Blake Davis
A busy stretch of golf continues on the PGA Tour this week as players travel to TPC Craig Ranch for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Taking the par-71 layout for the fourth time in tournament history, players should expect ideal scoring conditions and plenty of birdies with a potentially close to 30-under winning score.
Last year it was Jason Day who emerged victorious as the Australian returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in more than five years. Now he hopes to become the first golfer since KH Lee in 2022 to defend his Byron Nelson title
Day leads a large international contingent that includes Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Sungjae Im and a few Dallas area residents, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim. The Kims aren’t the only local flavor to appear in the tournament; Texas native Jordan Spieth will also be on the field.
Spieth enters the Byron Nelson, the tournament where he made his PGA Tour debut as a high school senior, many moons ago, without much form. Although the game was difficult for him, Spieth should take advantage of the opportunity to play at home, especially since he almost won this event a few years ago.
While two weeks still separate players from the second major championship of the season, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson will represent the final call to prepare for some as next week’s Wells Fargo Championship hosts a limited field at Quail Hollow for an exclusive event.
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Schedule
Dates: May 2nd to 5th | Location: TPC Craig Ranch – McKinney, Texas
Pair: 71 | Yard: 7,414 | Handbag: $9,500,000
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Field Odds
- Jordan Spieth (14-1): The hometown boy came close to toppling Byron Nelson, but has yet to add this trophy to his mantle. Spieth has found some energy since transitioning the tournament to TPC Craig Ranch; he achieved a top 10 on his first attempt and finished runner-up to KH Lee in 2022. What he will do this time is anyone’s guess as his form has been indifferent and his wrist is bothering him. In his last seven starts, Spieth has one top 10 finish, three missed cuts and one disqualification. He needs to find something in his game and fast.
- Si Woo Kim (16-1)
- Jason Day (20-1): The defending champion has been hit or miss since winning his second Byron Nelson crown. Although he has had a number of quality results over the past year, Day has struggled with some consistency and comes into TPC Craig Ranch looking to find something specific in his iron game. The former world No. 1 has missed strokes on approach in four of his last five matches but has been buoyed by a strong putter effort. If he hopes to continue this birdie barrage, Day will need to squeeze more out of those scoring clubs.
- Adam Scott (22-1)
- Byeong Hun An (25-1)
- Alex Noren (25-1)
- Min Woo Lee (25-1): It wasn’t the best first full season on the PGA Tour for Lee, but he showed signs. He arrives in Texas after a quality start at the Masters, where he hit his driver brilliantly and found something with the irons. If these clubs continue to cooperate, Lee should make his way with the open nature of TPC Craig Ranch. He missed just one cut in 2024, but has just one top 20 finish – a runner-up finish at the Cognizant Classic in early March.
- Sungjae Im (28-1): Im has endured a difficult start to 2024, but could be back on an upward trajectory after a quick trip to his native South Korea. The 26-year-old claimed victory on the Korean Tour and continued a short spurt of solid play that includes a T12 at the RBC Heritage. His game adapts well to TPC Craig Ranch, but between four consecutive weeks of action and traveling around the world, it could be a difficult task.
- Tom Hoge (28-1)
- Tom Kim (28-1): Kim appears to be trending toward the type of player who has scored three early victories in his PGA Tour career. His iron play shined at Augusta National, where he finished with a final round 66, and he carried that to Hilton Head, where he finished T18. This marks Kim’s third appearance in this tournament, after finishing T17 on her debut and T34 the previous season.
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Expert Picks
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