Our PGA DFS series continues with our Charles Schwab Challenge DFS Core Plays, which includes a look at Lucas Glover among others.
This week the TOUR swings back to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge. Colonial Country Club plays host to this event, as it has done every year since 1946. The course has been able to withstand the test of time through the years. Even with the advances of technology and skill of the modern golfer, it regularly ranks as one of the tougher courses these guys will play on all year.
The 7,300 yard par 70 layout features tree-lined fairways, thick rough, and very tiny greens greens that make for a challenging test. Many styles off the tee have been able to compete here, but this is very much a second shot golf course that requires accuracy on approach shots. The small greens will lead to a lower greens in regulation percentage across the field, thus increasing the importance I’ll be putting on around the green play this week.
Below I dive into my favorite Charles Schwab Challenge DFS plays of the week that I’ll be building my lineups around. As always, Scottie Scheffler is intentionally left off of my core plays. He’s in a category by himself, and you don’t need me to tell you he’s a great play. How you handle Scheffler is a strategic preference on a weekly basis that you’ll have to work through.
I’ve identified the plays below using the Stokastic PGA Sims tool. Our hole by hole simulation technology allows me to take every golfer in the field’s range of outcomes into consideration, along with what I project the competition’s lineups to look like. By simulating the lineups against each other tens of thousands of times, the best plays on the slate reveal themselves.
The players that appear most in the highest ROI lineups are the ones I want to build my portfolio around. Our sim tool is the core of my weekly DFS process, and something I highly recommend for those looking to take the next step in DFS. For a limited time, get 20% off any of our PGA Sims packages using promo code ‘BERRYMANSIMS‘.
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Below are the players I’ll be building around as my core plays for the Charles Schwab Challenge. If you’d like to build around these players or your own core plays, another option to consider is our PGA lineup generator, which is the perfect PGA DFS tool. Right now, readers can try it out for a week for just $1 using promo code ‘BERRYMANLG‘.
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2024 Charles Schwab Challenge DFS Core PlaysÂ
Collin Morikawa – $11,000
Prior to his 3rd place finish at the Masters, it was clear that Morikawa was really struggling with his game. Since then however, he’s rattled off four straight finishes inside the top 16, including two top 5’s. A cold putter in the final round of last week’s PGA Championship kept him out of the conversation down the stretch, but he was stellar across all other strokes gained categories all week.
It was his first tournament since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January where he gained strokes on approach in all four rounds, which is absolutely something to take note of. He’s also had some nice success at Colonial in his career, making the cut in all four starts including a 2nd place finish in 2020 where he lost in a playoff to Daniel Berger. I think it’s time to acknowledge that Morikawa may have found something and could be on track to returning as one of the game’s elite players.
This course is a great fit for his game, as a player who relies on accuracy over distance. He’ll be anchoring the top of my lineups at a good clip this week.
Lucas Glover – $7,500
Glover has been a model of consistency this season, making the cut in 10 of 11 starts including eight finishes inside the top 35. Through this run, he’s been excellent in every statistical category that includes the use of any club in his bag outside of his putter. Over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 4th in strokes gained tee to green in this field that includes top 10 rankings in both strokes gained on approach and around the green. The problem has been his putter, that ranks 106th over this same time period.
The small greens of colonial should play into his favor though, as a heavier emphasis is placed on approach play which is a strength of Glover’s game. The average putt length will be shorter as well, thus taking some pressure off that part of his game. If he can find a way to stay around the field average in putting, I like his chances of paying off his modest price tag this week due to how well he sets up statistically for what Colonial tends to favor.
Andrew Putnam – $7,400
As one of the shorter hitters on TOUR, Putnam tends to struggle on some of the longer courses that have been in the rotation over the last month. However, prior to Quail Hollow and Valhalla (both very long courses) he was on a nice run of play with back to back finishes inside the top 18 at RBC Heritage and Valero. Now we head to Colonial, a course that doesn’t cater directly to bombers off the tee, and instead requires accuracy.
Due to this setup, he’s had some nice success on this course with three finishes inside the top 20 including a 3rd place in 2019. I talked about the importance of both approach and around the green play in my intro, both categories in which he ranks top 15 in this field over the last 24 rounds. I think he’s a great value option in the mid $7k price range this week.
GPP Flier: Adam Svensson – $6,400
Svensson is another player that falls into the Lucas Glover category. He’s been absolutely lights out with his ball striking, ranking 4th in this field over the last 24 rounds on approach and 13th in strokes gained tee to green. However, the problem has been his putting, where he’s lost over 20 strokes to the field combined over his last six starts. While he’s managed to make the cut in all six of these events due to his ball striking, it’s cost him a chance at some really nice finishes.
The data suggests that the majority of his game is in a really nice spot at the moment. Outside of his recent putting numbers, he profiles really nicely for this course setup. At a single digit ownership projection, I’m willing to take a chance that the smaller greens of Colonial mitigate some of the putting woes and allow him to separate from the field through his hot ball striking.
These are a few of the key players who will make up my player pool for my 2024 Charles Schwab Challege DFS lineups. I’ll favor them significantly when I build lineups using the PGA Sims. In addition, don’t forget to take advantage of the odds boosts sportsbooks are offering.
