"The course needs more time to settle in" - Scottie Scheffler evaluates the Colonial's renovation after his Charles Schwab Challenge loss

Scottie Scheffler finished as the runner-up at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge. The tournament was held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, from May 23 to 26.

This is Scottie Scheffler's second runner-up finish in the 2024 season. He also finished runner-up in the Texas Children's Houston Open to Stephan Jaeger by one stroke. However, the margin was bigger at Colonial as he was five strokes behind David Riley.

The Colonial Golf Course has recently got a $20 million renovation. Scheffler was asked about his opinion on the renovation after the tournament. He admitted that the course was difficult (via Ten Golf):

"The golf course was playing really firm today. Number one the Fairway is not super wide and with how windy it was, Davis, I felt like his ball was no more than 10 yards right of my ball and his ball's in the rough and I hit it right down my line and my ball's also in the rough maybe eight yards left where he hit it, off the first hole." (1:07)

Scottie Scheffler further said that the new grass has made the course extremely firm and wondered if the course would be able to maintain its firmness in the latter years. He said that it would take a few years for the course to settle in.

The World No. 1 golfer also appreciated the renovations. He said:

"It's challenging, we'll see how it plays in the next couple of years as the golf course settles in. Obviously when the grass is new, it's crazy firm....overall the golf course needs more time to settle in." (1:26)

"But overall I was pleased that they didn't remove too many of the trees and eliminate some of the character from the golf course. I think a lot of the character of the course is still intact. And so we'll see in the next couple years as the greens kind of settle in." (1:42)

Scheffler also said that the new greens are a bit mounded which causes unusual ball behavior. However, he felt that the first year was a good test of skills for the golfers at the newly renovated Colonial Golf Course.

Course designer Gil Hanse led the renovation along with his business partner, Jim Wagner. They were tasked to finish the renovations before this year's tournament. The PGA Tour website states that the intended renovation usually takes 18 months but Hanse and the team were tasked to finish the work in a year.

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How did Scottie Scheffler perform at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge?

Scottie Scheffler finished with an overall score of 9-under 271 after four rounds. However, Scheffler didn't have a comfortable start. He was positioned at T79 after his 2-over 72 in the first round including a triple bogey. There were questions if he'd be able to make it to the weekend.

However, Scheffler carded 5-under 65 in the second round and took a big jump in the leaderboard. Scheffler's bogey-free 7-under 63 in the third round was sensational and the lowest score in any round at the Colonial Country Club this year. He was four strokes behind Riley going into the final day.

However, Scottie Scheffler's performance on the fourth day wasn't enough to win him the title. He scored three bogeys and two birdies to finish 1-over 71. He finished tied for the second position with Keegan Bradley.

David Riley won with a margin of five strokes after an overall score of 14-under 266. He won $1,638,000 of the total 9.1 million prize money doled out.