Tag: Charles Schwab Classic

Tom Hoge holes out for eagle with Michael Block-like slam dunk at Charles Schwab Challenge

Hoge made the shot of the day, part of an impressive closing stretch that put him near the top of the leaderboard.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Tom Hoge fondly remembers coming back from competing in the NCAA men’s golf tournament and walking from the nearby Texas Christian University campus to take in the final round of the PGA Tour event at Colonial Country Club.

But on Thursday, during the opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, Hoge wasn’t watching, but instead making the shot of the day, part of an impressive closing stretch that put him near the top of the leaderboard.

Hoge made birdie at his 15th hole of the day — he started on the back nine — and then went one better on the next hole, dropping a slam-dunk eagle on the par-4 No. 7 as he holed out from 154 yards. The finish was akin to one by feel-good story Michael Block at the PGA Championship.

The eagle moved him to 4 under for the round, and that’s where he finished, sitting second on the board through the early wave of players.

For Hoge, the chance to play well at the storied course — which is due for a major renovation as soon as this week’s event concludes — could help to erase three straight years of failing to miss the cut.

“This is home for me. It has been since 2007 when I came to TCU. It would be awesome,” Hoge said prior to the tournament. “I try to not think about that a whole lot because the last few years I’ve missed the cut. I’ve kind of taken on more responsibilities this week, and I would say a little more pressure to perform here.

“It’s nice sleeping in your own bed first of all, but I guess you get on the road and it’s a little bit easier to kind of get in the routine of tournament weeks,. I find myself doing more stuff around the house and some chores and that sort of stuff this week.”

The 33-year-old is now seeing the entire experience through a different lens since his college coach with the Horned Frogs, Bill Montigel, recently retired after 36 years at the helm of the program. Hoge said the support from TCU faithful was strong on Thursday, something that had him feeling a little extra something to begin his round.

“I would say today on the first tee was probably as nervous as I’ve ever been on the golf course. I certainly feel the pressure to try to play well in front of all my friends that have come out and tried to support me,” Hoge said. “But it’s a lot of fun having them out there. Certainly, moments like that are great.

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Scottie Scheffler ‘hungry’ to win the Charles Schwab Challenge, a tournament he grew up attending with his family

“Playing in front of a home crowd as the week goes on is always really fun.”

Scottie Scheffler is back in his home state as the best golfer in the world.

Thanks to his runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship, the Texan reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, pushing Jon Rahm to No. 2 (the Spaniard tied for 50th at Oak Hill).

The vibes should be high in Fort Worth, Texas, at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge for Scheffler, who lost in a playoff to his best bud Sam Burns at Colonial Country Club last season and comes into the week in great form.

But is the hunger there a few days after a major championship?

“I’m typically pretty hungry to win whatever event it is,” he said Wednesday after his nine-hole pro-am. “I show up expecting to come here and play well and do my best. Yeah, I’m hoping for a good finish this week, but I try not to look too far ahead.”

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Scheffler has loved playing in front of the Lone Star State crowd all year, finishing T-9 at the Houston Open in the fall, grabbing fourth at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March and tying for fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson a few weeks ago.

In fact, going back to last season, Scheffler’s worst finish in Texas during his 2021-22 campaign was a tie for 15th at the Nelson.

Just another reason why the vibes should be high for world No. 1.

“It’s nice being back here at home and being able to play an event. … to be able to sleep in my own bed this week and able to just be at home the last two days was definitely important in terms of rest. Then playing in front of a home crowd as the week goes on is always really fun,” Scheffler said.

His relationship with this event started way before he turned professional. Scheffler’s been coming here since he was a kid.

“I grew up coming to this tournament. Being able to come here and play the golf course and compete is definitely very special for me,” he said. “I’ve grown up dreaming of being out here, and now being on the other side where I’m inside the ropes and trying to do my best and compete is definitely very special.

“I remember showing up here with my dad and just coming out and watching. My dad loved to watch golf. When I grew up, any time I could get a chance to go to the PGA Tour, it was pretty cool. So come out here on practice round days and watch guys.

“I typically liked the practice round days more just because you could get closer to guys and I liked just watching. It wasn’t as much about the atmosphere. It was more just me watching and learning from those guys.”

As a young player growing up in Texas, there’s one name that stands out among the rest that Scheffler looked towards as inspiration.

Jordan Spieth.

“Jordan, he was another guy I looked up to growing up,” he said. “He was always a few years ahead of me and crushing it from a young age. So he was always a guy I looked up to and was able to bounce things off of when I was thinking about turning pro, when I turned pro. He’s always been a guy that’s given me great advice, and he’s such a talented player.”

Time will tell if Scheffler can turn in a performance good enough to earn the title come Sunday, just like Spieth did at Colonial in 2016.

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Michael Block has better odds to finish inside top 40 at Charles Schwab Challenge than several PGA Tour winners, including Kevin Kisner, European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald

Will you be betting on Block this week at Colonial?

The People’s Champion, Michael Block, had the best week of his life in Rochester, New York, at the PGA Championship. The 46-year-old shot rounds of 70-70-70-71 to finish in a tie for 15th, good enough for an automatic invitation to the 2024 PGA at Valhalla.

However, that won’t be the next time we see Block.

The PGA pro was invited to this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, moments after finishing his final round at Oak Hill. Block was also given a spot in the RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club slated for June 8-11.

More Charles Schwab betting: Expert picks, odds

As for this week at Colonial, Block has better odds to finish inside the top 40 than Tour winner Kevin Kisner and European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. Block sits at +275 to top 40, while Kisner and Donald are +280.

To win, however, Block is +50000. Meaning if you were to place a $100 wager on Block to claim the trophy come Sunday, you’d win $50,100 ($50,000 plus your original $100).

Not a bad payday.

Colonial should fit Block’s game well. It’s not about distance at the John Bredemus/Perry Maxwell design, it’s about plotting your way around.

And if he can putt as well as he did at Oak Hill — sixth in SG: Putting (+1.545) — he should have a chance come Friday afternoon to make the weekend.

Plus, a top-40 bet on Block feels like the right thing to do after what he gave the golf world last week.

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Former Longhorn Jordan Spieth second in the Charles Schwab Classic

Former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth is closing in on a win at the Colonial during the Charles Schwab Classic. Currently one shot back.

It has been a long while since the words “Jordan Spieth is within striking distance” were uttered in a PGA event. In fact the former Texas Longhorn hasn’t won any event since he won the 2017 Open Championship on July 23rd of that year. It gave him his third win of the calendar year with the others being the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Travelers Championship. He has been in a drought ever since.

Spieth shot identical 65’s on the first two days of the challenge and following that up on Saturday with a 68. That put him at (-12) under par for the weekend, which is good enough for second behind leader Xander Schauffele. Spieth is currently tied with four other golfers. The number one ranked golfer in the world Rory McIlroy is currently two shots behind Spieth.

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If Jordan Spieth can overcome the one shot deficit he faces heading into the final day on the course, he will take home $7.5 million. Not only that but he could walk away with his first win in almost three full years. As of right now, he is looking like the Jordan Spieth of old. Once upon a time many thought would be the next top golfer in the world.

Currently he is the 56th ranked golfer in the world. A win in his home state of Texas in Fort Worth should only increase his ranking. Spieth is trying to find that magic again and now would be a great time to start for the former Longhorn.