The Charles Schwab Challenge will be played at Colonial Country Club (par 70, 7,289 yards, bentgrass greens) in Fort Worth, Texas, which has been the host of this event since its inception in 1946. Ben Griffin (-12) is the defending champion of the Charles Schwab Challenge, and for this week, there will be 132 players competing and a top-65 and ties cut after the first two rounds.
The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.
I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.
My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.
Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
- Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
- Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
- Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
- Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green
Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.
The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.
And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.
The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.
PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts
DraftKings $10,000 Range
Ludvig Aberg ($10,500)
Aberg is the clear favorite this week, and it was a surprise to see him priced under $11,000. Aberg has finished inside the top eight in six of his last seven starts. The Swede finished T5th at the Valero Texas Open last month, and he finished T4th at the PGA Championship in his last start. This season, Aberg ranks second in SG: Total and sixth in SG: Approach. The 26-year-old has never competed at Colonial before, but Aberg is no stranger to competing in the Lone Star State after attending Texas Tech University, and his elite iron play sets him up well for this track. Four of the last five winners at Colonial have finished the event top 12 in SG:Approach. This is a great place for Aberg to secure his third PGA TOUR win, and starting your cash game lineup with him is the right move.
Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.
DraftKings $9,000 Range
Rickie Fowler ($9,600)
Fowler is coming off a mediocre T60 at the PGA Championship, but prior to this, he had finished T8, T9, and runner-up in his previous three starts. Fowler has gained strokes on approach in four straight starts, and he ranks fourth in par-4 performance this season, which is always a great sign with a par 70 up next. Four of the last five winners at Colonial have finished the event top three in par-4 scoring, and Fowler knows this venue well. Fowler has made 9 of 12 cuts at Colonial with five top-20 finishes. The six-time PGA TOUR winner finished T16th at Colonial last season, including a 6-under 64 in the second round.
Ben Griffin ($9,400)
Griffin won at Colonial last season, shooting as low as a 7-under 63 in the second round. The 30-year-old has made 2 of 3 cuts at this venue, and he ranks ninth among this field in Strokes Gained per round at Colonial. Griffin returns to the track riding a seven-made-cut streak, including a T3 at the Cadillac Championship last month and a T14 at the PGA Championship in his last start. Griffin’s irons have been inconsistent this season, but his putting has been elite, and his skills in that area should lift him to a high finish in his title defense at Colonial. Griffin ranks 11th in SG: Putting this season, and for five years running, the winner at Colonial has finished the tournament in the top seven in the metric.
DraftKings $8,000 Range
Gary Woodland ($8,400)
After missing the cut at the PGA Championship, Woodland should bounce back in a big way at Colonial. The veteran had made six straight cuts before Aronimink with four top-20 finishes over this time, including his six-shot win at the Houston Open. Evident from this dominating victory, Woodland loves competing in the Lone Star State. He ranks third among this field in Strokes Gained per round at Texas courses, including plenty of success at Colonial. In six starts at this venue, Woodland has made five cuts and carded three top-15 finishes, most recently with a T11 last season.
Mac Meissner ($8,000)
Meissner has played well at Colonial, finishing T5th and T28th in his two starts at the course. Meissner ranks third among this field in Strokes Gained per round at Colonial, and he has finished T31st or better in five straight starts. Meissner has gained strokes on approach and with his putter at back-to-back events, and he is a strong value at this $8,000 salary, which is a $500 drop from last week.
DraftKings $7,000 Range
Max Greyserman ($7,900)
Greyserman finished T22nd at Colonial last season, and he is thriving right now. Greyserman has made four cuts in a row, and in his last two starts, he has finished T14th at the PGA Championship and T9th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. At TPC Craig Ranch last week, Greyserman led the field in SG: Approach, and he shot a 9-under 62 in the second round, two shots off his career low. Greyserman has gained strokes on approach at three consecutive events, and he has shot under par in eight of his last 12 rounds.
Tony Finau ($7,700)
Finau has advanced through the cut in 10 straight solo starts, and he is coming off a season-best T6 finish at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Besides putting, Finau gained strokes in every major category at TPC Craig Ranch. Now, the veteran heads to Colonial, where Finau has made 8-of-9 cuts with six top-25 finishes. The 36-year-old finished runner-up in 2019 and T17th last season. In this field, Finau ranks fifth in Strokes Gained per round at Colonial and sixth in Strokes Gained per round at Texas courses. Finau is a former winner in the Lone Star State, and a second consecutive top-10 finish isn’t out of the question for him.
Stephan Jaeger ($7,500)
Jaeger has only finished MC and T68th in his two starts at Colonial, but he hasn’t competed here in three years, and Jaeger’s game is firing on all cylinders right now. After finishing T18th at the PGA Championship for his best major finish to date, Jaeger finished T9th at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson last week. The 36-year-old carded two 7-under 64s, and he ranked seventh in SG: Approach at TPC Craig Ranch. Jaeger has shot under par in six of his last eight rounds, and he ranks ninth in SG: Total when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds.
John Parry ($7,000)
Parry has never competed at Colonial before, but the Englishman is a tremendous cut maker who should have a solid Charles Schwab Challenge debut. Parry has only missed one cut in his last 21 starts worldwide. Parry is 3-for-3 in made cuts in Texas this season, most notably with a T14 at the Valero Texas Open last month, and he has gained strokes on approach in four straight starts.
DraftKings $6,000 Range
Mark Hubbard ($6,800)
Hubbard is a perfect 7 for 7 in made cuts at Colonial – highlighted by a T9 in 2023 – and he has made three solo cuts in a row. In his last two starts, Hubbard has finished runner-up at the Myrtle Beach Classic and T31st at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. At both these tournaments, Hubbard finished top five in SG: Approach, and he shot under par in all of his rounds. The veteran ranks third in SG: Approach when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, and Hubbard is a steal at this cheap salary.
Jackson Suber ($6,600)
Suber finished just T53rd in his first attempt at Colonial last season, but he now returns to the track 71 spots higher in the world golf rankings and is playing the best golf of his career. Suber has finished T19th at the Myrtle Beach Classic and fourth at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in his last two starts. That fourth-place finish is Suber’s best performance on the PGA TOUR, and at TPC Craig Ranch, he gained strokes across the board, and he fired off a 10-under 61 in the second round, which is also a career best for Suber. The 26-year-old ranks 14th in SG: Approach this season, and Suber brings terrific upside relative to his low price tag.
Interested in more PGA action? Check out the pick’ems on Underdog with our Underdog promo code.
Pictured: Ludvig Aberg
Photo credit: Imagn
