Back in the saddle again.
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
TPC Craig Ranch
McKinney, Texas
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Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)
Scottie Scheffler (+275): No need to bet this in a shootout, but if he does win, Bolton will be in the category of OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR in the Expert’s Fantasy League. The good news? I have Scheffler in my local league this week because I cannot pick two-man teams to save my life. Can’t lose!
Jordan Spieth (+1800): He loves playing at TPC Scottsdale, another Tom Weiskopf layout, but he’s never won there either.
Sungjae Im (+2200): He would join Taylor Pendrith and KH Lee as debutant winners at TPC Craig Ranch.
Byeong-Hun An (+2500): The history of Korean winners at this event is strong. An is still searching for his first on the PGA TOUR.
Sam Burns (+2500): The baby boy has arrived and is one. No wins for Burns = no nappy factor. Odd.
Si Woo Kim (+3000): The 54-hole leader at RBC Heritage picked up his first top 10 of the season. He’s run T13-T2 in his last two visits. Win ticket.
Taylor Pendrith (+3300): Hell, if K.H. Lee can win in back-to-back years, why not the Canadian? Plenty of pop and a super putter is a great formula this week.
Others for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action
Read my DFS DISH column for more thoughts. Here are a few others, not mentioned before, that should/can/might fill out cards:
Let’s see if Rasmus Hojgaard (+4500) can pull an Andrew Novak and go from second to first the following week. It’s a terrible number, but Chris Gotterup (+11000) should fit nicely again here. Matti Schmid (+12500) is wonderfully all-or-nothing. Will Chandler (+100000) introduced himself at TPC Scottsdale, another Weiskopf design.
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | TPC Craig Ranch |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,569 yards (166 more than 2024). |
| Par: | 71 (35-36). |
| Greens: | Bentgrass; 6,778 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11.5 feet. |
| Rough: | Ryegrass at 3.5 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 83/4/13 |
| Architect(s): | Tom Weiskopf (2004) |
| Defending Champion (event): | Taylor Pendrith (-23). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| Course Record (latest): | 60; S.Y. Noh (2022; not entered); Sebastian Munoz (2021: not eligible). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (Spring): | 26-under 262; K.H. Lee (2021). The event was Par-72 for the first two editions. |
| Fact of the Week: | All winners are International Players for the Presidents Cup. |
TPC Craig Ranch
Just when we were getting comfortable, Lanny Wadkins will renovate every blade of grass not on the tee boxes before the 2026 event.
The Par-71, one of the easiest on TOUR, added six new tee boxes and increased the rough, but big greens and easy scrambling conditions equal another birdie-fest!
With a light field and a shootout on the menu, hang on to your hats, gang!
Recent Winners
- 2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (first time) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at VidantaWorld | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 89th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (first time for both) |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Children’s Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
Notables
- The field of 156 includes seven players from the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, including No. 1 and Dallas resident Scottie Scheffler.
- The three winners from the previous four events are all President Cup internationals. None produced more than three bogeys total.
- The largest margin of victory is three shots, set in the inaugural event of 2021 by K.H. Lee.
- The scoring average of 68.497 in 2024 is the lowest field average in history, and was the easiest Par-71 on TOUR.
- Two of the three winners won on TOUR for the first time and were victorious in their first appearance at TPC Craig Ranch.
- TPC Craig Ranch plays 7,569 yards, the longest of the five editions and 155 yards longer than the 2024 tournament.
- The tournament scoring record is 26-under-par 262 set by K.H. Lee in 2021. TPC Craig Ranch played to Par-72 in 2021 and 2022 before shifting to Par-71 for the 2023 and 2024 events.
- The course record is 60, set in 2021 and again in 2022.
- The field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after two rounds.
Recent Winners – THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2024 | Taylor Pendrith (-23) | Birdied the 72nd hole to win for the first time on TOUR in his maiden at TPC Craig Ranch. |
| 2023 | Jason Day (-23) | Held off Si Woo Kim and Austin Eckroat by a shot to win the EVENT for the second time. |
| 2022 | K.H. Lee (-25) | Successfully defended his 2021 inaugural win by defeating Jordan Spieth by a shot. |
| 2021 | K.H. Lee (-26) | Won the inaugural event at TPC Craig Ranch. Defeated Sam Burns by three. |
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | 3rd | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Russell Henley | T10 | 195,025 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | MC | |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T32 | 52,080 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Ludvig Aberg | WD | |
| WM Phoenix Open | Rasmus Hojgaard | T12 | 195,500 |
| Genesis Invitational | Will Zalatoris | T24 | 168,857 |
| Mexico Open | Patrick Rodgers | T25 | 59,350 |
| Cognizant Classic | Daniel Berger | T25 | 73,721 |
| Arnold Palmer | Keegan Bradley | T5 | 800,000 |
| THE PLAYERS | Collin Morikawa | T10 | 656,250 |
| Valspar Championship | Sepp Straka | T28 | 55,844 |
| Houston Open | Aaron Rai | MC | |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners | T18 | 113,050 |
| 89th Masters | Rory McIlroy | WIN | 4,200,000 |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler | T8 | 540,000 |
| Zurich Classic | Kurt Kitayama | MC |
LAST WEEK – Zurich Classic
THE CHOICE: Kurt Kitayama/Collin Morikawa
I was #influenced or #undertheinfluence when I made that selection. Morikawa was on the outs with his longtime caddy, J.J. Jackovac, they split after the event, and Kitayama wasn’t playing well.
Whatever. Nothing LOST, yet nothing gained.
THIS Week – THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
With only seven of the top players in the OWGR Top 50 entering, it’s time to have some fun. And by fun, I mean I have no idea who will win. I will trust a hot Dallas resident who is coming off his best finish, on his own ball, two weeks ago at the RBC Heritage. The 54-hole leader faded on Sunday to T8, but he will not have to hold off a deep field this time. He shared second two years ago and was T13 last year, so it’s clear he’s comfortable in the home game.
THE CHOICE: Si Woo Kim
Others to consider: Sungjae Im, Ben An, Eric Cole, Ryan Gerard, Alejandro Tosti
Glass Houses 