Famed PGA Tour tournament venue Colonial Country Club couldn’t have picked a more popular group of players from their field to go low Friday. Almost all of the biggest names playing this Memorial Day weekend in the Charles Schwab Challenge have made the cut and given themselves a chance. That includes world number one, Scottie Scheffler, who fired a five under 65 to get himself in the mix.
What other big name golfers are in contention this weekend?
Scheffler And Spieth, Colonial’s Favorite Sons
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Aside from Scheffler, who moved up 64 spots all the way into a tie for fifteenth, the other local favorite golf son of Texas, Jordan Spieth, moved thirty-eight spots up the leaderboard himself. He’s now in contention in a tie for twenty-fifth after a three-under 67 in the second round. Scheffler and Spieth will tee off in the afternoon within forty-five minutes of one another, ensuring large crowds will be around creating atmosphere all round.
Scheffler will be paired with hot shot Korean youngster Tom Kim, who made a name for himself as a rookie during the 2022 President’s Cup for the International Team. Spieth is playing one group in front of Collin Morikawa, who is tied with Scheffler in fifteenth. The three multiple major winners were amongst the main advertising draws for ‘Colonial’ coming into the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge.
International star Adam Scott is also T15. The former Masters Champion has won at Colonial before.
Who Is Leading At Colonial?
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Leading the tournament is third year pro, Davis Riley, who shot a bogey free 64 to take the lead alone by two shots on Friday. Riley is currently at ten under par. It has been a rough year overall for Davis, who missed six cuts in his first nine starts of the season. With his only win coming in the 2023 Zurich Classic, a team event he won with Nick Hardy, Riley will look to win his first solo PGA Tour event this weekend.
Trailing Riley at eight under are two unheralded young players. Third year pro Hayden Buckley’s best career finish was a runner up at the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii. And second-year man Pierceson Coody has yet to record a single top 10 thus far in his young career. The 24-year-old hails from nearby Plano, Texas. He’s sure to garner significant support from the Fort Worth gallery should he find himself in contention come Sunday evening.
Pierceson is the grandson of 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody, who was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
Big Names Giving Chase At Colonial
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Positioned just behind the inexperienced leaders are a plethora of well-known tour pros and major champions. The top 15 on the leaderboard all enter the weekend within seven shots of the lead. Amongst them are seven major champions and a few others with multiple PGA Tour wins. The closest amongst them is 2011 PGA Championship winner, Keegan Bradley, who is tied for fourth at six under par.
2023 Open Championship winner, Brian Harman, is currently tied for seventh at five under. The other major champions and multi-tournament winners in the top fifteen are Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar and major winners Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Scheffler, Scott and Morikawa. Fan favorite Rickie Fowler is also still in the mix, currently at one-under and tied for thirtieth.
Weather is threatening to play a factor this weekend. Fortunately, Monday is Memorial Day, so a holiday finish might work in the tournament’s favor.
About The Author
Eric Colton is a former Hollywood screenwriter turned sports columnist. With several feature-length screenplays to his credit and 3 short films written and produced, Colton is a respected writer in film and television. His recent move to sports writing is based on his life-long love affair with sports. Growing up outside of Detroit, he’s die-hard for all of the hometown teams. With over 20 years of fantasy sports experience, he’s well-versed in the intricacies of many sports. And with the premier athletes of their respective sports. Colton’s voice is one filled with positivity, directness and humor. He loves to write and does so at a ‘stream-of-consciousness’ pace.
