary will be able to club down in many spots this week and the course should suit his game as was evident by his top 10 finish at this event last year.

Midtier Picks

Justin Rose +3000

Charley Hoffman +4000

Gary Woodland +4000

Long Shots

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Matt Kuchar +7500

Kuchar has been playing some really nice golf in recent events, especially in the state of Texas. Matt has recorded one top 5, one top 15, and one top 20 finish in each of his last three starts in the Lone Star State and he has four top 20 finishes in his last six starts overall. Kuchar uncharacteristically lost strokes on the greens last week and I would expect that to flip back the other way this week on a course he has found success at previously.

Next. 2021 PGA Championship: Big Names Miss Cut at Kiawah Island. dark

Harry Higgs +10000

Higgs really impressed at Kiawah last week on his way to recording his first top-five finish in a Major and though he has not faired well in Texas events so far this year, he should be familiar with golf in the Lone Star State after having spent his college days at nearby Southern Methodist University. Higgs is coming off of his best start of the year, and after recording a T38th place finish at last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge is an enticing selection at triple digits this week.