Charles Schwab Challenge Betting Tips: 5 Selections From Colonial
The PGA Tour heads to Colonial for the final leg of the Texas Swing a week after Scottie Scheffler won his third major at the USPGA Championship.
Although just one of The Panel’s selections across the various markets came in last week, Harris English finished runner-up at 150/1 which meant a profit overall to level stakes.
Scheffler is the favourite with betting sites to win this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge where Davis Riley is the defending champion.
Riley finished runner-up to Scheffler at Quail Hollow and catches the eye at 40/1, bearing in mind he finished fourth at this course on his 2022 debut.
It might be asking too much for Riley to deliver back-to-back successes at this short, tight track measuring just under 7,300 yards which last year was ranked the fifth toughest on the PGA Tour, so it may be best to look elsewhere for this week’s selections.
Accuracy rather than power is needed to give golfers the best chance of finding the small greens, so which players look best equipped to win at a course affectionately known as Hogan’s Alley?
The Panel have picked out three outright selections, one first-round leader and a top 20 from this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge tips.
Charles Schwab Challenge Tips: Scheffler Cooking On Gas
Scheffler is bidding for a hat-trick of titles this week, having won the Truist Championship and USPGA earlier in the month, so it is no surprise to see the world number one priced at 5/2 with golf betting sites.
That may not be an appealing price to some considering 135 players will be competing in Fort Worth, but Scheffler’s strike rate is phenomenal, having won 10 of his last 26 tournaments.
Put another way, Scheffler has lifted a trophy in 38% of the events he has played in since last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
Furthermore, there is only one other member of the world’s top 10 competing in Texas, Hideki Matsuyama, who has missed the cut in three of his last five tournaments, including the USPGA Championship.
The top shots of Scottie Scheffler's season!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 20, 2025
His consistent play has given him the No. 1 ranking in the #ComcastBusinessTOURTOP10 pic.twitter.com/RfESfyuxBo
The Colonial is also an itch Scheffler is determined to scratch having finished either second or third in his last three outings on this course.
The American went closest in 2022 when he lost a play-off to Sam Burns and a year later he finished a shot behind Adam Schenk and eventual winner Emiliano Grillo.
Twelve months ago, Scheffler threatened to get over the line with a third-round 63 which left him four shots behind Riley heading into Sunday, but he was three over by the time he struck his birdie at the 13th and his chance had gone.
Riley was the strongest player from tee-to-green and with the putter last year, and no-one is stronger than Scheffler for the former, so, despite the short price, The Panel are on board with the obvious this week.
Charles Schwab Challenge Prediction 1: Scottie Scheffler Win Only 4pts - 5/2 With Betfred
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Charles Schwab Challenge Betting Tips:
- Scottie Scheffler Win Only 4pts - 5/2 With Betfred
- Aaron Rai (Each-Way) - 28/1 With Bet365 (Eight Places)
- Alex Smalley (Each-Way) - 75/1 With Bet365 (Eight Places)
- David Lipsky First-Round Leader (Each-Way) - 250/1 With SpreadEx (Six Places)
- Lucas Glover Top 20 - 14/5 With SpreadEx
(Odds correct at 12.45pm, 21/5/2025)
Charles Schwab Challenge Odds: Rai Of Hope
Aaron Rai is proving a popular pick this week, but the Englishman can still be backed at 33/1 with Betfred which is offering five places.
The 30-year-old from Wolverhampton is the most accurate player on the PGA Tour this season, finding the fairway 73.13% of the time which will certainly enhance his prospects.
That said, Riley was just inside the top 40 for avoiding the rough last year so perhaps the importance of that statistic has been exaggerated.
However, Rai is strong in many of the other areas that Riley excelled in when he won his first individual event on the PGA Tour such as Strokes Gained: Approach and Tee-to-Green.
He is also inside the top 20 for greens in regulation for which Riley was the third best 12 months ago.
Rai has finished inside the top 30 in three of previous four tournaments, including the USPGA, and his last two visits to Colonial have been a respectable 12th and 32nd.
There are still some dangerous players competing this week like course specialist Jordan Spieth, in-form duo Daniel Berger and Maverick McNealy, but Rai has the opportunity to win his second title should Scheffler start to fade following his Quail Hollow exploits.
Punters can take the 33/1 on Rai, but The Panel are going for the eight places with Bet365 at 28/1 as the next of their Charles Schwab Challenge betting tips.
Charles Schwab Challenge Prediction 2: Aaron Rai (Each-Way) - 28/1 With Bet365 (Eight Places)
(Odds correct at 12.45pm, 21/5/2025)
Charles Schwab Challenge Predictions: Smalley Can Break Drought
Looking further down the field, Alex Smalley may still be waiting to enter the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour, but he catches the eye at 75/1 with betting apps to break his duck.
Smalley has enjoyed a decent few weeks which have seen him gradually inching towards breaking into the world’s top 100.
Top 40 at the Byron Nelson, fifth place at the Myrtle Beach Classic and T28 at the USPGA Championship suggest Smalley is heading in the right direction after a couple of missed cuts in Texas.
What The Panel like about Smalley’s chances is the fact he stands eighth in the SG: Tee-to-Green rankings and he is solid in many of the other measures needed to succeed at Colonial.
Smalley finished inside the top 40 in his first two appearances at Colonial and withdrew last year after an opening-round 78 because of illness.
He can be excused for that blip and hopefully he should go well at a likeable price.
Charles Schwab Challenge Prediction 3: Alex Smalley (Each-Way) - 75/1 With Bet365 (Eight Places)
(Odds correct at 12.45pm, 21/5/2025)
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Charles Schwab Challenge First-Round Leader Tips: Fast Show For Lipsky?
David Lipsky has missed the cut in his last two outings, but he returns to a venue that he clearly loves judging by his last two appearances at Colonial.
The American has improved every year since finishing T48 on his debut, posting 16th in 2023 and ninth 12 months ago.
It’s probably asking too much of the American to win the tournament at 500/1 with Unibet, but he might be worth a dabble in the first-round leader market.
Lipsky was in a tie for seventh after Thursday’s round in 2023 and was only five shots off the lead last year.
Admittedly, it’s been slim pickings from his opening rounds lately, but, at a course he likes, that could change and is worth considering at 250/1 with SpreadEx, which is offering six places.
Charles Schwab Challenge Prediction 4: David Lipsky First-Round Leader (Each-Way) - 250/1 With SpreadEx (Six Places)
Charles Schwab Challenge Top 20 Tips: Glover Fits
The last of The Panel’s Charles Schwab Challenge betting predictions is for Lucas Glover to finish inside the top 20 at 14/5.
Glover finished a respectable 37th at the USPGA and he posted back-to-back top 10s at Sawgrass and Copperhead in March.
One of the most accurate players on the PGA Tour, Glover’s last three visits to Colonial read 8-40-12, so another top 20 does not look beyond this consistent player who ranks well in the SG: Tee-to-Green and Approach metrics.
Charles Schwab Challenge Prediction 5: Lucas Glover Top 20 - 14/5 With SpreadEx
