FORT WORTH Texas –The 48 Colonial champions have cast their votes for which two promising young players will receive invitations to compete in the 80th Charles Schwab Challenge. The tally is in naming Nick Dunlap and Mason Howell 2026 Champions’ Choices.
The Champions’ Choice is a 73-year-old tournament tradition where all Charles Schwab Challenge champions collectively choose two promising young professionals who have never before played in the prestigious invitational event.
Dunlap, a 22-year-old Birmingham, Alabama native and former Alabama Crimson Tide golfer, already has two PGA TOUR victories, including the 2024 American Express, where he became the first amateur to win a PGA TOUR event in over 30 years. He is also the second-youngest winner on TOUR in the past 90 years, and the only player to win the U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur, and a PGA TOUR event in the same year. Dunlap has recorded one top 25 finish on the PGA TOUR this season. His current OWGR is 282.
Howell is an 18-year-old senior at Brookwood High School and a native of Thomasville, Georgia. Howell is the 2025 U.S. Amateur Champion which placed him as an amateur contestant in this year’s Masters tournament. He missed the cut with a score of +9 but gained worldwide attention by playing with his idol Rory McIlroy in the first two rounds. Of course, McIlroy went on to become back-to-back Masters champion.
In 2025, Howell shot rounds of 63-63 at his U.S. Open qualifier at Piedmont Driving Club in Atlanta. He has also recorded two rounds of 59 at his home course, Glen Arven Country Club, surpassing the previous course record of 63 held by Harris English. He is committed to attend the University of Georgia this fall.
Champions’ Choice Selections
Charles Schwab Challenge champions have done well over the years with their picks, and some choices have returned to win the tournament later in their careers. Other Champions’ Choice invitees who made their professional debut in Fort Worth with this honor were Paul Azinger, Billy Mayfair, Mark O’Meara, Curtis Strange and Stewart Cink.
Eleven years ago, eventual 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth was invited as a Champions’ Choice; he later became the 2016 Colonial champion. 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge champion Sam Burns was a Champions’ Choice invitee in 2018 and became the eighth such player to come back and win the event in their career. In all, 76 of the former 137 choices have become PGA TOUR tournament winners, racking up 427 victories and 29 majors.
Tickets for the Charles Schwab Challenge, May 25-31, are available for as low as $50 and can be purchased at charlesschwabchallenge.com.