The PGA TOUR announced the field for the Charles Schwab Challenge, starting today at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, marking the TOUR’s return to competition after a 12-week hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 148-player field includes each of the top-five players in the Official World Golf Ranking, highlighted by defending FedExCup champion and World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, FedExCup leader Sungjae Im, and a total of 101 PGA TOUR winners, led by 44-time winner Phil Mickelson and defending champion Kevin Na.
With 101 winners in the field, the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge becomes the first tournament in the FedExCup era other than THE PLAYERS Championship to showcase 100 or more TOUR winners. Only 47 players in the field will have an opportunity to win their first PGA TOUR title – a feat only Sergio Garcia (2001) has accomplished at Colonial Country Club since 1990.
This is the first time in the OWGR era (1986-present) that all five of the top five players in the OWGR are in the field at the Charles Schwab Challenge. The last time it happened on TOUR was earlier this season at The Genesis Invitational.
Jon Rahm (No. 2) has made three starts at the Charles Schwab Challenge, earning top-five results in 2017 (T2) and 2018 (T5). No. 3 Brooks Koepka also owns a runner-up in his lone start at the event, finishing second in 2018 after shooting a pair of 63s in the second and final rounds. McIlroy and World No. 4 Justin Thomas, who are also both in the top five in the FedExCup standings, are making their tournament debuts.
Both Koepka and World No. 5 Dustin Johnson are currently outside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings after missing significant time at the start of the season due to injuries (Koepka/213, Johnson/111).
FedExCup leader and 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im will make his 15th start of the season. Im, one of nine players in the field currently ranked in the top 10 of the FedExCup standings, won The Honda Classic and finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard in the last two events completed before the season was suspended.
Two-time Charles Schwab Challenge champion Phil Mickelson, who won the event in 2000 and 2008, leads the field with 44 career wins on TOUR.
When the PGA TOUR released schedule adjustments for the remainder of the 2019-20 season on April 16, it was announced that the field size for the Charles Schwab Challenge had expanded from 120 to 144. However, winners of the event prior to 2000 who are not otherwise eligible are added to the starting field of 144. There are four such players in the field.
The Charles Schwab Challenge, originally slated for May 18-24 will be the first PGA TOUR tournament played since the season was suspended following THE PLAYERS Championship, which was canceled after the first round. The event will be played in accordance with strict health and safety guidelines and without spectators on-site.
To honor those fighting the pandemic, players’ caddie bibs will feature names of local frontline workers alongside the players’ names. The 148 players in the Charles Schwab Challenge field will represent 148 different frontline workers from across North Texas who have been working tirelessly since the pandemic began – often at the risk of their own personal health and safety – to meet the needs of those most directly impacted in the Fort Worth area.
The Charles Schwab Challenge is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, June 11, and will conclude Sunday, June 14, with coverage in the United States available on Golf Channel and CBS. Additionally, PGA TOUR LIVE, the PGA TOUR’s Over-The-Top subscription service, can be viewed via subscription on NBC Sports Gold (www.nbcsports.com/pgatour) and Amazon Prime Video Channels (amazon.com/video/pgatourlive). Audio coverage is also available on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (Sirius 208, XM 92), and streams free via PGATOUR.COM (pgatour.com/liveaudio) as well as the TOUR’s official iPhone, iPad and Android apps.
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