2025 Charles Schwab Challenge leaderboard: Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler climb in Round 3 at Colonial

Scheffler shot the round of the day to move into the top 10 and within striking distance of the leaders at Colonial

Players were met with windy conditions when they arrived at Colonial Country Club on Saturday for the third round of the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge. As winds swirled, the field was faced with quite the challenge, and no one rose to the occasion better than world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. 

After narrowly making the cut at 1 under, Scheffler charged up the leaderboard with a red-hot start as he was 7 under thru 11 holes, combining his normal brilliance as a ball-striker with some incredible scrambling and escapism. 

Scottie made par from where?! 😳

The No. 1 player in the world and an escape artist.

(Presented by @CDWCorp) pic.twitter.com/Bw72fF0aEC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 24, 2025

Scheffler couldn't maintain that torrid pace and went on a bit of a rollercoaster ride to close out his round, making three bogeys and two birdies over his final six holes, but he got into the clubhouse with a 64 that moved him up 42 spots on the leaderboard into T7 going into Sunday. That's six off the lead established and maitained by Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid. 

After Griffin and Schmid both got off to fast starts with birdies on the first three holes it looked like Scheffler's effort might be in vain. However, the two stalled out from there while battling blustery conditions, unable to put any further distance between themselves and the field. Both Griffin and Schmid shot Saturday 68s to remain the co-leaders at 13 under.

Lucky for them, their two closest competitors both went backwards on Moving Day as John Pak and Chris Gotterup each shot rounds in the 70s to move out of contention. That helped keep a healthy cushion between Griffin and Schmid and the rest of the field.

Their four-stroke lead is held over Rickie Fowler, who continued a strong week with a 67 that featured four birdies and one bogey. 

Rickie Fowler with his second birdie through two holes at Colonial. 📈👀

📺 Golf Channel | @CSChallengeFW pic.twitter.com/t2AJRyeRYw

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 24, 2025

Fowler hasn't won on the PGA Tour since the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic, but he has given himself a chance going into Sunday. After his round, he spoke about feeling close with his game but not seeing the results he's wanted to until this week. 

"It's definitely been awhile. Everything's been close for awhile, it's nice to finally start to see some good stuff come up, cause like I said it hasn't been very far off," Fowler said. "Looking forward to [Sunday], always love playing Colonial and have enjoyed this week, so yeah, we'll have some fun out there." 

That'll be a good attitude to have for Fowler, who will get to be part of the final group with Griffin and Schmid as he tries to erase a four-shot deficit and capture his seventh career win on the PGA Tour. 

The leaders

1. Ben Griffin, Matti Schmid (-13): While they were aiming to put real distance between themselves and on the field after opening birdie-birdie-birdie, both Griffin and Schmid did what was necessary: post rounds in the 60s and not fall back to the field. Both had some shaky stretches of play but were able to avoid true disaster overall. Griffin made a double bogey on No. 5 and followed it up with a bogey on No. 6, but he bounced back with birdies on Nos. 9 and 10 to steady the ship. Schmid had the lead alone until the 17th when he drove it left and had to punch out, but he was able to save bogey with a 13-foot putt to maintain a share of the lead. 

Schmid continues to lead the field in strokes gained putting at an incredible 9 shots gained on the greens this week. Griffin, meanwhile, has been incredibly steady with top-15 rankings in every strokes gained category. We'll have to see how they hold up on Sunday as they look to breakthrough for their first individual wins on the PGA Tour -- Griffin's lone win was in the team event at the Zurich Classic earlier this year alongside Andrew Novak. 

Other contenders

3. Rickie Fowler (-9)
T4. Robert MacIntyre, Nick Hardy, Akshay Bhatia (-8)
T7. Scottie Scheffler, Andrew Novak, Kurt Kitayama (-7)

With the leaders at 13 under, anything beyond the top 10 right now feels like too far back to have much of a chance. Even for these players, they'll need something special Sunday (and probably some help from the leaders), but each has proven to be capable of that this week. Fowler has gone 64-67 across the middle 36 holes to move into solo 3rd; he will be able to apply pressure from the final group alongside Schmid and Griffin. 

MacIntyre matched Scheffler for the round of the day with a 64 to make the leap into contention; he will need another round like that to have a chance at his third career win. Hardy had it to 9 under before a late bogey dropped him back into the group at 8 under. He has been incredibly steady so far this week but will need to find another gear to get a win. Bhatia got to 10 under after a birdie at No. 11, but three bogeys and a birdie from No. 14 to No. 17 dropped him back to five off the pace of the leaders. Novak, likewise, got to 10 under when he left the par-5 11th, but he closed with three bogeys in his final six holes to fall back into T7. 

