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Todd McGill's DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. Picks for daily fantasy golf based on course history
The PGA Championship ended similarly to many events over the last two years, with a Scottie Scheffler victory. Sunday delivered more drama than was expected after the world no. 1 began the day with a three-shot advantage. Jon Rahm made another much-needed run at a major championship, while another strong performance from fellow LIV star Bryson DeChambeau has many looking his way for next month's U.S. Open. This was Scheffler's third major victory and firmly plants him back on top of the mountain of professional golf, as if there's any question.
The PGA Tour heads back to Texas this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. It is the longest-running Tour event held at the same course and is a consistent favorite among players. Its place on the schedule has slightly decreased its popularity, but this year's edition has retained some big names, including Scottie Scheffler. Course history is fairly predictive here compared to many places on the schedule, so finding the horses will be important starting points for roster constructions.
Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week, check out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely, here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using the Promo Code TDG for an extra discount at checkout!
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2025 Charles Schwab Challenge
The man atop the golfing world headlines this week's field with other big names that include Hideki Matsuyama, Tommy Fleetwood, and others. Like the RBC Heritage after Augusta, this event has still managed to drum up a decent field despite not being a Signature Event.
Davis Riley looks to defend his title after a strong week in Charlotte, and given the favorable nod to players with positive course history, his chances are looking mighty fine to be in the mix again if his game travels. However, he'd be only the second person to accomplish the feat, with Ben Hogan doing it twice in 1946 & 1947 and again in 1952 & 1953.
Scores tend to be on the higher side of things for a standard PGA Tour event, with anywhere from -12 to -15 under par as the typical winning score. The unique design of Colonial Country Club has produced multiple types of winners. This is certainly more of a one-size-fits-all kind of place that doesn't cater to one unique skillset. Although the one thing that can be taken from past performances is that while some of the betting favorites may have glowing track records here, that hasn't necessarily yielded many victories.
You can find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report weekly. And be sure to read our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles and Player News/Matchup Outlook Posts to help you win big!
Colonial Country Club
Par 70 - 7,289 | Greens: Bentgrass | Designed By: John Bredemus/Perry Maxwell
A classic, tree-lined course on the banks of the Trinity River has seen nearly every great player stride down its fairways. A timeless design that has stood the test of time, with help along the way to keep up with the game's rapidly growing pool of talent. While this layout isn't a place for bombers to flourish, driving is still incredibly important, as being out of position here is killer. Players will also hit a heavy dose of low to mid irons this week, as 61.2% of approach shots came from 125-200 yards.
In 2023, the club underwent a $20 million renovation project that helped restore the property to its more rugged roots and has been well-received by many returning players. This included replacing the greens, redesigning bunkers, and redoing tee boxes, along with reestablishing the barranca that surrounds the property to be a more prominent penalty area on certain holes.
The newer greens have had a little more time to become receptive, so it will be interesting to see if that has any effect on scores. They aren't particularly tricky, but generally have some pace to them. Comparatively, strokes gained putting doesn't have near the importance here as other places on the schedule.
Recent Charles Schwab Challenge Winners
- 2024: Davis Riley (-14)
- 2023: Emiliano Grillo (-8)
- 2022: Sam Burns (-9)
- 2021: Jason Kokrak (-14)
- 2020: Daniel Berger (15)
The Horse
Scottie Scheffler
- Notable Finishes: 2nd ('22), T2 ('24), T3 ('23)
Surprise, surprise, Scottie Scheffler finds his way to the top of this article once again. However, this time isn't for his history of lifting the trophy, but more for his ability to simply show up year after year. In five career starts, he's never won this event, and if you ask Data Golf, he's underperformed here (-0.11 versus expectation).
That's what ultimately happens when you're as freakishly good at this sport as Scottie Scheffler is. He's third in the field in total strokes gained average here over the last five seasons (+1.742), and like any tournament he tees it up in, no one is going to be surprised to see him in the mix on Sunday should it happen.
The Ponies
Davis Riley
- Notable Finishes: 1st ('24), T4 ('22)
SLAM DUNK!
Davis Riley is solo second @PGAChampionship 💪pic.twitter.com/jXIY4dvdDz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 18, 2025
In three career starts at Colonial, it has certainly been feast or famine for Davis Riley, who got his first solo victory on the PGA Tour here last season. He has another top 5 finish and a missed cut on his resume, but is in a good position going into the week after having his best major finish at Quail Hollow.
In his ten-round sample size at Colonial, he leads the field in strokes gained total average (+2.553) and ranks second in strokes gained on approach (+1.706).
Jordan Spieth
- Notable Finishes: 2nd ('21), T7 ('22)
Jordan Spieth starts his Friday with an eagle. 🦅 pic.twitter.com/JkE5p2pfds
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 16, 2025
It was a deflating performance at Quail Hollow for Jordan Spieth, but it should be a nice home game this week in Fort Worth to try and get back on the saddle of what's been a fairly positive return. It was probably far-fetched to think he would pull off history anyway, given the struggle he's been on even before the wrist injury.
Colonial proves to be a better place for Spieth's current game than the long and driver-heavy nature of Quail Hollow. His work in strokes gained off the tee (+0.584) and putting (+0.699) over the last five seasons has propelled him to the fourth-highest total strokes gained average (+1.618)
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Daniel Berger
- Notable Finishes: 1st ('20)
"That's a fairway finder!"
Daniel Berger hit this drive on a LINE.
📺: GOLF pic.twitter.com/wCo5FGWNsp
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) February 24, 2022
The last spot for this piece is a little less clear, but in terms of most recent success that has spanned more than one year, Daniel Berger is it. His ball striking prowess propelled him to win this championship when the world restarted from the initial COVID outbreak, and while injury caused him to miss this event in 2023, he's committed to playing here nearly every other season.
His +1.465 total strokes gained average at Colonial is highlighted most by +0.798 strokes gained on approach. On the PGA Tour this season, Berger ranks 15th in strokes gained on approach (+0.554) while also ranking 17th off the tee (+0.442). At a ball striker's paradise such as where we are this week, look for the former FSU Seminole to be a topic of discussion as the week progresses.
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