Colonial Country Club is one of the most difficult places to score on the PGA Tour, but with light winds and soft golf courses after rain this week, lower scores were on the menu at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Two of the past four winners at Colonial have finished single-digit under par, but that won’t be the case this week in a friendly in Fort Worth, Texas. The leader was already at 10 under, and the cut line for Friday’s second round was 3 under, the lowest in the tournament since 1983. The players had to adopt a more offensive mindset than Colonial typically allows in the first two rounds.
The person who best responded to that call was Hideki Matsuyama. The 11-time PGA Tour winner shot a 5-under 65 on Friday afternoon to move into a tie for second place at 9 under. As usual, Matsuyama did most of his damage with his irons, but his short game and putting complemented his approach play, giving him a strong start to the week.
Matsuyama flashed an all-world hand (in this case, hand) on the 14th, going up and down for par with a chip shot from an awkward lie over a bunker.
Matsuyama had the most career wins of any active player this week against Colonial, and is in position to try for his 12th win this weekend against Fort Worth after a disappointing playoff loss at the WM Phoenix Open earlier this season.
The weather forecast says it will be a bit windy on Saturday, but there’s no chance of any serious wind blowing this week, meaning Matsuyama and the rest of the front-runners will need to keep their foot on the pedal if they want to get the win. Due to the good conditions, the leaderboard is incredibly condensed, with the lead sitting just seven strokes behind the cut line. That means many players going into the weekend will feel like they have a chance to win.
leader
1. Jordan Smith (-10)
Heading into Saturday, they’re chasing Jordan Smith, who started this week with back-to-back 65s and became the first player to reach double digits under par. The 33-year-old British player is in his first full season on the PGA Tour and has been competing prior to this season, finishing third at the Valspar Championship. He’ll look to hold his nerves in check this weekend to earn his first PGA Tour win, and he’s shown an impressive all-around game so far this week, winning strokes in all four phases of the game through two rounds. They will need to maintain that quality in order to thwart a chasing group made up of strong veterans and rising stars.
weekend candidates
T2. Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Ryan Gerrard, Michael Thorbjornsen (-9)
T6. Russell Henry, JJ Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, Alex Smalley (-8)
T10. AJ Ewart, Michael Brennan, Mackenzie Hughes, Bryce Garnett, Mac Meissner (-7)
T15. Ludvig Oberg, Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley, and 7 others (-6)
T33. Justin Thomas and 14 others (-4)
In a tournament that doesn’t boast the deepest field of the season, Cream certainly rose to the top through two rounds of play. Joining Matsuyama in second place are Herrmann, also a former major winner, and two rising stars, Gerrard and Thor Bjornsen. Gerrard has one career win with the Barracuda but is still looking for his first full-field victory, while Thorbjornsen is aiming for his breakthrough victory on tour.
Battier and Spaun are the only players in the top 10 with wins on the PGA Tour this season, and will be looking to double up this weekend. Henry hasn’t had the year he expected so far, but if he can get off to a solid start with a 66-66 record and his sixth career win, that could change quickly. Smalley is confident after his T2 finish at the PGA Championship and will take that positive experience into contention this weekend in Fort Worth.
Oberg entered the week as the favorite to win and after changing putters he was firmly established heading into the weekend, but he will need to find more gear to get his third career win. Thomas will need something special over the weekend to contribute to a win, but an early tee time on Saturday will give him a chance to post a low number before the top teams start.
AJ Ewart won the “Most Improved” award from Thursday to Friday, and with the help of the ace, he shook off an opening 70 to shoot a tournament-best 7-under 63 on the 16th, jumping into contention.
Notable players who did not participate
- Pierceson Coody (-2)
- Brandt Snedeker (-2)
- Tony Fiau (E)
- Harry Hall (+2)
- Rickie Fowler (+3)
- Max Glaserman (+5)
- Im Sung Jae (+6)
The 3-under cutline isn’t too tough, and while many of the top players in the field have been drawn to the top of the leaderboard this week, there have also been some surprising early retirements. Perhaps the biggest shocker was Fowler, who fell from 4-under 42 on the back nine to a chasing 3-over, forcing him to rush home on a Friday flight. After spending last week competing at TPC Craig Ranch, he likely ran out of gas this week and will take a few more days of rest after two intense rounds of play in Fort Worth.
2026 Charles Schwab Challenge odds and winners updated
- Hideki Matsuyama (7-1)
- Russell Henry (15/2)
- Jordan Smith (15/2)
- Brian Harman (19/2)
- JJ Spahn (10-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (10-1)
- Alex Smalley (12-1)
- Ryan Gerrard (12-1)
- Akshay Bhatia (15-1)
- Ludwig Oberg (15-1)
Matsuyama is my pick for now, but with such a tight leaderboard, there are some opportunities to mine value a little further down the odds sheet. Gerard is intriguing at 12-1 and one shot behind, but Oberg, who is 15-1 at almost double his opening odds, would be better placed to come from behind and win rather than try to hold on to the lead.
