We return to our regularly scheduled PGA TOUR programming in the wake of the second major of the year last week. The 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club should, however, serve as a nice hangover cure. It features a star-studded field in an event rich with history. Let’s get to Charles Schwab Challenge bets.
Click the odds anywhere in this article to place Charles Schwab Challenge bets at legal sports betting sites.
For a full breakdown of the tournament and course, visit my Charles Schwab Challenge preview.
HOW I BUILT MY CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE BETTING CARD
This is one of the weeks I lean on Course History the most. The track record of repeat success from past winners at Colonial Country Club makes the value clear.
Like many of the other positional, sub-7,200 yard courses on the PGA TOUR, Colonial Country Club has a very strong track record of rewarding accurate drivers capable of spiking with their irons and putting on Bentgrass greens.
In terms of unit allocations for my card this week, it’s back to business as usual for Charles Schwab Challenge bets.
- Outrights – 3.1U in to pay 24U each
- FRL – 0.5U in to pay out 10U+ each
- Props – 3U in to pay out 3U+ each
Click on any of the PGA odds below for the best available prices across legal sportsbooks in your state.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE BETS: OUTRIGHTS (3.1 UNITS)
Tony Finau
My Bet: +1700
Best Available Odds:
Lately, the No. 1 man in my model has opened at nearly un-bettable odds. So, it was refreshing to find a surprise discount on Finau’s price at the start of this week. Aside from Jordan Spieth, who still enters with a lingering wrist injury, no one in this field has a better track record at Colonial CC. Over his first seven Charles Schwab Challenge appearances, Finau has never finished worse than T35, including a runner-up finish in 2019 and a T4 last year.
Finau’s elite total driving positions him well to play aggressively and cut off angles at Colonial CC. He has a great track record putting at Colonial as well, gaining 2+ strokes putting in four of his seven appearances.
With four wins over his last 20 starts, 17-1 odds seems like a very fair price for a player with his elite combination of recent form and course history.
Sungjae Im
My Bet: +2400
Best Available Odds:
Sungjae Im has a game that travels to any course. As evidence: his six top-10 finishes this PGA TOUR season in events ranging from the Farmers Insurance Open to THE PLAYERS. He is the No. 7 player in my model this week, ranking top 10 in Course & Comp Course History, SG: T2G, and SG: OTT. That profile fit has translated to results at Colonial CC as well. He’s placed top 15 in two of his last three appearances here.
I’m not going to overreact to a poor showing at the PGA Championship last week, especially considering he was busy winning a Korean Tour event the week prior and was likely jetlagged by the time he arrived in Rochester. With two extra days to recover since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, I expect a nice bounce back week for a refreshed Im.
Chris Kirk
My Bet: +5500
Best Available Odds:
My spotlight player of the week, Kirk expectedly fell to this value range of the odds board despite his unblemished recent form and decorated course history. He’s placed top 30 in each of the first two majors this season to justify his fit in difficult scoring conditions. He’s also piled up four top-10 finishes since January between the Sony Open, the AmEx, the Honda Classic and the Valero Texas Open.
A winner here in 2015 with three additional top-15 finishes at the Charles Schwab Challenge since, Kirk should enter this week feeling as confident as ever on these grounds amidst this resurgent 2023 season.
Andrew Putnam
My Bet: +14000
Best Available Odds:
The three things that matter most at Colonial Country Club when looking down the trends of past winners are Approach, Putting, and Course History. Putnam easily checks all three boxes, joining Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau as the only three players in this field to rank top 30 in each category.
Putnam came close to securing his first career PGA TOUR victory on a short, positional and difficult golf course at the ZOZO Championship last October. He wound up finishing runner-up to Keegan Bradley. In five career trips to the Charles Schwab Challenge, he’s picked up three top-20 finishes, placing as high as third in 2019.
Akshay Bhatia
My Bet: +17500
Best Available Odds:
Akshay was not a perfect profile fit from a model standpoint. But, he’s already demonstrated too much potential on his special temporary membership this season to pass on odds this long. Over his first nine starts this season, he’s already picked up a pair of top-five finishes to go along with seven top 50s. He’s leaned on his irons as the strength of his game, having gained more than 12 strokes on approach over his last two starts. That should translate well in his debut at Colonial CC. He also ranks top 15 in Greens In Regulation and Good Drives Gained.
