2026 Charles Schwab Challenge leaderboard: Hideki Matsuyama in the hunt after round 2
Colonial Country Club can be one of the tightest scoring venues on the PGA Tour, but with less wind and a soft golf course after rain this week, low scores were on the menu at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Two of the last four winners at Colonial have finished in single digits under par, but that won’t be the case this week with friendly conditions in Fort Worth, Texas. The leader is at 10 under and Friday’s second round saw the line cut to 3 under, the lowest total at the event since 1983. Players have had to adopt a more aggressive mindset in the first two rounds than Colonial allowed.
Among those who answered that call best was Hideki Matsuyama. The 11-time PGA Tour champion moved into a tie for second at 9 under after shooting a 5-under 65 on Friday afternoon. Matsuyama, as usual, did a lot of damage with his irons, but his short game and putting matched his first game well in his week.
Matsuyama flashed his international hands — or, in this case, hand — on the 14th to go uphill to match a chip from an awkward lie above the bunker.
Matsuyama has the most career wins of anyone in the field this week at Colonial, and after a heartbreaking loss earlier this season at the WM Phoenix Open, he has put himself in position to challenge for win number 12 this weekend in Fort Worth.
The forecast says that the winds should slow down on Saturday, but it is not expected to really blow this week, which means that Matsuyama and the other leaders will need to bend their legs if they want to win. Due to the quality conditions, the leaderboard is incredibly tight with the leader just seven shots off the cut line, and that will mean many players who made it through the weekend will feel they have a real shot at winning.
The leader
1. Jordan Smith (-10)
The man they are all chasing heading into Saturday is Jordan Smith, who has put together back-to-back 65s to start the week and become the first to reach double figures under the division. The 33-year-old Englishman is in his first full season on the PGA Tour and was in contention earlier this season, finishing third at the Valspar Championship. He will try to hold on and capture his first win on the PGA Tour this weekend, showing an impressive performance so far this week, gaining strokes in all four stages of the match through two rounds. He will need to continue that momentum if he is to hold off a chase pack of solid veterans and up-and-coming stars.
Rivals of the weekend
T2. Hideki Matsuyama, Brian Harman, Ryan Gerard, Michael Thorbjornsen (-9)
T6. Russell Henley, JJ Spaun, Akshay Bhatia, Alex Smalley (-8)
T10. AJ Ewart, Michael Brennan, Mackenzie Hughes, Brice Garnett, Mac Meissner (-7)
T15. Ludvig Åberg, Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley and seven others (-6)
T33. Justin Thomas and 14 others (-4)
In a tournament that doesn’t boast the deepest field of the season, the cream rose to the top in two rounds of play. Joining Matsuyama for the second share is another former major winner in Harman and rising stars in Gerard and Thorbjornsen. Gerard has one career win at the Barracuda but is still searching for his first full field win, while Thorbjornsen is still looking for his Tour victory.
Bhatia and Spaun are the only players in the top 10 to win on the PGA Tour this season and will try to do the double this weekend. Henley hasn’t had the year he’s been hoping for at this point, but he could change that quickly if he can back up a strong 66-66 start by cashing in on his sixth career win. Smalley is full of confidence after his T2 finish at the PGA Championship and can look to build on that good experience this weekend at the Fort Worth event.
Åberg entered the church as the favorite and after a putter change put himself in a strong position going into the weekend, but he will need to find that extra gear if he is to get his third career win. Thomas will need something special over the weekend to take part in the win, but he will have the chance to arrive early on Saturday to go out and post a low number before the leaders leave.
AJ Ewart won the “most improved” award from Thursday to Friday, firing a tournament-best 70-opening 7-under 63 to jump into contention — with help from this ace on the 16th.
Notable players who missed the cut
- Pierceson Coody (-2)
- Brandt Snedeker (-2)
- Tony Finau (E)
- Harry Hall (+2)
- Rickie Fowler (+3)
- Max Greyserman (+5)
- Sungjae Im (+6)
The cut line at 3 under isn’t very forgiving, and while many of the top names in the field are moving up the leaderboard this week, there have been some surprising early exits. Fowler is probably the biggest surprise of all, as a back nine 42 saw him tumble from 4 under and in the hunt to 3 over and Friday’s flight home quickly. Maybe I’m out of gas this week after spending last week at TPC Craig Ranch and I’ll have a few days off after two tough rounds of play in Fort Worth.
Updated 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge odds, picks
- Hideki Matsuyama (7-1)
- Russell Henley (15/2)
- Jordan Smith (15/2)
- Brian Harman (19/2)
- JJ Spaun (10-1)
- Michael Thorbjornsen (10-1)
- Alex Smalley (12-1)
- Ryan Gerard (12-1)
- Akshay Bhatia (15-1)
- Ludwig Åberg (15-1)
Matsuyama would be my pick Gerard is an impressive 12-1 from being just one shot back, and perhaps Åberg at 15-1, almost twice his opening odds, is in a better position to win the chase than to try to hold on to the lead.
