
The PGA Tour returns to the Lone Star State for its annual stop outside of Dallas as the long summer of golf quickly approaches. With the second major championship of the season — the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow — suddenly just a couple weeks away, players will look to find their footing on the friendly fairways of TPC Craig Ranch.
Known as one of the easier layouts on the PGA Tour, TPC Craig Ranch will welcome a number of local players, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Still winless in 2025, Scheffler seeks to enter the winner’s circle for the first time on the PGA Tour since last year’s Tour Championship.
It has not been for lack of consistency, as Scheffler has eight top-25 finishes in eight tournaments including three straight top 10s. His closest call of the year came in Texas last month at the Houston Open when he fell by one stroke to Min Woo Lee, and he will look to improve on that standing this week at a golf course where he has collected finishes of T15 and T5 in his last two appearances.
Joining Scheffler in the field are Dallas natives such as Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris who need to start rolling in the right direction for various reasons. Spieth is quietly putting together a strong stretch of form with three straight top-20 finishes, while Zalatoris has dipped to No. 88 in the FedEx Cup standings nearly halfway through the season.
Other players set to tee it up amid a run of quality starts include Jake Knapp, who nearly grabbed his second PGA Tour win last week, Joel Dahmen, Sungjae Im, Byeong Hun An and Sam Burns.
2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson schedule
Dates: May 1-4
Location: TPC Craig Ranch — McKinney, Texas
Par: 71 | Yardage: 7,569
Purse: $9,900,000
2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson field, odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler (+280): Scheffler is the rightful favorite anytime he tees it up in Texas, but this may not be the best fit for his game. With wide fairways and misses that will not be penalized, TPC Craig Ranch has a way of bringing the entire field into the conversation. Still, Scheffler remains a step above the rest as he has doubled the total strokes gained output (2.59 per round) of the second-best player in this field over the last three months. Keep an eye on his third-round scoring in particular; he ranks outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour in that category this season.
- Jordan Spieth (18-1)
- Sungjae Im (22-1): Im took a trip to South Korea to defend his Woori Financial Group Championship and ultimately missed the cut. It was the continuation of a somewhat disappointing season that has been alleviated in the slightest by a top-five finish at the Masters. Im’s iron play continues to fall short of expectations, but the rest of his game remains in good order. When the scoring clubs start to cooperate, he will find himself in contention on a consistent basis.
- Byeong Hun An (25-1)
- Sam Burns (27-1): The American may be one of the more disappointing players in the first half of the season. Burns is without a top-10 finish since The Sentry and has lost strokes on approach in all but one start this year. The putter continues to carry the load, and while that is unsustainable across an entire season, it may have some staying power this week given the low-scoring nature of the tournament. Burns finished runner-up at TPC Craig Ranch in 2021.
- Si Woo Kim (30-1)
- Taylor Pendrith (30-1): Pendrith took advantage of Ben Kohles’ nerves last year and skirted into the winner’s circle for his first career win. He got off to a great start this year with three top-15 finishes in his first four starts, but things have cooled recently. The short game is not in a tidy spot, but the long game remains stellar. The latter can push him into the mix this week, but the former will need to push him over the finish line again.
- Ben Griffin (35-1)
- Will Zalatoris (45-1): It’s early, yes, but it is also not being talked about … at all. In a season where only 100 full-time PGA Tour cards will be given out, Zalatoris is currently No. 88 and without status beyond this season. It is a scary proposition for the 28-year-old and he will need to get going here soon or else risk a sweaty, sweaty summer. The ball striking remains sensational, but unfortunately, the putter remains woeful. That’s not a great recipe for a birdie fest.
- Mackenzie Hughes (45-1)
- Rasmus Højgaard (45-1)
2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson predictions
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