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This week's field includes 47 of the top 100 and 14 of the top 50 in the latest Official World Golf Rankings. That's a step down from last year's field, which featured 51 top-100 players and 20 top-50 players. Notable names at the top include Ludvig Aberg (#13), Justin Thomas (#16), Ben Griffin (#17), and Hideki Matsuyama (#20), though Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and Brooks Koepka are all absent.

The field includes 5 of the top 25 on the FedEx Cup standings this week.

The five past champions in the field: Ben Griffin (2025), Davis Riley (2024), Emiliano Grillo (2023), Kevin Kisner (2017), and Chris Kirk (2015).

If you’re serious about making the best picks this week, our GolfStats tools have you covered.

These tools are invaluable whether you’re betting, setting a DFS lineup, or simply looking for an edge in your fantasy league. Check out the full blog post for DK fantasy advice.

Wyndham Clark closes with a 60 at the Byron Nelson
Clark stamped his return with an 11-under final round at TPC Craig Ranch, running down a Si Woo Kim collapse to win by three at 30 under. It's his first Tour win since 2024 and, per ESPN, makes him the first player in Tour history to win twice with a closing 60. He had been set to play Colonial before withdrawing Monday, so he won't be in the field this week. That said, his ball-striking numbers from the weekend were elite, and his putting finally cooperated. Worth tracking as his form heads into the summer stretch.

Scheffler, Spieth, McIlroy, and Koepka all out
The four highest-profile withdrawals leave a noticeable hole at the top of the board. Ludvig Aberg steps in as the clear betting favorite, with a packed second tier of Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, defending champion Ben Griffin, Robert MacIntyre, Russell Henley, and J.J. Spaun. Seven of the world's top 20 are still teeing it up, but the thinner top means real equity flows down the board. Players who reliably post 20th-to-40th finishes in stronger fields get a genuine path to a top-10 or better at much friendlier prices this week.

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The Charles Schwab Challenge is in its 79th year and is played at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, a par 70 layout stretching 7,289 yards. The course carries a 75.1 rating and a slope of 138 from the championship tees. Tees, fairways, and rough are Bermuda grass, while the greens are bentgrass. Colonial has the distinction of being the only course in America to have hosted the U.S. Open (1941), the Players Championship (1975), and the U.S. Women's Open (1991).

The tournament traces back to 1946, when Fort Worth merchant John Marvin Leonard decided to showcase his course to the world after the USGA showed no interest in making Colonial an annual U.S. Open stop. He offered a then-generous $15,000 purse, the third-largest on Tour at the time, and Ben Hogan answered by winning the first two editions. Hogan would go on to win five times at Colonial, earning the course its lasting nickname, "Hogan's Alley." In 21 appearances, his worst finish was a T-56th at age 58 in his final start in 1970.

The course was designed by John Bredemus and opened in January 1936, with Perry Maxwell later revising holes 3, 4, and 5 ahead of the 1941 U.S. Open. Minor modifications followed in 1969 after Trinity River flooding damaged several holes. A significant renovation completed in 2000 rebuilt all 18 greens with A-4 bentgrass and redesigned all 84 bunkers. Then, the day after Emiliano Grillo won in 2023, the course was torn up again and completely rebuilt by Gil Hansen, with all fairways and greens reseeded in a project that normally takes 18 months.

One of Colonial's enduring quirks is that it simply can't grow. Hemmed in by the Trinity River to the north and residential development on three other sides, the course has no room to add yardage. That makes it a hostage to the weather: wind up and it plays genuinely tough; calm and benign, and the scoring gets low in a hurry. Winning scores pre-1996 were regularly in the 7-to-10-under range. Since 1997, almost every champion has reached double digits under par. The purse this year is $9.9 million, with $1,782,000 going to the winner.

Driving Accuracy: Colonial is a shotmaker's course, not a bomber's paradise. Most holes are doglegs that take the driver out of play, rewarding players who position the ball rather than overpower the layout. The historical record is clear: wild drivers rarely win here. There are exceptions, but the players who walk away with the trophy almost always rank in the top half of the field in fairways hit. Look for accuracy off the tee as a baseline qualifier.

Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: The single most predictive number for this event. Since the course doesn't ask for length, ball-striking efficiency from every part of the bag matters enormously. Aberg currently ranks 3rd on the 2026 SG: Tee-to-Green leaderboard at GolfStats.com. Historically, the winner at Colonial almost always comes from the top 30 in this category heading into the week.

Experience: Rookies simply do not win at Colonial. Since 1996, virtually every champion has been a multi-time Tour winner entering the week. The course rewards players who know it, understand its subtleties, and have the shotmaking vocabulary to navigate its 27 years of renovations and revisions. When in doubt, lean toward the experienced hand over the hot newcomer.

For a full breakdown of all the numbers that matter this week, head to our Composite Rankings at GolfStats.com.

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