This week’s PGA Tour stop at TPC Craig Ranch for The CJ Cup Byron Nelson makes up for what it lacks in star names with plenty of intrigue.
Players who are not already exempt for next week’s signature event at the Wells Fargo Championship have a final opportunity to work their way into the Aon Swing 5 or the Aon Next 10.
Our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week.
The CJ CUP BYRON NELSON
Location: McKinney, Texas, May 2-5
Course: TPC Craig Ranch (Par 71, 7,414 Yards)
Purse: $9.5M (Winners: $1.710M)
Defending Champion: Jason Day
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @CJByronNelson
PROP PICKS
–Ben An to Beat Jason Day (+100 at DraftKings): An is a streaky player who can go low when his putting is even mediocre. That includes four rounds in the 60s in tying for 14th here last year — six shots off Day’s winning mark. Day is coming off a T18 at the RBC Heritage, but had failed to crack the top-30 in his four previous starts. An is quietly third at DraftKings with 7 percent of the money backing him to win at +2500.
–Tom Kim Top 20 (+140 at BetMGM): Kim is one of several South Korean players on tour who now call the Dallas area home. He finished T34 here last year and has scuffled through the first half of the 2024 schedule, but he is coming off a T18 at the RBC Heritage following a T30 at the Masters.
–Jake Knapp to Make Cut (-155 at DraftKings): Knapp has found tour life more challenging since backing up his maiden win with a T4 at the Cognizant. He has failed to break the top 45 in five starts since, including a missed cut in Houston. Knapp posted a T55 at the Masters before a T62 at the RBC Heritage, which both sported far stronger fields than what he’ll contend against this week.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 23-26-1
BEST BETS
–Jordan Spieth (+1600 at BetMGM) is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 20. He has missed three of his past five cuts, but the Texas native did finish T10 at the Valero Texas Open and was runner-up here two years ago. He’s the book’s third-biggest liability this week while leading the field with 10.4 percent of the total bets and 9.3 percent of the money backing him to win since opening at +1400.
–Si Woo Kim (+1600) tied for second last year and enters with four consecutive top-30 results, highlighted by a T6 at The Players. The four-time winner on tour is third with 8.7 percent of the money backing him, which has driven Kim’s odds down since opening at +2000.
–Jason Day (+2000) claimed his most recent victory at last year’s Byron Nelson, but his most recent top-10 finish came at the Genesis in February.
–Sungjae Im (+2500) is coming off a win on the Korean Tour last week following a T12 at the RBC Heritage.
–Tom Kim (+2800) has finished T30 and T18 while showing improved form in his past two starts. He has been a popular wager at DraftKings, where Kim is tied for third with 7 percent of the money backing him to win.
–Tom Hoge (+2800) has received heavy action since opening at +4000. Backed by 9.0 percent of the money, Hoge is BetMGM’s biggest liability.
NOTES
–This is the final of three events that count toward the Aon Swing 5 for the Wells Fargo Championship, with the five players not otherwise exempt who earned the most points in those three events qualifying for the next signature event. The current top five are Billy Horschel, Chad Ramey, Wesley Bryan, Martin Trainer and Kevin Tway. The top 10 players in the FedEx Cup standings after this week who are not otherwise exempt will also qualify via the Aon Next 10.
–Will Zalatoris withdrew on Tuesday, citing the need to rest his surgically repaired back. He was replaced in the field by Nick Watney.
–A total of 2,021 birdies were recorded at TPC Craig Ranch in 2023, the third most of any course on tour last season.
–Zach Johnson will make his 500th career PGA Tour start this week.
–England’s Kris Kim, the 16-year-old son of former LPGA Tour player Ji-Hyun Suh, will make his tour debut.
–Field Level Media
