What Phil Mickelson claimed it was impossible to do at Colonial Country Club back in 2017 as course gets ready to host the Charles Schwab Challenge

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There are going to be plenty of interested spectators this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, with world number one Scottie Scheffler making an immediate return to action following his victory at the PGA Championship.

The Charles Schwab Challenge is not a signature event on the PGA Tour. But the event has seen a raft of notable winners over the years.

Jack Nicklaus was victorious back in 1982, while Tom Watson won 16 years later. It was also at this event that Sergio Garcia secured his first ever PGA Tour win back in 2001. Jordan Spieth won in 2016.

Ben Hogan is the most successful player in the event’s history, having won five times. No-one else has won more than twice, with Phil Mickelson amongst that group of players with two victories.

What Phil Mickelson said could not be done around Colonial

Mickelson won both in 2000 and 2008. He actually went seven years without playing in the event amid frustrations over the Colonial course.

But ahead of his return to the event in 2017 – in which Mickelson would finish tied for 29th – Lefty explained what cannot be done around the Texas track, as well as his favourite part of the course.

“It’s hard to say. I think if you’re playing well you can play just about any golf course. The thing about Colonial is that you can’t overpower Colonial. There are only two par-5s. You’re not going to — there are no given birdie holes,” he said.

“But you can be rewarded. You can birdie just about every hole if you hit a good shot, so there is a lot of reward about well-struck shots here.

“I think that’s my favourite thing about this course is that very rarely is a well-struck shot penalised.”

How Scottie Scheffler has performed at the Charles Schwab Challenge in recent years

Mickelson would not have the most impressive record at the event following his second win in 2008. He would only tee it up on four more occasions, and he would miss the cut three times.

Interestingly, in the three events since Mickelson’s most recent appearance in 2021, there has been just one player who has finished in the top two on two occasions.

He is awaiting that first win at Colonial, but it would be no surprise if Scottie Scheffler did put that right in the coming days given that he has won on his last two starts by a combined 13 shots.