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Golf Monthly

Sport

Matt Cradock

CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2025 Picks, Odds And Predictions

Byron Nelson Scottie Scheffler CJ Cup Golf TPC Craig Ranch Ryo Hisatsune Sam Burns Stephan Jaeger Sky Sports Byeong Hun An

A CJ Cup Byron Nelson flag and four golfers.

The PGA Tour moves to Texas this week, with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson taking place at TPC Craig Ranch.

Last year, Taylor Pendrith claimed a one stroke victory over Ben Kohles and, for 2025, the Canadian will return alongside a number of big names.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler headlines the field and is the overwhelming favorite with bookmakers, with the likes of Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris joining Scheffler in their home state of Texas.

First played back in 1944, this tournament has been won by many legends of the game, including Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Tom Watson, Payne Stewart, Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead.

Having being played at multiple venues, scores have varied over the years and, since 2021, when the Byron Nelson was moved to TPC Craig Ranch, winning scores have sat between 23 - 25-under-par.

CJ Cup Byron Nelson Course Guide: TPC Craig Ranch

The par 5 closing hole at TPC Craig Ranch (Image credit: Getty Images)

Opened in the mid-2000s, TPC Craig Ranch is one of the many TPC courses around the world and was designed by Major winner Tom Weiskopf.

Having staged the CJ Cup Byron Nelson since 2021, the course measures 7,569 yards and is a par 71, with TPC Craig Ranch featuring four par 3s, 10 par 4s and three par 5s.

The par 3 17th at TPC Craig Ranch (Image credit: Getty Images)

In terms of what to look out for at TPC Craig Ranch, there are multiple holes that fall under the risk-and-reward category. These include par 4 sixth and par 4 14th.

In fact, the latter is the signature hole, with it yielding anywhere from an eagle to a triple bogey. Then to finish, the par 5 18th has played a big part in deciding the winner of the tournament, as it played -0.585 in 2024, with 13 eagles and 247 birdies.

Last year, the par 4 12th was rated as the hardest hole, with it playing +0.177. That was one of five holes that played over par in 2024, which included the par 3 seventh, par 4 13th, par 3 15th and par 4 16th.

CJ Cup Byron Nelson Previous Winners

CJ Cup Byron Nelson Betting Odds 2025

Outright winner odds from BetMGM (odds correct at time of publishing)

Scottie Scheffler +240
Jordan Spieth +1800
Sungjae Im +1800
Byeong Hun An +2800
Sam Burns +2800
Mackenzie Hughes +2800
Stephan Jaeger +2800
Taylor Pendrith +2800
Si Woo Kim +2800
Keith Mitchell +4000
Ben Griffin +5000
Rasmus Hojgaard +5000
Seamus Power +5000
Will Zalatoris +5000
Jacob Bridgeman +6600
Austin Eckroat +6600
Ryan Gerard +6600
Ryo Hisatsune +6600
Rico Hoey +6600
Nicolai Hojgaard +6600
Jake Knapp +6600
Michael Thorbjornsen +6600
Tom Kim +6600

CJ Cup Byron Nelson Betting Picks 2025

Favorite: Si Woo Kim +2800

Si Woo Kim finished 2nd here to Jason Day in 2023 after shooting eight-under-par in the final round, and he followed that up with another strong T13 result last year.

The former Players Championship winner, who has four PGA Tour victories and is currently on a two-year drought, looks to be coming back into form after a T8 at the RBC Heritage last time out.

He shot a disappointing final round with his achilles heel, the putter, to blame. His flat stick worked very well over the first three days, though, so if he can roll in some more putts this week he'll surely be up near the top of the leaderboard.

Outsider: Ryo Hisatsune +6600

I backed the duo of Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya at the Zurich last week and they had a very good few days until a 75 on Sunday in the foursomes to fall back to T16. Hisatsune looks to be very comfortable at this level and will enjoy playing his own ball this week after a strong start to 2025.

The Japanese man has two top-fives in his last four starts and was a solid T18 at the RBC Heritage in his last individual start. Definitely one to look out for this week, having been T13 last year after carding a seven-under-par final round.

Favorite: Stephan Jaeger +2800

I put up Stephan Jaeger as my outsider pick at the Texas Children's Houston Open last month, eventually finishing in a tie for 11th and just outside the places, but based on the strong correlation between TPC Craig Ranch and Memorial Park I fancy him again here.

Jaeger has had two top-6 finishes this season so far, but has made plenty of cuts, and I often feel like he is a bit of a course horse.

When he arrives at certain tracks we see a real uptick in his performance, and TPC Craig Ranch is one of those venues. In three starts here has two top-20 finishes - so this price feels generous as an each-way bet.

Outsider: Gary Woodland +8000

Gary Woodland was second at Memorial Park last month in Houston and that immediately makes him a must play for me at this gigantic price.

He has played great golf in spells this season and is one of the best ball strikers around when on song, so heading to a course where driving distance and solid approach play are rewarded should be a perfect fit.

Without a win since his magnificent US Open victory in 2019, and following a long recovery from a significant setback away from the course, Woodland feels like he is ready to get back into the mix and I love his chances here.

Favorite: Byeong Hun An +2800

Since missing back-to-back cuts in February, Ben An has three top 20 finishes, including a T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Last year, the South Korean finished in a share of fourth, racking up a 20-under total in the process. What I like about An is that he ranks inside the top 20 for Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee and inside the top 50 for Total Birdies this season. They are positive signs for someone wanting to go low this week.

Outsider: Ryan Fox +10000

The New Zealander seems to be coming into some form of late and, in his last six starts, he has two top 20 finishes, including being in contention at the Texas Children's Houston Open.

Fox will be a longshot but, with his length off the tee and solid stats in the approach department, he could well spring a surprise this week. Certainly, with his good run of form of late, the 38-year-old may be worth an each-way bet.

Favorite: Sam Burns +2800

If I'm not going for the outright favorite, I genuinely think Sam Burns has a chance to win at TPC Craig Ranch. He continues to be a fantastic putter - key at an event like this - and appears to be finding something again with his ball-striking.

A fantastic driver of the golf ball, also, Burns finished second at this event in 2021 before missing the cut the following season when his irons went off the boil. If the Californian can find enough greens, he can seriously challenge Scheffler.

Outsider: Nico Echavarria +12500

The Colombian tops the SG: Putting chart on the PGA Tour so far this season, while remaining very much hit and miss elsewhere in his game. Hopefully he has ironed out his long-game issues since Augusta. He and Max Greyserman finished a respectable T28 at the Zurich last week.

Should he put together a performance off the tee like last year - one which helped him to a T24th finish - then another good putting week could easily give Echavarria a chance at cracking the top-10.