Time to honor a legend.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson pays homage to, well, Byron Nelson, the 52-time PGA Tour winner. A 156-player field will tee it up at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, in an event that boasts a $9,900,000 purse with the winner collecting $1,782,000.
From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
The field
With the Truist Championship (a signature event) and the PGA Championship following the Byron Nelson, many players are taking this week off.
Not world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The Dallas native highlights a field that includes seven of the top 50 players in the world ranking: Scheffler, Sungjae Im (No. 20), Byeong Hun An (No. 37), Tom Kim (No. 38), Sam Burns (No. 39), defending champion Taylor Pendrith (No. 45) and Stephan Jaeger (No. 47).
Other notable names in the field include Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Karl Vilips, Jake Knapp, Gary Woodland, Joel Dahmen, Si Woo Kim, Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus Højgaard, Cam Davis and Ben Griffin, who won the Zurich Classic last week with Andrew Novak (Novak is not in the field).
View the full field here.
The course
TPC Craig Ranch, a 21-year-old Tom Weiskopf design, is a 7,569-yard par-71, making it the fourth longest course the Tour has played this season.
It has an average green size of 6,778 square feet, 83 bunkers and water is in play on 13 holes.
The layout is relatively benign. In 2024, TPC Craig Ranch, which has hosted the Byron Nelson since 2021, was the 44th easiest course on Tour (out of 50) with a scoring average of 68.497 (2.503 strokes under par).
Its toughest hole last season was the 493-yard par-4 12th, with a scoring average of 4.177 (+0.177), making it the 113th hardest hole on Tour. The course’s easiest hole, meanwhile, was the 552-yard par-5 18th, with a scoring average of 4.415 (-0.585).
There are a few changes to the course this year, too.
There are new turf varieties on fairways and greens and a 20-plus-year-old irrigation system was replaced. Plus, the par-5 5th was lengthened to 630 yards, while the par-4 8th now stretches over 500 yards. Also, 20 yards were added to the par-4 10th, 10 yards were added to the par-4 11th and the par-4 14th was lengthened 30 yards.
History: Tiger’s triumph
Roughly a month after his 12-stroke victory at the 1997 Masters, Tiger Woods was asked to grade his game with the 54-hole lead at the GTE Byron Nelson Classic.
“Between a ‘B’ and a ‘C,’” the 21-year-old said.
And even without his “A” game, Woods was able to come away with the win.
With the event contested on two courses, TPC Four Seasons Resort and Cottonwood Valley GC, Woods held on for a two-stroke victory over Lee Rinker.
It was Woods’s fifth career win in his 16th career start. He was the first to accomplish that feat, and the second-youngest to win five times. Horton Smith, who won the 1934 and 1936 Masters, claimed seven Tour wins before turning 21, but only won two of his first 16 starts.
By the time he claimed the Byron Nelson, Woods was already the face of the sport. And he was claiming wins without his best stuff.
But the game’s greats always found ways to win.
“Look at Jack Nicklaus in the majors,” Woods said. “He'll tell you he never had his ‘A’ game. Never.”
How to watch (all times EST)
- Thursday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Friday: 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
- Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel); 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
ESPN+ will also have featured coverage during each round.
Round 1 and 2 tee times
R1 and R2 tee times and groupings for THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson pic.twitter.com/7arPuLM1gv
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 29, 2025
This article was originally published on www.si.com as CJ Cup Byron Nelson Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.
