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From left: Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim and Brian Harman. USA TODAY Sports photos

Golf best bets: Outright picks for the Charles Schwab Challenge

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated 5/20/24

If you rode our PGA Championship outrights, you were just as irate as we were when Xander Schauffele made his birdie putt on the 72nd hole to ruin our Bryson DeChambeau +2800 ticket. DeChambeau tied the previous major championship scoring record at -20, so we can't be too upset about the result. Still hurts.

The PGA Tour rolls on to Colonial Country Club this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge, and many of the top challengers at Valhalla are making the short trek from Kentucky to Texas. Let's target three outright bets for the Charles Schwab Challenge and hope for a better result than DeChambeau's runner-up finish.

Brian Harman (+4500 FanDuel)

Valhalla is a massive golf course made for bombers, so it's encouraging that Brian Harman finished T26 despite ranking 157th on the PGA Tour in driving distance. The veteran is much more suited for Colonial, which measures only 7,200 yards and emphasizes driving accuracy, approach play and putting.

Harman ranked 12th in the field at the PGA Championship in strokes gained on approach, and he's now improved his iron play in three straight starts since his missed cut at the Masters. In 11 career starts at Colonial, Harman has eight top-30 finishes and three top-10s. We know he's still an elite putter and an accurate driver of the golf ball, so if his irons stay hot, this is the perfect spot for him to contend and possibly pick up a win.

Si Woo Kim (+4000 BetMGM)

Si Woo Kim is a master at shorter, positional golf courses that demand accuracy off the tee and on approach. The South Korean ranks fifth on the PGA Tour this year in driving accuracy, ninth in strokes gained on approach and fourth in strokes gained from tee to green. Three of his four wins on Tour have come on similar point-and-shoot golf courses.

The issue for Kim, as it's always been, is his putting. He's lost strokes on the green in 10 of his 14 starts this season and six of his seven career starts at Colonial. That's why he's always a scary outright bet, but Kim can go low on this golf course if he just has a mediocre putting week. We'll take a chance on that high ceiling.

Tom Kim (+6000 FD)

Speaking of short-course experts, let's finish off our outright card with Tom Kim.

Kim already has three wins in his young PGA Tour career, and they all came on similar golf courses to Colonial. He's such a big price this week because he hasn't looked good to start the year, but his best recent finish came with a T18 at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, another short, tree-lined course.

Kim has the perfect combination of driving accuracy, strong iron play and putting to compete at Colonial. He has the skillset to win this tournament in his first appearance.

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