And then there's Scheffler, the boogeyman on this leaderboard. If he can get hot early Sunday and move within a couple shots of the leaders, that will suddenly put a lot more pressure on them to execute. He showed Saturday that he can go on a tear on the first 11 holes at Colonial, and anything close to a repeat performance of that in the final round will create some real drama if the leaders have to stare at his name climbing the board. 

2025 Charles Schwab Challenge updated odds, picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

• Ben Griffin (11/10)
• Matti Schmid (2-1)
• Scottie Scheffler (12-1)
• Rickie Fowler (16-1)
• Robert MacIntyre (22-1)
• Akshay Bhatia (25-1)

At this point, if you're betting on anyone other than Griffin and Schmid, you're banking on not just a great round of golf from whoever you pick but also both of the leaders backing up. That's certainly in the cards if the wind and the nerves pick up. Qhile Scheffler is tempting, six shots feels like too many even for him. Fowler would be my pick of anyone chasing, but this likely ends up being Schmid's week just because of how incredibly well he's putting. To sustain this kind of heater on the greens for three days is pretty incredible, and his feel on these greens will end up being the difference. 

[May 24, 2025 at 5:41 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

There are some heavy hearts this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, as Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Grayson Murray. 

During the third-round broadcast Saturday, CBS Sports' Jim Nantz paid tribute to Murray, offered a remembrance of the emotional weekend from last year and highlighted his family making a donation to the Ben Hogan Foundation that provides mental health services in Murray's honor. 

Read more below: 

WATCH: Jim Nantz pays tribute to Grayson Murray on one-year anniversary of his tragic death

Robby Kalland

[May 24, 2025 at 5:32 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Matti Schmid birdies the 16th to reclaim a one-shot lead

It has been a grind of a back nine for the leaders, but Schmid has finally put his first birdie on the card since the 3rd hole with a birdie on No. 16 to move back to 14 under. 

That pushes him one shot clear of Ben Griffin and five clear of Rickie Fowler and Akshay Bhatia in third at -9. Schmid continues to do his damage on the greens, ranking first in strokes gained putting for the week, picking up more than 9 shots on the field with his flat stick. 

[May 24, 2025 at 4:40 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid tied at 13 under with five to play

After Schmid bogeyed the par-5 11th, he slipped back into a tie for first with Griffin at 13 under. Both are 2 under for their round, opening the door a bit for some of the chase pack to get a bit closer, but on a challenging afternoon in windy conditions, no one has been able to get closer than Akshay Bhatia at 10 under currently. 

It'll be a grind to the finish on Saturday as swirling winds continue to create problems for players at Colonial, but with the leaders stalling out there could be an opening for someone to get into the mix. On the other hand, if Griffin and/or Schmid can find a couple birdies late, they may have an opportunity to separate from the pack and create a cushion going to the final round. 

[May 24, 2025 at 3:42 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Matti Schmid's lead down to 1 on the back 9 over Ben Griffin

After a hot start with birdies on the first three holes, Schmid has been on the par train for the last seven holes at Colonial Country Club, failing to extend his lead over Ben Griffin. Griffin bounced back from a mid-round disaster with a double bogey at No. 5 and bogey at No. 6 to birdie the 9th and 10th holes and get back to 13 under, just one behind. 

No one has closed the gap any further than four behind Griffin, as it remains a two-man breakaway at the top. Rickie Fowler, Akshay Bhatia and Emiliano Grillo have all moved to -9 for the tournament, but they'll need to close with a few more birdies if they want to apply significant pressure to the lead duo going into Sunday. 

[May 24, 2025 at 2:32 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler shoots a 6-under 64 to move to 7 under for the tournament

It may be too little too late, but Scottie Scheffler finally got it going at Colonial Country Club on Saturday with a 6-under 64 that moved him inside the top 10 when he walked off the 18th green. 

It looked like it could be a really special round for Scheffler when he eagled the par-5 11th to get to -7 thru 11, but back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 derailed things for a bit. He'd get those two back with birdies on the 16th and 17th, but finished with a bogey on No. 18 to complete an eventful back nine. 

Had he been able to post -9 or -10, he would've been a genuine threat going into Sunday, but those late stumbles on the back nine will likely keep him from being able to catch the leaders barring something wild happening over the next 26 hours. Still, after a pair of lackluster rounds to open his tournament, Scheffler seems to have found something on Saturday and perhaps he can create something special in the final round. 

