Horses for Courses: 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson

New track = new challenges.

Let’s dive in!

Everything is bigger in Texas and not many were bigger in the world of golf than Byron Nelson. The event that carries his name returns to the Lone Star state after a COVID-19 absence but will have a new home. TPC Craig Ranch in the Dallas suburb of McKinney replaces Trinity Forest as the new host for the next five years.

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TPC Craig Ranch has hosted stages of Q-School and has also served as host of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in 2008 and 2012.

The Tom Weiskopf design, opened in 2004, will play as Par-72 and stretch 7,468 yards.

There’s plenty of space to swing it off the tee as the wind is always a factor in this part of the world.

The Bentgrass greens running at 11.5 feet will provide more than ample targets (see: wind) at almost 6,800 square feet on average.

Avoiding the 83 bunkers and keeping the ball out of Rowlett Creek, which will be in play on 13 holes, will pair with just over two inches of Bermuda rough to act as a deterrent this week.

Zoysia fairways will be similar to Trinity Forest but that’s where the comparison stops so I won’t spend much time looking at that event.

The winning scores of 16-under and 17-under (both Par-71) for the Korn Ferry Tournament Finals suggest an even lower winning total this week because of Par-72.

The first TOUR stop at TPC Craig Ranch will feature plenty of connections from the Dallas area. Colleyville resident Ryan Palmer holds the course record of 61. Defending event champion Sung Kang is a member at the club and a Dallas resident.

Obviously the notes below are from the past. Tom Weiskopf’s TPC Scottsdale is another point of interest as that track is used annually on TOUR. While it’s a different course, we can still glean information, just like we follow who plays well on Pete Dye tracks.

Good luck!

Recent Event Winners Stats

Year	2012	2008
Player	Justin Bolli	Matt Bettencourt
Score	16-under	17-under
MOV	2	1
Runner-Up(s)	James Hahn	Jeff Klauk

Total Eagles	1	1
Total Birdies	T1 (22)	1 (24)
Total Bogeys	8	7
Doubles or Worse	0	1 (double)

Fairways	T48	T39
Greens in Regulation	4	T12
Total Putts	T20	T4

Par-3 Scoring	T9 (-1)	T13 (-1)
Par-4 Scoring	2 (-9)	1 (-8)
Par-5 Scoring	T19 (-6)	T10 (-8)

Recent Winners and Notables

2012: Web.com Tour Championship: Justin Bolli (-16, 268)

11 rounds of 66 or better. … Top seven players were 10-under or lower. … Low round of the week was 64. … Played October 25-28.

Tournament Notables Entered This Week:

James Hahn (2nd) posted one of the two rounds of 64 for the week, the lowest recorded. … Luke List (T13) posted four eagles for the week and led the field in Par-5 scoring (-11). … Ben Martin (T13) signed for four rounds 70 or better. … Brice Garnett (T19) posted 66 in Round 3, his best of the week. … Cameron Percy (T19) closed 66-68 after sitting 2-over after 36 holes. … Rob Oppenheim (T28) aced No. 14 in Round 4. … Joseph Bramlett (T31), Hudson Swafford (T39), Jim Herman (T42), Brian Stuard (T47) and Tim Wilkinson (T53) all completed the four rounds (no cut).

2008: Web.com Tour Championship: Matt Bettencourt (-17, 267)

Round 3 saw the two lowest rounds in tournament history, 63, posted. … There were 23 rounds of 66 or better. … Top 15 players 10-under or better. … Played November 6-9.

Tournament Notables Entered This Week:

Marc Leishman (T7) made 22 birdies, second best on the week. … Greg Chalmers (T25) made 18 birdies. … Scott Piercy (T31) led the field in Par-5 scoring (-11).

Key stat leaders

Top golfers in each statistic on the 2020-2021 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week.

Strokes-Gained: Tee-to-Green	Golfer
Rank

1	Bryson DeChambeau
4	Jon Rahm
10	Will Zalatoris
13	Sergio Garcia
18	Brooks Koepka
20	Doug Ghim
22	Hideki Matsuyama
26	Aaron Wise
28	Matt Fitzpatrick
34	Luke List
35	Daniel Berger
37	Si Woo Kim
38	Scottie Scheffler
39	Jordan Spieth
40	Jason Day

Putting: Birdie-or-Better Percentage	Golfer
Rank

4	Bryson DeChambeau
7	Jordan Spieth
9	Sam Burns
10	Brooks Koepka
11	Harris English
12	Daniel Berger
13	Harry Higgs
14	Anirban Lahiri
15	Ryan Palmer
18	Tom Hoge
21	Scottie Scheffler
31	Jon Rahm
33	Sebastian Munoz
36	Rory Sabbatini
40	Wesley Bryan

Par-4 Scoring	Golfer
Rank

1	James Hahn
5	Daniel Berger
5	Scottie Scheffler
11	Si Woo Kim
15	Ryan Palmer
15	Austin Cook
15	Sam Burns
15	Matt Fitzpatrick
15	Doug Ghim
15	Brooks Koepka
25	Talor Gooch
25	Matt Jones
25	Charles Howell III
34	Jon Rahm
34	Patton Kizzire
34	Will Zalatoris
34	Carlos Ortiz
34	Russell Knox
34	Anirban Lahiri
34	Tom Hoge
34	Roger Sloan
34	Bryson DeChambeau