Opinion & Analysis

Hot & Cold: Where strokes were won and lost at the Charles Schwab Challenge

Published

7 years ago

May 28, 2019

In “Hot & Cold,” we’ll be focusing each week on what specific areas of the game players excelled and disappointed in throughout the previous tournament. On Sunday, Kevin Na grabbed his third win on the PGA Tour, and here’s a look at where some of the most notable players gained and lost strokes over the four days of action at Colonial CC.

Hot

Kevin Na held off the chasing pack on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and it was his work with the irons all week that paved the way for his third win on the PGA Tour. Na led the field for strokes gained: approaching the green in Texas, gaining 8.3 strokes over the field in this department. Check out the clubs Kevin Na used to win the Charles Schwab Challenge in our WITB piece here.

Nick Watney has been in the wilderness for quite some time, but last week at Colonial CC gave the biggest indication in recent times that the 38-year-old isn’t done just yet. Watney not only led the field last week for strokes gained: tee to green, but he did so by some margin. Watney gained 12.4 strokes tee to green in Texas, three more than Na who was second best in this area. That number represents Watney’s career-best performance tee to green; unfortunately, a miserable week on the greens where he lost four strokes prevented the American from getting into the thick of things on Sunday.

Jordan Spieth was at it again on the greens at Colonial CC, leading the field strokes gained putting for the second successive week. The 25-year-old gained 7.5 strokes over the field with the flat-stick, and he unsurprisingly heads to the Memorial this week as the best putter in the field over the last 24 rounds.

Cold

Francesco Molinari endured a frustrating week at Colonial CC finishing T53, and it was with his irons that the Italian struggled the most. Molinari lost 4.2 strokes for his approach play, which is surprising considering that he had come into the event with positive numbers in this area in four of his last five tournaments.

Bryson DeChambeau suffered an early exit at the Charles Schwab Challenge, with his play off the tee proving very costly. DeChambeau lost 4.2 strokes off the tee at Colonial CC, which is comfortably his worst performance of his career thus far in this department. The 25-year-old had entered the event having gained strokes off the tee in 14 of his last 15 events.

Rickie Fowler missed the cut for the first time this year, with his trusty putter letting him down at Colonial CC. For the first time since January, Fowler lost strokes on the greens, dropping 2.5 strokes to the field with the flat-stick in Texas. Those poor two days with the putter meant it was the first early exit at a tournament on the PGA Tour for the 30-year-old since the Players in 2018.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

1 week ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.