Golf
Charles Schwab Challenge preview: Detry can sprout a first PGA victory in Texas
Following a turbulent week at the PGA Championship we head to Fort Worth for the final leg of the Texas Swing.
Colonial Country Club is our venue this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge having been played there every year since its inception in 1946.
The coveted Scottish tartan jacket is a piece of stash which every player will want to add to their collection and we have dug out a couple of selections who we think have a good chance of pulling it on come Sunday evening.
After landing 28/1 and 90/1 places at the PGA Championship, we return with two picks at prices we think can provide great value.
Find our selections for the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge below.
Tony Finau 30/1
Tony Finau has been one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour this year but is yet to land a seventh victory of his career, despite having come close a couple of times already in 2024.
There’s an unusually strong field here given it is a week following a Major, but Finau is still one of the class competitors and holds strong claims of a win having finished second here back in 2019.
Prior tournament form has gone a long way to predicting success here in recent years and Finau certainly has that. Although he missed the cut last year, before that he recorded a steady T20 finish in 2021, followed up by an impressive T4 in 2022.
Outside that he has finished T34 or better at every time of asking here, including three finishes inside the top 20, so course form is certainly no concern. That is hardly surprising given Colonial Country Club plays nicely into his strong approach game.
Statistically Finau’s approach play has been the 14th best on the PGA Tour this year, whilst none have been better approaching from 200-225 yards. The importance of a good putting display at Colonial also cannot be underestimated and whilst his flatstick has been a touch cold this year, he gained three strokes on the field with the putter here back in 2022.
At 30/1, Finau sits fifth in the market amongst a strong leading pack. He certainly has the quality to land another finish inside the 8 places on offer with William Hill, and he might just want to make space in the wardrobe for a tartan jacket should he bring his A game.
Thomas Detry 60/1
The European players have been having a slightly better time of it of late on the PGA Tour, emphasised by their very solid showing at last week’s PGA Championship where five of the top 11, including Detry, were from east of the Atlantic.
The Brussels-born Detry has truly sprouted on the PGA Tour in his eighth season as a professional. With four top 10’s to his name so far in 2024, it seems that winning experience has been the only thing holding the Belgian back from landing a first Tour title.
With three T8 or better finishes in his last five starts, it’s fair to say that Detry is in the form of his life and now could be the time for him to finally burst through, so at 60/1 he could be a great value play here.
With him already having finished inside the top 8 on four occasions this season, the 8 places available at William Hill look very tempting.
