Matt Cooper argues the case for Scottie Scheffler who starts Sunday's round six shots back from the leaders in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Golf betting tips: Charles Schwab Challenge final round
2pts Scottie Scheffler to win at 11/1 (Sky Bet)
2pts Emiliano Grillo top-10 finish at 9/4 (General)
The Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, home of this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, is also known as Hogan’s Alley in honour of the great Ben Hogan who was based in the city.
Many of us will know of his great reputation: of his furiously driven nature, his refusal to let a terrible car accident derail his career, of his wonderful swing which remains inspirational to this day. How well known, however, is the astounding depth of his major championship record? In the 15 years after the conclusion of the Second World War he played in 23 of them, finished top 10 in all but three, winning nine with four runner-up finishes. Even ing for less depth in the professional game in those days Hogan’s quality was exceptional.
It is the type of relentless golf we imagine Scottie Scheffler is capable of and yet the first two days of this week’s tournament acted as a reminder of how difficult it is to be world class round after round after round. Last week’s PGA Championship winner opened 68-71 before a third round 64 lifted him into a tie for seventh but he he remains distant of the two pacesetters, Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid, through 54 holes.
The American and the German sit on 13-under 197 which leaves them three shots clear of Rickie Fowler, and four ahead of Robert MacIntyre, Nick Hardy and Akshay Bhatia. Scheffler is six adrift alongside Andrew Novak and Kurt Kitayama.
“I’m a PGA Tour winner now, that helps,” Griffin said after his third round, referencing his win in the New Orleans pairs event at the end of last month as a reason for growing belief. He and Novak won that having held a share of the 54-hole lead after he had owned a trio of solo third round leads (two on the PGA Tour, one on the Korn Ferry Tour) without converting the win. He had, however, always finished second or third, but in both the PGA efforts he had failed to beat 72 on Sunday having thrashed sub-70 scores all week beforehand.
Emboldened by the recent win, and his excellent form (he was eighth in the PGA Championship) he is feeling good about his position. “Going into tomorrow very confident,” he said. “I feel like I'm in a really good spot. It seems like me and Matti are going to duel it out a little bit tomorrow. The pedal is going to be down. I'm excited to get back out there.”
He also likes the venue: “It's just an old-school golf course and we don't play a ton of it. You have to be in the right positions. You hit a lot of irons off tees.” That said, on two previous visits he missed the cut and was T53.
Schmid, too, has little course form, missing the weekend last year on his first appearance. It is his third career lead at this stage. He was ultimately eighth in the 2022 Barbasol Championship (with a 77) and second in the 2023 Andalusia Masters. He has two top 10s in his last three starts – both of them opposite field events (the Corales Puntacana Championship and Myrtle Beach Classic).
He was sounding a little less sure of his game than Griffin was, however. “I needed to scramble a little bit, didn't hit too many fairways,” he said adding detail: “It was tough. I feel like a lot of tee shots were with hard left-to-right wind. I hit in a fade, so it's kind of tricky to hit these fairways then because they're so firm. So far, it’s the best putting tournament of my career, so hopefully I'll have one more good round then tomorrow.”
Griffin is priced 11/10 and Schmid 21/10. In what is to some extent deemed a two horse race the outsider might have been tempting but for the worries he discussed and the fear that the putter might go cold.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER is 11/1 and said after his 64: “Mentally, I am definitely a bit tired but the game is in a good spot. I was able to get some good rest early in the week. I’m out here battling."
Can he make a fast start and spook the leaders?
He made birdie at one and two in third round, and started eagle-birdie on Thursday. A vulnerable par-5 and short par-4, it offers a great chance for him to apply that pressure.
Fowler is a four-time top 20 finisher at Colonial and was sixth in 2023 but everyone else in the top 10 has a combined best finish of T29 (Kitayama). Most if not all of them will change that in the final round but it highlights something of a gulf between the World No. 1 and them. He won in Texas at the start of May and he can end it that way, too. He needs help from the front two but it can definitely be done.
In his preview Ben Coley noted that 2023 winner EMILIANO GRILLO’s ball-striking has improved in recent weeks, helping him make top 20s in the Texas Open and last time out in the Myrtle Beach Classic.
He’s currently T10 and he can close out a fourth top-10 on the course. He’s ranking T22nd for Strokes Gained Off the Tee this week and sixth for Approach. His best finishes at Colonial have been fuelled by sharp iron play and this week he’s ridden the wave after ranking first at Myrtle Beach.
Posted at 1012 BST on 25/05/25
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