It was a quieter week on the PGA Tour last week with the pairs event, the Zurich Classic taking centre stage.The normal scheduling resumes this week as we head to TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas for the annual CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Check out our full preview and betting tips for the event below.
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PGA Tour CJ Cup Byron Nelson Betting Tips
TPC Craig Ranch, Thursday 2nd - Sunday 5th May
Before You Bet golf took a well deserved break last week after a huge stretch of golf that included a major and two elevated events in the span of a month. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry took out the pairs event, but the standard format will resume this week at the CJ Cup in the lead up to yet another elevated event next week.
The Field
The majority of the top players on the PGA Tour have opted to take the week off for the CJ Cup as they prepare for the elevated Wells Fargo next week. There are, however, still a few big names teeing it up this week, headlined by the likes of Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Alex Noren, Sungjae Im and the Australian trio of Jason Day, Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee.
Formerly called the AT&T Byron Nelson and now rebranded the CJ Cup, past winners of the event who will be teeing it up this week include Jason Day, K.H. Lee and Sung Kang.
The Course
TPC Craig Ranch, Dallas, Texas
7,438 Yards, Par 72
TPC Craig Ranch, designed by renowned golf course architect Tom Weiskopf, debuted in 2004 and has recently hosted this tournament for the past three years. The course presents an array of challenges for contemporary PGA Tour players, including deceptively tough short Par 4s and lengthy Par 3s spanning over 215 yards.
However, the primary adversary at TPC Craig Ranch is the wind. The ability to manipulate the ball’s trajectory in relation to the wind, coupled with overall iron accuracy, becomes paramount when the winds intensify. Consequently, our focus this week will be on strong performers from tee to green.
Betting Tips
Jordan Spieth ($17/Top 20 $2.00)
Spieth loves playing in his home state of Texas and I’m sure he really wants to win this one before his time is up. Has gone close over the last few years, finishing T9 in 2021 before finishing runner up to K.H. Lee in 2022. Hasn’t been in outstanding form recently but is really a class above everyone in this field once you scroll past the first few names in the betting markets.
K.H. Lee ($51/Top 40 $1.95)
The Korean won the event in back to back years in 2021 and 2022 before making the cut again last year. Has been in some solid form of late as well, making the cut in four of his last five tournaments including a T9 finish at the Valspar and a T11 at the Zurich alongside Si Woo Kim. Great bet for a top 40 finish at almost $2 here.
