The PGA Championship is in the books, and it produced the storylines one would expect from a major. Now the PGA Tour rolls on to the Charles Schwab Challenge, which is set to tee of at Colonial Country Club. Although the field is not as strong as last week’s, it provides ample opportunity in the outright market to look at some potential longshots. It is early in the week, but here is a first look at 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge odds.
2023 Charles Schwab Challenge Odds: Sungjae Im Bounce Back
Sungjae Im — 20-1 (DraftKings)
Many thought Im could get in the mix last week, and that did not materialize. He essentially no-showed and was not even close to finding the weekend, never mind competing for his first major. That can happen at a course like Oak Hill, so it is better to look at the bigger picture.
Im came in red hot before last week’s missed cut, with four straight top-20 finishes, including a sixth at THE PLAYERS and a 16th at the Masters. He gains strokes in all categories, but a shorter, technical layout could be where he is most effective. His first PGA Tour win was at the Honda Classic, and Colonial has some similarities in terms of the skillset required. With Scottie Scheffler and a few other big names in the field, there is competition at the top, but Im belongs in consideration this week at 20-1.
Stephan Jaeger — 70-1 (FanDuel)
Historically the winner at Colonial has more overall experience than Jaeger, but the way he is playing keeps him on the card again this week, especially at 70-1.
Jaeger has made a ton of cuts, but he does not have a ton of top-end finishes. He has made 8 of 9 weekends, including last week at Oak Hill, but his best finish over that stretch was 11th at Byron Nelson. There is a simple reason for the lack of upside: Jaeger’s putter has been awful for the majority of 2023. Since January, he has gained strokes putting just once, which is the missing piece to him truly getting in contention. Historically he is not regarded as an awful putter, and that should turn in the near future. Even without putting, Jaeger’s ball striking has been superb, and this is a good setup for his game.
Emiliano Grillo — 100-1 (FanDuel)
It should be no surprise that Emiliano Grillo makes the list as another longshot outright play this week. He is 100-1 on FanDuel, and coming to a course like this allows him to showcase his best skillset. The course at the PGA Championship was too much for Grillo to handle, but that was never going to be a good setup for him anyway. Before that, he finished 23rd at the Wells Fargo and fifth in Mexico, both due to elite iron play.
Grillo was third at this layout in 2018 and eighth in 2021, showing that Colonial gels with how Grillo wants to play. He leans on the ball striking and tries to minimize his occasionally poor around-the-green game and putting. Grillo’s putter is not the issue right now, with positive strokes gained putting in four of his last five. Like Jaeger, it is just a matter of syncing up his irons with his putter, and at this triple-digit outright number, this is a good week to play that.
