Brooks Koepka won his fifth major on Sunday at the PGA Championship, but Michael Block stole the show. What he accomplished as a PGA Professional, on one of golf's biggest stages, led to a special exemption in this week's event. That brings me to my 2023 PGA DFS: Charles Schwab Challenge DraftKings Preview.
I mentioned above that despite Koepka winning his third PGA Championship and fifth major, Michael Block stole the show. I am not sure enough casual fans understand what Block accomplished last week. He had the third-best finish by a PGA Professional at a PGA Championship. The best finish by a PGA professional in over 35 years and he accomplished that over the weekend while paired with Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.
Block's hole-in-one on hole 15 Sunday will be played on future PGA Championship telecasts for years to come. He earned with his 15th place finish an invitation to next year's PGA Championship, over 250k in winnings, and two special sponsor exemptions to upcoming PGA events.
UNBELIEVABLE!
MICHAEL BLOCK JUST DUNKED A HOLE-IN-ONE! pic.twitter.com/Qin8FYXFQV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023
You can find me on Twitter @KeithFlemming to keep the conversation going! You can also find me on Wednesdays at 1pm eastern on The Inside Drive on ESPN Northwest Radio previewing the PGA Tournament for that week.
2023 PGA DFS: Charles Schwab Challenge DraftKings Preview
Colonial Country Club - Course History for the #CharlesSchwabChallenge
-Includes average finish position and Strokes Gained per round since 2017
-11th most predictive annual course on Tour
-For more data like this, (including sheets you can download and sort columns), which… pic.twitter.com/2oPjieknM0
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) May 22, 2023
For a non elevated event the Charles Schwab Challenge this week has a very strong field. Especially for an event taking place mere days after a major championship concluded. This year will mark the 77th year that Colonial Country Club has hosted a PGA Tour event. Notably, it served as host for golf's return from the Covid hiatus in June of 2020.
Venue (Colonial Country Club)
Colonial is known for being a positional golf course that is tree lined throughout the course. The Par 70 layout plays at just over 7200 yards and even with advancements in distance for modern players. Colonial continues to challenge the best golfers in the world year after year.
The winning score has exceeded -15 only twice since 2011. The type of players who should find success at this venue will be precise off the tee, accurate on their shots to the green, and above average putters on the Bent greens at Colonial.
Past Winners/Odds #CharlesSchwabChallenge pic.twitter.com/gLH5J2SJtM
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) May 22, 2023
Comp Courses
- TPC River Highlands
- Harbour Town
- Waialae Country Club
- Innisbrook Resort
- Pebble Beach
Key Stats
- Par 4 Scoring (350-400 yards)
- Proximity to the hole 125-200 yards
- Good Drives Gained/Driving Accuracy
- Strokes Gained Putting (Bent)
- Strokes Gained Approach
- Bogey Avoidance
- Course + Comp Course History
My 2023 PGA DFS: Charles Schwab Challenge DraftKings Lineup
Jordan Spieth ($9,900)
You can always count on @JordanSpieth having some good dialogue with his ball 😅 pic.twitter.com/0CtvwhWwNb
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2023
I was concerned last week with playing Spieth in my DK lineups or golf bets due to his wrist injury that forced him to WD from the Wells Fargo. Spieth showed no signs of a wrist injury as he played four rounds at the PGA Championship.
I am confident in Spieth anchoring my lineup this week in his home state of Texas. He finished inside the top 10 in his last four appearances at Colonial Country Club. If his putter can get hot this week he will have a great chance to win this event. Spieth gained nearly nine shots on the field at the PGA Championship off the tee and on approach.
Another option in this price range: Sungjae Im ($9,500)
Justin Rose ($9,300)
Rose has had success at Colonial and is looking forward to this week.
Justin Rose won this event in 2018 and has two other top-20 finishes in his five career appearances in this event. Rose is in great recent form with four top 25s and two top 10s in his last five starts on Tour. In those five events Rose is averaging over a shot in strokes gained tee to green, approach, around the greens, and putting.
Another option in this price range: Denny McCarthy ($8,700)
Rickie Fowler ($8,900)
Rickie Fowler 📈@RickieFowler | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/apNcRnUiED
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2023
Fowler did not play well in his first major championship of 2023. I am hopeful this leads to low ownership for this week's event. In non-major events Fowler has eight straight finishes of 31st or better. He has six top 20s in that span and his game fits Colonial well. Fowler has three top-16 finishes at Colonial Country Club.
Brendon Todd ($7,800)
Brendon Todd is arguably my favorite play this week for the Charles Schwab.
He has back-to-back finishes of 8th or better at Colonial. What I like the most about Todd is despite an up-and-down season. He has played very well at two of my favorite comp courses this calendar year in Pebble Beach (finished 2nd) and Waialae Country Club (finished 21st).
Another option in this price range: Emiliano Grillo ($7,700)
Eric Cole ($7200)
In 2019, Eric Cole was giving golf lessons in Florida, struggling to gain status on any professional tour.
Today, he is tied for the lead @PGAChampionship. pic.twitter.com/8sNQOXc2Uh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 19, 2023
Eric Cole continues to be one of the best golf stories of 2023. He's gone from an unknown in the golfing world to someone who was tied for the lead at a major championship. Cole is in the top 10 in the field in strokes gained approach for the Charles Schwab Challenge event. He's picked up over five strokes on the field tee to green in three of his last four events.
I expect Cole to contend this week and potentially pull a Justin Rose winning at Colonial in their first event played there.
Ben Martin ($6,800)
It's been nearly eight years since Ben Martin picked up his first and only PGA Tour win.
During the 2023 season, Martin is playing his best golf in many years. He has three top 10 finishes on the season including a 13th place finish at comp course Pebble Beach. Martin has not played at Colonial since 2018 but he does have success here. In five career starts here he has three top 30 finishes with a top ten in 2015.
Another option in this price range: Akshay Bhatia (6,700)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now that you have read the 2023 PGA DFS: Charles Schwab Challenge DraftKings Preview, be sure to check out the rest of our golf content, including my show Two off the Tee on the Fantasy Six Pack YouTube Channel Tuesday night. Each week, my cohost Allen and I will break down the tournament for that week and give betting/DFS plays.
