CJ Cup Byron Nelson Betting Picks, Odds, Course Preview and Prediction
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Betting Picks, Odds, Course Preview and Prediction
The PGA Tour returns to individual stroke play this week with the CJ Cup honoring Byron Nelson. This event will be held at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, for the third straight year. The Tom Weiskopf design has ranked as one of the five easiest courses on Tour in all three editions as the host venue, and it features wide fairways and large receptive greens that allow players to bomb away off the tee and play aggressively.
While many of the PGA Tour’s best will be resting up before the upcoming two week stretch of the Wells Fargo Championship and PGA Championship, Dallas residents such as Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, and Tom Kim will headline the field. Jason Day will also return to defend his title, and K.H. Lee, who won this tournament in 2021 and 2022, will look to make it three in four years at TPC Craig Ranch. As we head into crunch time before the season’s second major, there will be plenty to learn this week in Dallas.
CJ Cup Byron Nelson DATE, START TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 2 - 5, 2024
- Where: McKinney, TX
- Where to Watch: Golf Channel, NBC, Peacock
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Odds
- Winner: Jordan Spieth +1400, Jason Day +2000, Si Woo Kim +2200
Click here to see the CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds
CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Course Preview
TPC Craig Ranch
While I may not be the biggest fan of TPC Craig Ranch’s architecture, it certainly provides an interesting and rather straightforward handicap. The Weiskopf design is the only course on the PGA Tour schedule to rank top-five easiest in all four major strokes gained categories, and each of the last three years, it has played at least two strokes under par. In 2022, it played almost three strokes under par for the entire tournament. Last year, tournament organizers changed the 12th hole from a par five to a long par four, and the course still played 2.3 strokes under par and ranked as the fourth-easiest course on the PGA Tour.
Similar to Vidanta Vallarta, the only way that TPC Craig Ranch tests pro golfers is with sheer length and the possibility for wind. The course still measures over 7,400 yards, with seven seven par fours measuring over 450 and three par threes measuring over 200 yards. For this reason, a whopping 35.7% of all approach shots come from over 200 yards. Yet still, the actual degree of difficulty on these long iron shots is incredibly low. There is very little trouble off the tee on this course, as the golf course ranks towards the bottom of the pack in missed fairway penalty. The name of the game at TPC Craig Ranch is long irons and putting. Distance is more of a luxury than a pre-requisite, but this is the definition of a driver-heavy course. This week I will primarily be looking for elite long iron players who can spike with the flat-stick and raise their baseline in easy scoring conditions.
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Key Stats
- Proximity 200 yards plus
- Birdies or Better Gained
- Strokes Gained Putting: Bent-grass
CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Outright Picks
Keith Mitchell +4000 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
Keith Mitchell has always been an elite driver with tons of putting upside, but his development into a great iron player leaves me feeling optimistic that he’s close to a second PGA Tour victory. Mitchell’s driver remains a weapon, and he has gained strokes off the tee in every single start this year, yet he’s currently in the midst of the best approach stretch of his entire career. Mitchell has now gained strokes on approach in seven straight starts, and the upside he possesses with his middle to long irons make him a perfect candidate to impress at TPC Craig Ranch. I’ve mentioned that long irons and putting are the two most critical factors to success at this tournament, and Mitchell is the only player in this field to rank top-25 in proximity 200 yards plus and Bent-grass putting. I expect the former University of Georgia standout to find himself comfortably in the mix come Sunday afternoon in Dallas.
Byeong Hun An +3000 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
I followed Byeong Hun An up close in a practice round at Augusta National and I was incredibly impressed by what I saw. An hits a towering high draw that conjures a resembles to young Rory McIlroy, and while I say that tongue in check, his ability to dominate a golf course off the tee cannot be understated. I knew that Harbour Town was never going to be a great fit for his skill-set, but now An returns to a golf course where he can bomb away with reckless abandon. In his lone appearance at TPC Craig Ranch, An finished 14th, gaining strokes in all three tee to green categories. Of course, the putter remains the largest concern in An’s game, yet we’ve seen him catch fire on the greens earlier this season in a birdie-fest at the Sentry Tournament of Championship. Even though the flat-stick comes and goes, An still ranks first in this field in birdies or better gained and second in this field in opportunities gained over his last 50 rounds. It’s a matter of when not if with Byeong Hun An, and TPC Craig Ranch provides the ideal venue for his inevitable breakthrough.
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GOLF ODDS
Article Author
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from Manhattan, New York. Andy came to OddsChecker in January 2022 after previously writing for Golf Digest, GolfWRX, Rotoballer, and the Score. Andy is also the host of a golf betting and daily fantasy podcast, Inside Golf Podcast, as well as "The Scramble” with Rick Gehman, and a recurring guest on the Pat Mayo Experience. In his free time, Andy is still grinding away at his lifelong dream of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, and if not writing, can likely be found somewhere on a golf course.