This week, the PGA Tour is back to the Lone Star State in Dallas with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Ordinarily, Dallas resident and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler would be playing a home game, but he and wife Meredith are expecting their first child any day now, so the rest of the field gets a break from the game’s current most dominant player.

Another Dallas resident Jordan Spieth (14-1), who was runner-up here two years ago, has been playing through a wrist injury but is the tournament favorite.

Jason Day (18-1) returns to defend his Byron Nelson title from last year as does Si Woo Kim (22-1), who finished runner-up to Day in 2023.

Like Spieth is one of many Dallas-area residents competing, including Tom Kim (30-1), Tom Hoge (33-1) and two-time (2021 and 2022) Byron Nelson champion KH Lee (50-1). Another Dallas guy, Will Zalatoris, was a Tuesday afternoon withdrawal.

Players following in the market include Adam Scott (25-1), Alex Noren (25-1), Sungjae Im (25-1), Min Woo Lee (28-1), Byeong Hun An (30-1) and Stephan Jaeger (33-1).

With this event placed before a “Signature Event” at the Wells Fargo Championship and then the year’s second major at the PGA Championship, the field quality is down with just 10 of the top 50 players in the OWGR in Dallas this week.

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson is named after its first winner. Nelson won this tournament in 1944 when it was known as the Texas Victory Open. He lent his name to his event in 1968 and served as host until his death in 2016. The tournament is the all-time fundraising leader on the PGA Tour. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas is the event’s host organization, and it raises money for Momentous Institute, a youth social services organization based in Dallas. The event has always been played in the Dallas area throughout its run.

South Korean CJ Group takes over the sponsorship this year. It sponsored the CJ Cup event from 2017 to 2022.

Many legends of the game have won this event including Tom Watson (1975, 1978, 1979, and 1980), Sam Snead (1945, 1957, and 1958), Jack Nicklaus (1970, 1971), Byron Nelson (1944), Ben Hogan (1946), Phil Mickelson (1996), Tiger Woods (1997) and Sergio Garcia (2004, 2016).

This tournament was moved to TPC Craig Ranch, located in McKinney (32 miles northeast of downtown Dallas), in 2021.

With 500 FedEx Cup points, a $9.5 million purse and the ability to play one’s way into next week’s “Signature” Wells Fargo event along with the PGA Championship on the line, there is plenty at stake this week.

TPC Craig Ranch plays host for the fourth year. The layout was designed by Tom Weiskopf in 2004. Weiskopf also designed TPC Scottsdale (Waste Management Phoenix Open) and the Torrey Pines North Course (Farmers Insurance Open). The course is set in a rolling valley and features tree-lined fairways with Rowlett Creek, which will crisscross the course 14 times with eight water danger holes). The track will play as a par-71 of 7,414 yards. For the past two AT&T Byron Nelson events, Craig Ranch has played as a par-72, but it is now a par-71 as the 12th hole is now a long par-4 instead of a par-5.

The front nine at Craig Ranch looks to be the most scoreable nine. The first, third and sixth holes are all par-4s at 430 yards or less. Add in 569-yard (fifth) and 564-yard (eighth) par-5s and there are birdies to be made on these Bentgrass greens that are large (6,778 square feet average) and average speed (11.5 stimpmeter). The back nine, which is located in a residential setting, sees a drivable par-4 (330 yards) at the 14th, a short 147-yard par-3 at the 17th and a par-5 at the finishing 18th hole of 552 yards.

There are 83 bunkers and the wind can blow here, but the Zoysia fairways are wide and generous, the eighth widest on the PGA Tour. Zoysiagrass is a bit bouncier and more similar to Paspalum. TPC Southwind and East Lake are the other courses on the PGA Tour with Zoysia fairways.

The Bermuda rough was grown out to 2.75 inches to make the course more difficult but was not successful in doing so. Craig Ranch still had an average round score of -2.43 in 2023, which was the fourth-easiest course on the PGA Tour last year.

Some potential correlated courses to TPC Craig Ranch include Vidanta Vallarta, TPC Scottsdale, Detroit Golf Club, TPC Twin Cities, TPC Deere Run, CC of Jackson and Plantation Course of Kapalua.

Tom Kim (28-1, DraftKings)

Dallas resident Tom Kim is off to a bit of a slow start in 2024 but is showing some signs of life lately.

He ranked second on Approach at Augusta and 14th the last time out at Harbour Town, so the irons are in good shape.

While the driver has been a tad erratic, he can attack this course with its wide fairways and non-penal rough.

Byeong Hun An (28-1, BetMGM)

An finished 14th in his lone appearance here at TPC Craig Ranch, but this is a course that the South Korean can attack off the tee.

An ranks first in this field in birdies or better gained and second in this field in opportunities gained over his last 50 rounds.

Adam Schenk (40-1, BetMGM)

In 2023, Schenk finished second at the Valspar and Charles Schwab Challenge (Colonial Country Club, Texas), fourth at the John Deere Classic, with supporting top-7 finishes at the Memorial Tournament, Rocket Mortgage Classic and St. Jude Championship.

He got off to a slow start in 2024, but he has certainly picked it up since the West Coast Swing with a 19th at The Players, fifth at the Valero Texas Open and 12th at the Masters, which was his best finish in a major.

Keith Mitchell (41-1, Circa Sports)

Mitchell is one of the bigger hitters in the field and is the only player in this field that is rated in the top 25 on tour for both Bentgrass putting and Proximity Gained from 200+ yards.

He ranks sixth in SG Off the Tee, 11th in SG Approach and seventh in SG Tee to Green overall this PGA Tour season.

CJ Cup Byron Nelson betting at BetMGM

Favorites
▪️ Jordan Spieth +1600
▪️ Si Woo Kim +1600
▪️ Jason Day +2000

Highest Ticket%
▪️ Jordan Spieth 10.4%
▪️ Tom Hoge 6.3%
▪️ Si Woo Kim 5.0%

Highest Handle%
▪️ Jordan Spieth 9.3%
▪️ Tom Hoge 9.0%
▪️ Min Woo Lee 8.7%