The PGA Tour makes its long-anticipated return this week after a three-month pause due to the coronavirus pandemic. A field of 148 golfers will tee it up for the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. The field is absolutely stacked this week. With 15 of the top-20 golfers in the world in action, the strength of this field will be similar to that of a major tournament.

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Bryson DeChambeau headline the field this week at Colonial, and you’ve got plenty of flexibility in lineup construction. With plenty of talent in the field, both Stars and Scrubs and Balanced Lineups are in play. Course history at Colonial will carry more of an influence this week, as recent form is very difficult to use because of the long break.

Here are the past five winners at the Charles Schwab Challenge:

• 2019 Kevin Na (-13)
• 2018 Justin Rose (-20)
• 2017 Kevin Kisner (-10)
• 2016 Jordan Spieth (-17)
• 2015 Chris Kirk (-12)

Things will look much different this time around. There will be no fans in the grandstands, no venues on the course, and the players will be subject to on-site testing each day. Despite the increased emphasis on player safety, there is very high confidence that things will be able to go smoothly amid the pandemic.

DraftKings has upped the stakes this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge. You will have the chance to win one million dollars in the biggest GPP contest offered. With just a $20 buy-in, DraftKings is giving away $1,000,000 and a Tournament of Champions Entry to the lucky winner. Even better news for new users, DraftKings is offering a free $20 ticket to the $3M Golf Millionaire contest with their first deposit. Be sure to take advantage of this great offer if you have not created a DraftKings account yet.

Watch the tournament live on Golf Channel with FuboTV

Course Preview

The Charles Schwab Challenge will be played at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Measuring at just over 7,200 yards, Colonial is one of the shortest courses on Tour. This is very important to consider when selecting your golfers. Short/mid irons and accuracy off the tee will be crucial to scoring well here. With just two Par 5s on the scorecard, eagles will be very hard to come by this week. The majority of the scoring will come on Par 4s, and seven of them measure between just 400-450 yards.

When analyzing the past winners at this event, there are some common trends. A lot of the golfers that have success here are shorter hitters off the tee with excellent short irons. “Course generals” who can plot their way around each hole tend to have success. The treelined fairways do not offer easy access for bombers to take advantage of, so the best way to score here is by hitting fairways and relying on your approach game and putting to come through. Make sure to pay special attention to golfers who succeed on Bentgrass greens.

Key Stats

• Par-4 Scoring (400-450 yards)
• Strokes Gained: Approach (emphasis on 100-150 yards)
• Performance on Bentgrass greens
• DraftKings points at Colonial CC
• Course History

Recommended Plays

Jon Rahm ($11,000)
The Spaniard checks a lot of boxes this week. In the last 36 rounds played on Bentgrass greens, Rahm ranks number one in DraftKings points. He already has a second-place finish and a fifth-place finish to his name at this event. This explains why he ranks ninth in DraftKings points scored at Colonial Country Club in the last 36 rounds. According to Data Golf, Rahm ranks third in true strokes gained at Colonial amongst golfers with at least eight measured rounds.

Webb Simpson ($9,800)
Simpson has the ideal skill set to attack Colonial Country Club. The results here speak for themselves. He has a third-place finish and a fifth-place finish to his name here in the last five years. Simpson does not perform well off the tee, but he has some of the best irons in the entire PGA. He ranks fifth in both proximities from 100-125 yards and 125-150 yards. In the last 36 rounds, Simpson also ranks sixth in Par-4 scoring on holes between 400-450 yards.

Justin Rose ($9,000)
Before the stoppage, Rose was not playing great golf. However, he’s returning to a course where he has won, and the course does fit his skill set well. In the last 36 rounds of Bentgrass greens, Rose ranks second overall in DraftKings points. He is normally very sharp with his short irons, ranking sixth in proximity from 100-125 yards. I do not expect him to be too heavily owned because of his recent results.

Matt Kuchar ($8,500)
“Kutch” has two top-15 finishes here in the last five years, and he performs very well on short courses. He knows this golf course extremely well — proven by his 42 measured rounds at Colonial. In the last 36 rounds of Par 70 courses that feature Bentgrass greens, Kuchar ranks fifth in DraftKings points. He is ninth in Par-4 scoring on holes between 400-450 yards, and he’s top-15 in iron proximity between 125-150 yards.

Jordan Spieth ($8,000)
Who has the most DraftKings points at Colonial Country Club in the last 36 rounds? The answer is Jordan Spieth. His course history here is too good to deny despite his recent struggles. Spieth has a win, two runner-ups, an eighth, and a 32nd place finish at this event in the last five years. Let’s hope the break helped him figure some things out so he can start fresh at a course where he dominates.

Kevin Na ($7,600)
The defending champion is one of the best Bentgrass putters you’ll see, and he can rack up DraftKings points if that putter gets hot. Na has had a few very low rounds at Colonial that have helped him finish first, fourth, and 10th here in the last five times out. One of the reasons he loves it here is because his lackluster game off the tee doesn’t matter as much. His short irons are very elite, and this is the perfect set-up for him.

Harris English ($7,500)
Before the stoppage, English was playing some phenomenal golf. He had three straight top-20 showings and now goes to a course where he has succeeded. English finished second here in 2016, and since then, he has had very respectable T20 and T29 showings. In the last 36 measured rounds at Colonial, English ranks third in DraftKings scoring. He will be a popular play, but all signs point to a solid week.

Ryan Palmer ($7,400)
The Texas native is a member of Colonial Country Club, and he has two top-10 showings to his name in the last five events here. Palmer is known to perform admirably on shorter courses and does especially well on Bentgrass. In the last 36 measured rounds on Bent, Palmers ranks eighth overall in DraftKings scoring. He is extremely sharp with his short irons, ranking second in proximity between 100-125 yards. Palmer should come in at a solid ownership percentage.

Danny Lee ($7,200)
Lee could be a sneaky good GPP play this week. He has made the cut here in five consecutive outings and has three top-15 showings to his name. Prior to the break, Lee had a fifth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer invitational and credited his success to some newfound confidence in his putter. He is worth the flier with all the success he has had at Colonial.

Andrew Putnam ($6,800)
According to Data Golf, amongst all golfers with at least eight measured rounds at Colonial Country Club, Putnam ranks third in true strokes gained. It’s not surprising, then, to see Putnam rank top-15 in both DraftKings points on Bentgrass greens and at Colonial in the last 36 rounds. Putnam finished third here last year and 20th the year prior. The shorter hitter with solid irons and an elite putter is a key fit at Colonial.

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Nic Turner is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nic, check out his archive and follow him @sportzbandit.