The 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge is expected to feature its most stacked field in years, as golfers are thrilled by the restart of the PGA Tour following a lengthy pause due to the coronavirus worldwide outbreak. With that said, let’s now take a look at the favorites, sleepers, and long shots to win the upcoming event in Fort Worth Texas.
Any tournament McIlroy joins, he’s most likely going to be one of the top favorites to win it. And when the PGA Tour proper resumes, expect the Northern Irishman to tee it off in Fort Worth, Texas. McIlroy has one win on the season, which he got by topping the field at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions way back in November of last year. However, he’s always put himself in the position to win in all events he’s made so far this season. In fact, he has six top 10s in six starts. McIlroy is second on the Tour in both driving distance and eagles (holes per).
PGA Tour No. 5 golfer Dustin Johnson is still searching for his first win of the season, and while victory has been elusive to date, he’s not someone you should be counting out. Johnson has two top 10s this season with a T7 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions last January and a T10 at The Genesis Open a month later. Johnson is first overall in eagles (holes per) this season and owns 20 PGA Tour wins in his career.
Success has also been hard to catch for Koepka this season. Since returning from knee surgery, Koepka has made the cut in a tournament this season three times out of five. In his last start, he finished just T47 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last March. Then again, would you really dismiss his chances to get back on his feet sooner than later? Remember, Koepka has three majors since 2018 and five victories overall over that span.
Finau came close to winning last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge, as he finished just four strokes behind winner Kevin Na. Finau also nearly won his first win of the season when he placed second at the Waste Management Phoenix Open last February. In nine starts, Finau has three top 10s and four top 25s.
DeChambeau was starting to heat up when the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season. He was second at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship last February and fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He could have saved that momentum over the long layoff, so keep an eye on the four-year pro.
It’s not been a great season for former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, who has been cut five times in 11 starts since September of 2019. He’s shown some signs of life though in his last start when he had a season-best T27 at The Honda Classic last March.
Piercy could be worth a punt play. He is no. 101 in the official world golf rankings, so not many is looking at his direction. But he’s had a top-10 finish this year, going T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and had a pair of top-18 finishes in two of his three next starts since. He had a T19 in last year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.
Writer’s Prediction
Rory McIlroy wins the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge.
