The 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, was brought to a halt after intervention from the PGA Tour. They suspended the first round at 4.15pm local time owing to a “dangerous weather situation.” Gary Woodland drained a birdie putt just as the horn sounded to halt play.
Four players were sitting at -6 (Ryan Gerard after Andrew Putnam 18 holes, Tom Kim and Erik van Rooyen after 17) and leading the field when proceedings were paused. Several high-profile names, including Rory McIlroy, were absent from the tournament that Justin Thomas describes as falling during a gruelling stretch of the calendar.
A group of 10 players sat at -5 through their opening rounds, a cluster that included 2025 US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Woodland and 2025 US Open champion JJ Spaun.
Although the initial post from the PGA Tour indicated the Charles Schwab Challenge had been “suspended,” play resumed roughly two hours later, at around 6.20pm.
A number of notable names were conspicuous by their absence from the 2026 edition of this lucrative event, which boasts a total prize fund of £7.3million, with £1.2 million awarded to the winner.
Recent champions, among them Ben Griffin, Davis Riley and Emiliano Grillo, are considered the PGA Tour’s most recognisable faces. But past winners have included some of golf’s all-time greats, such as Phil Mickelson (twice), Jordan Spieth, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino.
Thomas, competing in the Classic, offered his thoughts on why certain players might be giving the event a miss, despite being an admirer of it himself. “I’m excited to be here. I really like this golf course,” he said.
“It definitely is one of those events I think a lot of people would play if it fit the schedule more. Given the beginning of my year, what it looked like, and starting when I did, with the potential of adding other events, and this one was definitely one that I had circled that I really wanted to add and play, and it worked out nicely,” Thomas added.
“So I haven’t seen it since the changes, so obviously it’s a lot softer and a little bit more wet than the last couple years, but yeah, happy to be here and it’s a fun course and seems like it’s always had a great tournament.”
McIlroy is amongst the notable absentees from the Texas event. The Charles Schwab Challenge falls in the middle of a run of prestigious occasions, sandwiched between majors, and sitting it out affords players such as McIlroy a welcome respite from the limelight.
The Northern Irishman claimed his second successive Masters title in April but struggled at the PGA Championship in May.