Friday’s second round at the Charles Schwab Challenge produced much better scoring as winds laid down and the greens seemed a bit more receptive, allowing players to attack more pins and create more birdie opportunities.
After John Pak’s opening round 7-under 63 put him three clear of the field, Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid matched him for low round of the tournament with 63s of their own on Friday to leap Pak on the leaderboard and move into a tie for first at 11 under. Griffin had a solid start to his day with a 32 on the back nine (his first nine), but he really got it going as he made the turn to the front, making three straight birdies to surge up the leaderboard. He ended his day with a birdie on No. 9 to post 63 and, at the time, sat alone in the lead.
Schmid went bogey-free on his day, steadily climbing the board with each of his seven birdies until he matched Griffin for the low round of the day and the 36-hole lead. Pak, to his credit, hung in all day and is just two back of the lead after a gutty 68 that included a birdie at the 18th to move into solo third.
Among those in the chase group is Rickie Fowler, who moved himself into contention going into the weekend with a Friday 64 to move into the top 10 at 6 under for the week. Fowler did all of his damage on his first nine holes; he went off No. 10 and got scalding hot to shoot 29 on the back side of Colonial. While he cooled off on the front to shoot an even-par 35 on his way back in, his red-hot putting to start the day was enough to put him in position five back of the lead with a chance to compete for the win this weekend.
Joining Fowler at 6 under is Tommy Fleetwood, who posted his second straight 67 with another solid round of golf. Those two are the top names in contention going to the weekend, but the two biggest stars in the field both barely made it to the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler looked flat again on Friday, shooting a 1-over 71, including a particularly rough 37 on the much more forgiving back nine (his first nine). That put him one shot inside the cut line at 1 under and 10 off the lead of Griffin and Schmid going into the weekend. That feels like too much of a deficit to make up in his quest for a third straight win on the PGA Tour. He simply cannot make anything of significance on the greens so far at Colonial (his longest made putt on Friday was a 6-footer).
Jordan Spieth also struggled to get anything going on Friday, likewise shooting 71 to make the cut on the number at even par. The 2016 champion of this event has, like Scheffler, struggled to find his feel for the greens at Colonial this week (he is 117th in the field in strokes gained putting). He did pour one long birdie putt in on the 10th that proved incredibly important to get him to the weekend, however.
The leaders
1. Ben Griffin, Matti Schmid (-11)
The two co-leaders took different routes to the top of the leaderboard. Griffin leaned on a balanced, strong all-around performance to move into the lead, ranking in the top 11 of strokes gained on approach, around the green and putting. Schmid, meanwhile, is getting it done off the tee and on the greens, riding a red-hot putter to the top. He’s first in putting with an outrageous 6.675 strokes gained on the greens.
With a three-shot advantage on the rest of the field, if either of them can put something in the mid-60s on the board on Saturday, they will be able to position themselves as the favorite to get their first individual PGA Tour win — Griffin won the Zurich Classic earlier this year with Andrew Novak. Griffin’s profile suggests he’s more likely to sustain through the weekend, but if Schmid can keep the putter warm for the next two days, he certainly will give himself a chance.
Other contenders
3. John Pak (-9)
4. Chris Gotterup (-8)
T5. Akshay Bhatia, Ryo Hisatsune (-7)
T7. Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Doug Ghim, Emiliano Grillo, Brice Garnett, J.J. Spaun (-6)
Pak couldn’t keep up the same incredible scoring pace from Thursday, but he still played nicely and is looking for his best career finish on the PGA Tour. Pak got it to 10 under early in his round, fading a bit in the middle but finishing strong with a birdie on the last. Still, he’s in the mix going to the weekend which is a positive step, and perhaps the Knicks can give him more motivation going into Saturday’s third round.
Gotterup kept his card clean on Friday to shoot a 5-under 65 and move up into a tie for third, and he’s top 10 in both approach play and putting this week, which is the combination you want around Colonial. Bhatia and Hisatsune continued their solid play this week with a 66 and 67, respectively. Bhatia is rolling it well this week, and if he can straighten it out off the tee just a touch on the weekend he figures to be a real threat out of this chase pack. Hisatsune also continues to put himself in contention at tournaments. He’s got three top 10s already this season and is looking for that breakthrough win this weekend.
Fowler and Fleetwood will be the headliners of the chasers, with Fowler hoping to stay hot on the greens after his sensational start to Friday. Fleetwood has been steady but looks like he’ll need at least one round where he finds a bit more than he’s producing right now if he’s going to finally get that first PGA Tour win this week. Spaun’s excellent season continues, and he’s looking to not just pick up another strong result, but to put more points on the board when it comes to his Ryder Cup candidacy (currently 11th).
Notable players who missed the cut
- Aaron Rai (+1)
- Mackenzie Hughes (+1)
- Tom Hoge (+1)
- Daniel Berger (+2)
- Jake Knapp (+2)
- Davis Riley (+2)
- Maverick McNealy (+4)
- Joel Dahmen (+5)
- Jhonattan Vegas (+5)
- Joe Highsmith (+5)
- Jacob Bridgeman (+8)
The cut line looked like it’d end up at -1 after the morning wave finished, but it dropped back to even par to bring 79 players, including Jordan Spieth, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim and Brian Harman all at E, into the weekend. That still left some big names and past champions outside the cut line, including last year’s winner at Colonial, Davis Riley.
2025 Charles Schwab Challenge updated odds, picks
Odds via BetMGM
- Ben Griffin (2-1)
- Matti Schmid (4-1)
- Akshay Bhatia (14-1)
- Chris Gotterup (14-1)
- Tommy Fleetwood (14-1)
- Ryo Hisatsune (20-1)
- J.J. Spaun (22-1)
- John Pak (30-1)
Griffin and Schmid have separated from the pack, and with few of the top stars near the top of the leaderboard, it’s no surprise to see those two as the clear favorites on the odds sheet. Griffin is the one of those two I trust to stay near the top, but I do think there’s a chance for someone to make a charge from behind. I’m sticking with Bhatia as my pick from the chase pack to make things interesting going into Sunday, and think there’s still some value there at 14-1.