CJ Cup Byron Nelson Power Rankings

After last week's Zurich Classic, the PGA Tour returns to 72-hole stroke play with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, with world number one Scottie Scheffler heading the field.

Returning to TPC Craig Ranch for only the fifth time, the Byron Nelson has been won by KH Lee twice, Jason Day and Taylor Pendrith in the last four editions.

One of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour's rota, TPC Craig Ranch doesn't seem to overly favour any one type of player and can be one of the trickiest events to pick a winner for; indeed, Lee won at a triple-figure price in 2021 and did so again the following year as defending champion.

While Day was amongst the favourites in 2023, Pendrith was pushing three figures once again in 2024.

The course is expansive off the tee and not overly penal should players miss the wider-than-usual fairways, though it is long, so distance off the tee can be advantageous.

Greens aren't difficult to find or to putt on, but with the winning score likely to be in the mid-20s, players will have to set up plenty of birdie opportunities and will need to be making a birdie roughly one in every three holes to contend.

Scottie Scheffler heads a less-than-stellar field and tops our Power Rankings, but who fills out the top five?

CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Prediction, Tips and Odds

5 - Ben Griffin

­­Some golfers are better suited to sterner tests, others prefer the lower-scoring birdie fests. Ben Griffin falls firmly into the latter category; as such, you can disregard his run of MC-T69-T44-T44-MC-MC-T40 at Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach, TPC Scottsdale, Torrey Pines again, Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass, Innisbrook and TPC San Antonio.

A better gauge of Griffin’s form can be found in his run of T7-T4-T4-T18 from the three-course American Express, Vidanta Villarta, PGA National and Memorial Park coming prior to him getting his first PGA Tour win last week at the Zurich Classic alongside Andrew Novak.

It might be hard to read too much into a team event that uses two formats, but a win’s a win, and with another gentler test facing Griffin this week, he can build on his T13 from last year.

4 - Sungjae Im

Although his iron play looked to be getting back to its best in the second half of what was a disappointing 2024, Sungjae Im has struggled on approach in recent weeks, though has shown some life in his last two starts.

Returning to bentgrass greens, it’s a surface the South Korean likes putting on, and although TPC Craig Ranch is a long course, it’s something of a second-shot course with players needing to attack pins from the right locations, and his supreme driving accuracy will make up for a lack of distance.

Despite having a strong all-round game that has seen him contend at Augusta, Im has shown he can separate himself in these weaker fields with low scoring and he ranks ninth in the field for birdie or better percentage in the last 12 months.

His second PGA Tour win came at the Shriner’s Children’s Open in 2021 with a score of -24, and in the last 12 months he has a T12 at the John Deere Classic, a T4 at the Genesis Scottish Open and a third-place finish at the Sentry, all similar types of test.

More recently, he’s finished T5 and T11 at Augusta and Harbour Town – two more second-shot courses, and Im could go well again this week.

3 - Jordan Spieth

Nobody likes golf in Texas more than Dallas native Jordan Spieth. Of his 10 non-major PGA Tour wins, four have come in Texas and while we may never see the Spieth of old, he’s still able to recapture his best form at places he’s comfortable.

After a five-month injury layoff, Spieth returned with a T69 at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. A week later he finished T4 at the WM Phoenix Open, recording a sixth top-10 in eight appearances at the venue, showing that he can still produce at venues he's accustomed to.

Although Spieth missed the cut at his last TPC Craig Ranch outing, his two previous finishes were T9 and solo second.

More recently he’s finished T12-T14-T18 at the Valero Texas Open, Masters and RBC Heritage,  and has gained strokes on the field in seven of his last eight starts.

2 - Taylor Pendrith

While many golfers will have a propensity for a certain surface of green, Taylor Pendrith seems to love bentgrass. Excluding his missed cut at his first Masters outing a couple of weeks ago, Pendrith has gained at least 0.5 strokes with the flat stick on his last six bentgrass outings, putting at a genuinely elite level.

Over those last six outings, Pendrith has finished T3-1-T33-5-T13-8 with that win coming in his maiden CJ Cup Byron Nelson appearance 12 months ago.

This event last year seemed to trigger a change in fortunes for Pendrith, who’d previously missed the cut in five of his last six regular PGA Tour events. From there he finished in the top 25 in 10 of his next 13 PGA Tour stops.

Pendrith likes longer courses where he can maximise his distance off the tee, as well as less-than-stellar fields where he can achieve separation from the weaker players.

A deluge forecast prior to the tournament will lengthen the course further, and there’s every chance Pendrith goes back-to-back.

1 - Scottie Scheffler

Who else? The New Jersey-born Texan heads home for the CJ CUP Byron Nelson for the fourth time, having missed last year’s edition.

His last two outings have seen him finish T15 and T5, but a putting competition doesn’t make for an ideal challenge for Scheffler.

Although Scheffler hasn’t won this season, he’s still being playing at an elite level. Even at the Masters, after cruising to an opening 68, Scheffler was stuck in second gear for the rest of the week and still came fourth.

Excluding around the green, which shouldn’t have much of a say on this week’s proceedings, Scheffler has gained strokes in in 23 of the 24 strokes gained categories across his eight starts this season.

He’s bound to set up dozens of birdie chances over the week and if he holes his share of putts, he wins hands down.