Davis Riley revs up to defend title at Colonial

Davis Riley warmed up for this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge title defense by tying for second at the PGA Championship last weekend.
“Yeah, last week was really good,” Riley told reporters Wednesday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. “Stacked a couple of nice weeks the past month or two. Yeah, I feel like my game is trending. I don’t know why. For some reason I love this part of the schedule the most.”
Riley, 28, collected his first PGA Tour individual title here last year, along with the traditional winner’s plaid jacket and a restored 1975 Corvette Stingray. He finished 14 under, five strokes ahead of Scottie Scheffler and Keegan Bradley.
Scheffler won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow on Sunday, finishing five shots clear of Riley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.
Riley’s previous best finish in a major was a tie for 13th at the 2022 PGA Championship.
“Last week was a great confidence booster for me,” Riley said. “Being in the second to last group Sunday, having a chance to win and compete and try to win a major and everything that comes with that, I was super proud of the way I handled it.
“Yeah, it was a big confidence booster. Obviously to be the week before a place that I love so much makes me even that much more excited for this week.”
The emotional highs continued for Riley as he arrived at Colonial.
“It’s really cool to walk up and drive up and see your own parking spot there, past champion, see your face around a little bit more. It just brings me back to this time last year,” he said. “Really cool memories. … It’s pretty surreal. I’m itching to get started this week.”
After a slow start to the season, withdrawing from The Sentry before four straight missed cuts, Riley got on track in March with a T6 at the Puerto Rico Open and a seventh-place showing at the Valspar Championship. In April he tied for 21st in his first appearance at The Masters.
Riley, who has jumped to No. 53 in the world rankings, said he has enjoyed having the Stingray in his driveway since his breakthrough win last year.
“That’s one of the unique parts about this tournament,” he said. “We get the car that comes with it. Yeah, it’s been a great thing for me and my wife. We love taking it out, getting coffee, getting lunch. It’s been a super fun thing to have.”
Up for grabs this year is a fully restored 1992 Schwab Defender.
“To have both of them side-by-side would be pretty special,” Riley said. “The Charles Schwab has that iconic baby blue, so it’s really cool. Yeah, the Defender would be a really cool one to add to the collection.”