DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson Cash and GPP Strategy

This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.

THE CJ CUP BYRON NELSON

Purse: $9.9M
Winner's Share: $1.782M
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: McKinney, Texas
Course: TPC Craig Ranch
Yardage: 7,569
Par: 71
2024 champion: Taylor Pendrith

Tournament Preview

By this time last year, Scottie Scheffler had won four tournaments: the Masters, PLAYERS Championship and two Signature Events. This year, he's eating a bagel.

Where have you gone, Scottie?

Not very far, actually.

Despite getting a late start to his season (see: ravioli, Christmas), Scheffler sits fourth in the FedExCup Standings behind only Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Sepp Straka. No, he hasn't won. But in eight starts, he's finished second, third, fourth, eighth and ninth.

This week should be Scheffler's best chance all season to snag a win (though of course he still has plenty of time for multiple wins). The 156-man Byron Nelson field is woefully weak, to the point that Scheffler, who has been going off somewhere around +350/+400 every week, now sits at the tiny number of +280. In DFS, he's in his usual price range, at $13,300. But this week, he's nearly $3,000 clear of anyone else.

The only other names of note in the field are Jordan Spieth, Sungjae Im, Sam Burns, Tom Kim, Will Zalatoris, Byeong Hun An and defending champion Taylor Pendrith. And you know if An and Pendrith are "names of note," it is a truly weak field.

Looking only at Scheffler's stats and not his results, you'd think he's already won in 2025, perhaps more than once. He's second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, fourth in SG: Approach, sixth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 79th in SG: Around-the-Green and an eye-opening-for-him 44th in SG: Putting. It all adds up to being ranked second in SG: Total, behind only McIlroy. Scheffler is also first in scrambling, par-4 scoring and bogey avoidance, and second in proximity and overall scoring average.

Perhaps tellingly, he's first on Tour in front-nine scoring and 24th in back nine. Still not bad, but that might be why Scheffler is coming close but not being able to close.

Last year at the Nelson, Scheffler had an off-week as he tied for fifth (that would be sarcasm).

The CJ Group is in the second year of a 10-year deal as title sponsor. The tournament is a good fit for the South Korean conglomerate. The Dallas area has become a U.S. hub of many Korean golfers, and they've done well in the Nelson. K.H. Lee is a two-time winner, while Sung Kang and Sang-moon Bae have also won it.

TPC Craig Ranch, however, is signed on only through this year. The 2004 Tom Weiskopf design located about 35 miles north of Dallas has been well received in its first four years, despite being a big-time birdie-fest. Pendrith and Jason Day won at 23-under the past two years. Lee won the first two years at 25- and 26-under, though the track was a par-72 then.

Two years ago, in an effort to curtail scoring, they took away one of the four par-5s and turned it into a par-71 track. The 12th hole went from a 547-yard par-5 to a 493-yard par-4. They also keep lengthening the track, now at over 7,500 yards. The fifth hole has ballooned to 635 yards, though the two other par-5s are quite gettable in two for almost the entire field. No. 18 is a mere 552 yards, so a final-hole eagle is in play.

Three of the par-3s surpass 200 yards and seven par-4s exceed 450 yards, with two of them at 500-plus. But there are also short par-4s, including two that are semi-drivable, the 361-yard 6th and the 362-yard 14th. The course features tree-lined fairways leading to large bentgrass greens (averaging almost 6,800 square feet). There is prominent water all along the course, mainly in the name of Rowlett Creek, and it will come into play on 13 of the 18 holes. There are 83 bunkers.

It all adds up to Craig Ranch annually being among the 10 easiest courses on Tour.

As for the weather, there's a good chance of thunderstorms on Friday morning. But otherwise, high temperatures will be in the 70s or 80s and the wind is forecast to be moderate, though we know what can happen with wind in Texas.

Byron Nelson sponsor invite factoid I: In 2019, playing at Trinity Forest, the struggling tournament brought in Tony Romo to add some juice. He missed the cut by a mere nine strokes, though that was actually better than four other real golfers who completed 36 holes.

Byron Nelson sponsor invite factoid II: English teenager Kris Kim is back on a sponsor invite after making the cut last as a 16-year-old. His mom, Ji-Hyun-Suh, competed on the LPGA Tour in the 1990s.