Chez Reavie
My Bet: +45000
Best Available Odds:
It doesn’t take much convincing for me to throw down 0.05 units on an outright. But Chez is a player I was prepared to bet at half of this number for what it’s worth. He has transformed himself into a positive putter for the first time in his 15-year career, sustaining a current streak of six consecutive weeks in which he’s gained strokes putting. Putting aside, Reavie is one of the most consistent players on TOUR from a driving accuracy and approach standpoint — two premium skillsets for Colonial CC.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE FIRST-ROUND LEADER BETS (0.5 UNIT)
Russell Henley
My Bet: +5000
Best Available Odds:
Starting my outright card with Finau and Im, there was not going to be room to also bet Russell Henley outright, despite how much I love his fit for this course. I’ll spare myself of a painstaking Sunday Henley sweat and simply back him where he’s most dangerous, in the first round.
Cam Davis
My Bet: +5000
Best Available Odds:
Similar to Henley, I love Davis’ fit on a short Bentgrass course that rewards aggressive driving. He’s a little too volatile for me to back for the full tournament. But he is absolutely capable of pacing the field with a hot start.
Emiliano Grillo
My Bet: +7000
Best Available Odds:
Grillo continues to look consistent this 2023 season, maintaining his status as an elite ball striker with newfound success on the greens. This is a pretty long price considering his proven course history at Colonial CC. That makes this is a value bet for me.
Aaron Rai
My Bet: +9000
Best Available Odds:
It’s been a rocky last few starts for Rai, but I won’t be deterred from tradition. He needs a get-right spot, and a short course that rewards accurate ball striking is exactly that.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE PROPS (3 UNITS)
Top-40 Finish: Chez Reavie
My Bet: +200
Best Available Odds:
Reavie continues to show solid form with a stretch of four top-50 finishes over his last five starts. That includes high finishes at the Valero Texas Open (T6) and RBC Heritage (T11). A T27 finisher at this event last year, where he ranked No. 2 in Greens In Regulation, Reavie’s current form is encouraging for another T40 bid.
Top-20 Finish: Eric Cole
My Bet: +300
Best Available Odds:
If Cole can finish inside the top 20 at the PGA Championship, then he can certainly repeat a similar result at Colonial CC. He’s stayed hot with three top-25 finishes over his last four starts and has been remarkably consistent on approach, ranking No. 8 in SG: APP over the last 36 rounds.
Top-20 Finish: Andrew Putnam
My Bet: +320
Best Available Odds:
As a course fit play, I like a placement bet on Putnam on the merit of his past performances. He’s finished top 20 in three of his first five appearances here and is one of the best Bentgrass putters in the field. That should help separate him from the field if he sustains his baseline of driving accuracy and mid-iron play.
Top-20 Finish: Sam Stevens
My Bet: +490
Best Available Odds:
I still consider Sam Stevens in the running for Rookie of the Year. A high finish in his hometown of Fort Worth would go a long way for his case. He’s proven a consistent and elite ball striker (No. 12 SG: BS). Where he finishes will ultimately come down to whether the putter cooperates.
ONE AND DONE
My Pick: Sungjae Im
So many opportunities to use Im exist early in the season, I’m surprised I still have him at my disposal. The consensus plays this week will likely distribute between Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, and Collin Morikawa. So, if Im is the forgotten man, I’m happy to jump in now.
He has proven history at this track with two top 15s over the last three years and is a threat for a high finish on any course given his well-rounded tee-to-green game.
If not Im, I would also consider Cam Davis, Chris Kirk or Spieth as OAD picks.
CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE: THE BETTING CARD
That’ll do it for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge bets. Best of luck this week with your own Charles Schwab Challenge bets, and see you on Sunday for the Memorial Tournament!
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CHARLES SCHWAB CHALLENGE BETS: ODDS TO WIN
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