Time to honor a legend.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson pays homage to, well, Byron Nelson, the 52-time PGA Tour winner. Fresh off the PGA Championship, a 147-player field will tee it up at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, in an event that boasts a $10.3 million purse with the winner collecting $1,854,000.
From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
The field: Scottie highlights
It might be the week after a major, but some of the game’s biggest starts are teeing it up at TPC Craig Ranch.
World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler highlights the field, along with Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.
Other players competing this week, who are inside the top 100 in the world, are: Si Woo Kim, Sungjae Im, Michael Brennan, Pierceson Coody, Ryo Hisatsune, Max Greyserman, Matti Schmid, Rasmus Højgaard and Michael Thorbjornsen.
There are also five past Byron Nelson champions: Billy Horschel (2017), Aaron Wise (2018), K.H. Lee (2021 and 2022), Taylor Pendrith (2024) and Scheffler.
Sponsor exemptions include: Yongjun Bae, William Sides, Preston Stout and Mason Howell, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion.
Forty players that teed it up in the PGA Championship last week are playing this week. Schmid led the bunch at Aronimink, with a T4.
Course: A restored TPC Craig Ranch
TPC Craig Ranch, a 22-year-old Tom Weiskopf design, is a 7,385-yard par-71, and recently underwent a $25 million restoration, led by World Golf Hall of Famer Lanny Wadkins.
What changed? Bunkers were redesigned, resurfaced and repositioned. Greens were recontoured greens for more pin options. New grass turf was impliemted and holes were lengthened.
Perhaps this will curb low scoring. In 2025, TPC Craig Ranch, which has hosted the Byron Nelson since 2021, was the 36th easiest course on Tour (out of 50) with a scoring average of 69.12 (1.87 strokes under par).
Its toughest hole last season was the 493-yard par-4 12th, with a scoring average of 4.257, making it the 55th hardest hole on Tour. The course’s easiest hole, meanwhile, was the 564-yard par-5 9th, with a scoring average of 4.368. It was the 19th easiest hole on Tour.
A year ago at the Byron Nelson, Scheffler tied the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record at 31-under 253.
History: A Tiger 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 ET)
- Thursday: 3–6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Friday: 3–6 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 coverage during each round.
First- and second-round tee times
Tee times for the first and second round of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson: pic.twitter.com/qlwnELOJaL
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 19, 2026
