Scottie Scheffler is playing this week. Tomorrow marks the start of the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at the legendary Colonial Country Club in Ben Hogan. It’s newsworthy, no matter how you look at it. He comes off a win at the PGA Championship, and the easiest, even usual, thing would have been to withdraw from the next tournament. However, Scottie had committed to the event, which is also played near his home, and he didn’t want to miss it. His presence immediately settles the first debate of the week: who is the favourite to win? Well…
It won’t be an easy week for Scheffler. Winning a Major, being at the top all week and how it unfolded on Sunday, with those uncertain first nine holes and the pressure from Jon Rahm, takes a huge toll. In any case, it wouldn’t be the first time Scheffler wins a tournament the week after a Major. He did it with the RBC Heritage just over a year ago, right after winning the Masters. What this lad can’t do…
Scheffler’s presence gives another dimension to a tournament that has always been one of the major events on the PGA Tour calendar, although it has declined somewhat recently. It’s outside the Designated events and is also in a very challenging part of the calendar. In fact, there aren’t many big names besides Scheffler. You can count them on one hand: Matsuyama, Riley as the defending champion, Tom Kim, Spieth, and not much more.
Scheffler is at Colonial because he had committed, but also because he wants to win the tournament. Make no mistake. It’s firmly in his sights. It has eluded him cruelly in recent years. He was second in 2024, third in 2023, and second in 2022. Last year, he also lost in a playoff to his great friend Sam Burns. You can understand it’s more than just a thorn in his side.
It’s not exactly a comfortable week, nor a course that allows for much relaxation. On the contrary, it’s one of the most demanding stops on the regular PGA Tour calendar. Scheffler will face the dreaded ‘Horrible Horseshoe’, the stretch at Colonial that includes holes 3, 4, and 5. It’s one of the most difficult sequences on the American circuit. It doesn’t reach the levels of the Green Mile, much less prepared for a major like Quail Hollow was last week, but it’s no small feat. The cumulative score for those three holes since 1983 is +8.753 strokes. The score for the other 15 holes is -1.638. Be wary of this. Twenty percent of golfers who have played the ‘Horrible Horseshoe’ since 1983 have not managed a single birdie. Only 14 players in 41 years have a score under par there.
Scheffler hasn’t fared much better than average. He has played the tournament five times, from 2020 to 2024, a total of 18 rounds. His cumulative score is +5, although last year, for the first time, he managed to score under par. Over the four days, he was one under par, achieving a birdie on each of those three holes. It seems he has figured it out and is eager for this event. If he overcomes the logical mental fatigue following the PGA win, the rest better watch out.
