Colonial Country Club can be one of the tougher places to score on the PGA Tour, but with light winds and a soft golf course after rain this week, low scores have been on the menu at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Two of the last four winners at Colonial finished at single digits under par, but that will not be the case this week with friendly conditions in Fort Worth, Texas. The leader is already at 10 under and Friday’s second round saw the cut line end up at 3 under, the lowest at the event since 1983. Players have had to take on a more aggressive mindset in the first two rounds than Colonial typically allows.
Among those who have answered that call the best is Hideki Matsuyama. The 11-time PGA Tour winner moved into a tie for second at 9 under after shooting a 5-under 65 on Friday afternoon. Matsuyama, per usual, is doing much of his damage with his irons, but his short game and putting have complemented that approach play for a well-rounded start to his week.
Matsuyama flashed his all-world hands — or, in this case, hand — on the 14th to get up-and-down for par with a chip from an awkward lie above the bunker.
Matsuyama has the most career wins of anyone in the field this week at Colonial, and after a gutting playoff loss earlier this season at the WM Phoenix Open, he’s put himself in position to challenge for win No. 12 this weekend in Fort Worth.
The forecast calls for winds to pick up a bit on Saturday, but at no point is it expected to really blow this week, which means Matsuyama and the rest of the leaders will need to keep the pedal down if they want to pick up the win. Because of the quality conditions, the leaderboard is incredibly condenseed with the leader just seven shots ahead of the cut line, and that will mean a lot of players who make the weekend will feel they have a real shot at the win.
The leader
1. Jordan Smith (-10)
The man they’re all chasing heading into Saturday is Jordan Smith, who put together back-to-back 65s to start the week and become the first to reach double figures under par. The 33-year-old Englishman is in his first full season on the PGA Tour and has been in contention before this season, finishing third at the Valspar Championship. He will try to hold his nerve and capture his first win on the PGA Tour this weekend, showing off an impressive all-around game so far this week, gaining strokes in all four phases of the game through two rounds. He’ll need to keep up that quality if he’s going to hold off the chase pack that features some strong veterans and rising stars.
Weekend contenders
T2. Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Ryan Gerard, Michael Thorbjornsen (-9)
T6. Russell Henley, J.J. Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, Alex Smalley (-8)
T10. A.J. Ewart, Michael Brennan, Mackenzie Hughes, Brice Garnett, Mac Meissner (-7)
T15. Ludvig Åberg, Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley and seven others (-6)
T33. Justin Thomas and 14 others (-4)
For a tournament that doesn’t boast the deepest field of the season, the cream has certainly risen to the top through two rounds of play. Joining Matsuyama in a share of second is another fellow former major winner in Harman and a pair of rising stars in Gerard and Thorbjornsen. Gerard has one career win at the Barracuda but is still searching for his first full-field win, while Thorbjornsen is still looking for his breakthrough victory on Tour.
Bhatia and Spaun are the only players in the top 10 with a win on the PGA Tour this season and will try to double up this weekend. Henley hasn’t quite had the year he’d hoped for to this point, but can change that in a hurry if he can back up a steady 66-66 start by cashing in for his sixth career win. Smalley is brimming with confidence after his T2 finish at the PGA Championship and can try to lean on that positive experience in a weekend in contention in Fort Worth.
Åberg came into the week as the favorite and after a putter change he’s positioned himself in solid position going into the weekend, but he will need to find that extra gear if he’s going to get his third career win. Thomas will need something special on the weekend to factor in for the win, but he’ll have a chance with an early tee time on Saturday to go out and post a low number before the leaders get going.
A.J. Ewart wins the “most improved” award from Thursday to Friday, shaking off an opening 70 to fire a tournament-best 7-under 63 to jump into contention — with some help from this ace on the 16th.
Notable players who missed the cut
- Pierceson Coody (-2)
- Brandt Snedeker (-2)
- Tony Finau (E)
- Harry Hall (+2)
- Rickie Fowler (+3)
- Max Greyserman (+5)
- Sungjae Im (+6)
A cut line at 3 under isn’t very forgiving, and while many of the top names in the field gravitated towards the top of the leaderboard this week, there were some surprising early exits. Fowler is probably the biggest stunner, as a back nine 42 sent him tumbling from 4 under and in the hunt to 3 over and a Friday flight home in a hurry. Im perhaps ran out of gas this week after spending last week in contention at TPC Craig Ranch and will get a couple extra days of rest after a rough two rounds of play in Fort Worth.
Updated 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge odds, picks
- Hideki Matsuyama (7-1)
- Russell Henley (15/2)
- Jordan Smith (15/2)
- Brian Harman (19/2)
- J.J. Spaun (10-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (10-1)
- Alex Smalley (12-1)
- Ryan Gerard (12-1)
- Akshay Bhatia (15-1)
- Ludvig Åberg (15-1)
Matsuyama would be my pick right now, but there are some opportunities to dig for some value a bit further down the odds sheet with such a bunched leaderboard. Gerard is intriguing at 12-1 being just one shot back, and perhaps Åberg at 15-1, nearly double his opening odds, is better conditioned to get a win chasing from behind rather than trying to hold onto a lead.