[May 24, 2025 at 2:22 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Ben Griffin doubles No. 5, gives Matti Schmid solo two-shot lead

The final hole of the Horrible Horseshoe bit one of the co-leaders, as Ben Griffin went from trouble to bigger trouble on the par-4 5th leading to a double bogey. 

Griffin pulled his tee shot left into the rough and had tree trouble, forcing him to try and hit a sweeping hook to get it up by the green. Instead he blocked it out right and into the hazard that runs down the right side of the fairway. After a search by all three players in the group and a number of volunteers came up empty, Griffin had to drop for his third and hit his fourth from the right rough. He was unable to get that up-and-in for bogey and ended up with a double-bogey 6 to drop back to 12 under, two back of Matti Schmid who made a solid par to remain at 14 under and now has the lead alone. 

[May 24, 2025 at 1:46 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Matti Schmid and Ben Griffin both start their rounds with three straight birdies

Any hopes that the co-leaders would help the rest of the field by backing up some on Saturday seem to have been dashed early, as both Schmid and Griffin have come out with their A-game in the third round. They have both gone birdie-birdie-birdie on the opening three holes at Colonial Country Club to extend their co-lead from two to five early on Saturday afternoon. 

It certainly seems like anyone that hopes to catch them and be in the mix on Sunday is going to have to put together something spectacular today, because neither seems to be feeling the nerves of being in the lead. 

[May 24, 2025 at 1:11 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Andrew Novak rockets up the leaderboard with 5 birdies in his first 6 holes

Novak has been one of the most consistently competitive players on the PGA Tour this season and after treading water on Friday, he has come out of the gates firing on Saturday. Novak birdied five of the first six holes at Colonial (including two-thirds of the Horrible Horseshoe) to move into a tie for second place at 9 under for the tournament, two behind the leaders at 11 under. Even with winds blowing on Saturday, it appears the course is going to offer up the opportunity for really low scores, and Novak is on pace for an incredible round early. 

[May 24, 2025 at 12:49 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler catches fire to join the top 5; cools off with back-to-back bogeys

The players at the top of the leaderboard at Colonial were hoping for a weekend free from the stress of seeing Scottie Scheffler's name lurking with menace. Unfortunately for them (and fortunately for us watching at home), Scheffler is suddenly tied for fourth, just three shots off the lead after a 7 under start to his round after just 11 holes. 

He made four birdies and no bogeys on his front nine and kept that heater going on the back side by opening birdie-eagle, managing to not only get on in two on the 637-yard par-5, but hitting his approach inside 15 feet from the pin to set up his eagle. 

However, for as great as Scheffler played his opening 11 holes, his progress quickly got derailed on Nos. 12 and 13 where back-to-back birdies dropped him back to 5 under for the day and 6 under for the tournament. That's still solid work and there are opportunities to get a couple more coming in, but with the scoring that seems to be out there, he needed something truly special to really be in the mix come Sunday. 

[May 24, 2025 at 11:38 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Spieth, Scheffler both off to strong starts to their third round 

The two star Texans weren't expecting to have tee times early Saturday morning, but after narrowly making the cut, they were among those setting the pace early in the third round. 

Jordan Spieth is 14 holes into his third round and has moved from even to 3 under with a very solid round of golf so far, opening with an eagle on the first. After struggling on the greens in the first two rounds, Spieth has made 57 feet of putts so far on Saturday and is 8th in the early wave in strokes gained putting. 

Scottie Scheffler began his day an hour after Spieth, and is likewise off to a strong start to his Saturday at 3 under thru 7 holes, as he birdied his first two holes of the day. Scheffler is now into the top 20 and if he can get hot on the back nine (which has played much easier this week at Colonial) perhaps he can put his name into the mix going into Sunday's final round. 

[May 24, 2025 at 10:06 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Winds are up early on Moving Day at Colonial

After getting great scoring conditions on Friday, players were greeted by blustery winds when they arrived at Colonial Country Club for Saturday's third round. 

That hasn't kept guys from getting off to strong starts, as Lucas Glover is -4 thru 8 thanks to an eagle from the fairway at the 6th and a number of players including Jordan Spieth are 2 under on the front nine early. Still, with winds whipping, the afternoon wave is going to face some challenging conditions and the leaders are going to have to be crisp with their ball-striking to navigate what looks like it will be a windy day in Texas.