Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial
Davis Riley in his new attire and with his new trophy.
Mother Nature overcorrected on the breeze we so desperately wanted the day before at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, sending in wind gusts of upward of 30 mph.
That meant that, in addition to needing extra hair product, the way to victory on Sunday was likely to include some Humpty Dumpty tumbles down the leaderboard.
There would certainly be no dramatic final-round surges.
Davis Riley managed it the best on Colonial’s refurbished track, an initial four-stroke cushion to start the day all he needed to get through the potholes he stepped in on Hogan’s Alley. He was Mr. Steady Eddie, facing down three majors winners, including the world’s No. 1 ranked player, with visions of denying him the Leonard Trophy and a big check.
Riley, 27, looked nothing like a greenhorn in comparison, with little experience closing on Sunday, shooting an even-par 70 and a 14-under-par 72-hole total in winning the $1.6 million top prize, as well as the plaid jacket presented to all champions.
He also won the hottest of hot rods, a fully restored, modernized, and blinged-out 1975 Schwab Corvette Stingray.
Riley, a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native who now plays out of Addison in North Texas, bested Keegan Bradley, who made a last-minute push to get into Riley’s rearview mirror, and two-time Masters champion and gallery favorite Scottie Scheffler by five strokes. Bradley shot 3 under on Sunday, while Scheffler was 1 over.
Right behind them was Colin Morikawa, who was fourth with a 8-under total.
Together, those three players have a combined 22 PGA Tour wins and five majors.
Riley joins Justin Thomas, Dicky Pride, Trey Mullinax, and Jerry Pate, and undoubtedly another I can’t think of, as players from the University of Alabama who have won on the PGA Tour.
He has a PGA Tour victory to his credit, though that was with Nick Hardy in the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a team format. He was edged by Sam Burns in a playoff in the Valspar Championship two years ago.
“It’s super special to get my second win and obviously being so close to where I live now here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” Riley said. “It’s special having countless number of friends and family and obviously winning at such a prestigious event like the Charles Schwab Challenge is truly an honor and I’m stoked.”
By winning, Riley is now eligible for the PGA Tour’s remaining Signature Events.
Riley’s round consisted of four birdies and four bogeys, including a first at No. 2. He got that stroke back at 4, which he immediately gave back at No. 5. A birdie at 9 made him even.
Even par about put him out of reach.
Scheffler scaled the leaderboard on Saturday as if he were the disguised Peter Parker.
The No. 1 player in the world was only a week removed from a run-in with an ambitious, non-Nobel laureate Louisville peace officer and a brief stay in the Hotel Hoosgow.
Colonial’s Horrible Horseshoe took a bite out of him on Sunday.
He recorded two straight bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5. He had another on 10 that about took the air out of any anticipated drama down the stretch before birdies on 13 and 17. He just missed a birdie on No. 9 and lipped a birdie putt on No. 16.
“I just wasn’t able to put as much pressure as I would have hoped to put on Davis early in the round and he just kind of cruised all day,” Scheffler said. “He played great golf. He made that bogey on 2 and answered it really quickly on 4 and didn’t really give us much of an opening.
Riley’s birdie on No. 11 increased the gap to six strokes.
Scheffler spent too much time in places not called a fairway on the front.
“I don’t think I really drove it that poorly,” he said. “The fairways were just pretty challenging to hit out there with how firm it was and windy. It’s tough to keep the ball in play around here.”
Part of the firmness is related to the renovation.
“Obviously, when the grass is new, it’s crazy firm,” Scheffler said. “We’ll see if they’re able to keep it this firm for years to come. Overall, I think the golf course just needs a little bit more time to settle in until we can really judge kind of how the renovations are.”
Missing in Fort Worth were Riley’s parents, who stayed away to be with his older sister, Caroline, 28, who underwent surgery last week to remove a brain tumor, which was found to be benign.
Riley wasn’t even sure he would be here.
“When you have somebody that close to you, all the worst-case scenarios are going through your head,” Riley said. “We actually got some great news early this week. I'm just very fortunate and excited that she was in really good hands and everything is in the right direction.”