Key Stats to Winning at TPC Craig Ranch

The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Birdie Average/Birdie-or-Better Percentage (BOB%)
• Par-4 Scoring, especially 450-500 yards
• Strokes Gained: Putting

Past Champions

2024 - Taylor Pendrith (TPC Craig Ranch)
2023 - Jason Day (TPC Craig Ranch)
2022 - K.H. Lee (TPC Craig Ranch)
2021 - K.H. Lee (TPC Craig Ranch)
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Sung Kang (Trinity Forest)
2018 - Aaron Wise (Trinity Forest)
2017 - Billy Horschel (TPC Four Seasons)
2016 - Sergio Garcia (TPC Four Seasons)
2015 - Steven Bowditch (TPC Four Seasons)

Champion's Profile

The four editions of the tournament at TPC Craig Ranch have been Texas shootouts, with Lee winning at 25-under in 2021 and at 26-under in 2022. Pendrith and Day won at 23-under after the track was turned into a par-71. So there wasn't a huge difference, and the winning score should again be well into the 20s.

Last year, Pendrith ranked sixth in SG: off-the-Tee, 38th in Approach, third in Around-the-Green and 14th in Putting.

Two years ago, Day ranked 12th in Off-the-Tee, third in Approach and 31st in Aroun, which all added up to 1st in Tee-to-Green. He also ranked 28th in SG: Putting.

So you do have to putt pretty well, but it doesn't have to be great.

Golfodds.com puts the over/under on the winning score at 261.5 – 22.5 under par.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

$10,000 and up

Scottie Scheffler - $13,300 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +280)
Scheffler got his own little writeup at the top of this article. If there's ever a tournament he will win, even opposite 155 other golfers, this is it.

Jordan Spieth - $10,500 (+1800)  
Spieth is the No. 2 choice in the DFS universe and in the betting market. He has not been Spiethian this season, though this week he might not have to be. He has two top-10s in nine starts, with top-20s in his past three starts, including the Masters. Maybe 98 percent of this field would kill for those results. Spieth was ninth and then runner-up in the first two years at Craig Ranch, didn't play in 2023 and missed the cut last year.

$9,000-$9,900

Si Woo Kim - $9,400 (+3000)
Kim is coming off his best outing of the season, a tie for eighth at the RBC Heritage in which he had the 54-hole lead before fading on Sunday. He normally has trouble going super low because of his putting. But he's better than usual this season, ranked 123rd in SG: Putting. He's also done well here, tying for 13th last year and sharing runner-up in 2023.

Stephan Jaeger - $9,300 (+4000)  
Craig Ranch has similarities to Memorial Park in Houston, and more than just both being in Texas. Jaeger won the Houston Open two years ago. He's also tied for 20th and 11th at Craig Ranch the past two years. Jaeger is ranked top-40 on Tour in SG: Approach, Around and Putting. That may not sound all that awesome, but in this field that would get you in the Hall of Fame.

$8,000-$8,900

Ryan Gerard - $8,600 (+6000)  
Gerard played Craig Ranch only once before, missing the cut two years ago. He's a far better golfer now, and has been on a heater of late. He tied for ninth at Houston (see: Jaeger blurb above), then was runner-up at the Valero before tying for 27th at the RBC Heritage Signature Event. As such, he's ranked top-15 in the field in Approach, Putting and birdie-or-better over his past 24 rounds.

Jacob Bridgeman - $8,500 (+5000)  
Bridgeman is ranked No. 1 in this field in birdie-or-better and fourth in SG: Putting over his past 24 rounds (fifth in Putting on Tour on the season). During that time, he's finished third at the Valspar and T15 at Bay Hill. It also included a missed cut at Houston, but Bridgeman did shoot 66 in the second round that week. He is ranked 32nd in the FedEx Cup standings -- right on the cusp of the Tour Championship cutoff.

Jake Knapp - $8,400 (+5500)  
Knapp is amid a good season, with four top-25s and some near misses on others, including a T27 at Houston. He finished solo eighth here a year ago in his Nelson debut. Knapp is ranked 21st on Tour in SG: Putting, resulting in ranking 12th in birdie-or-better.

$7,000-$7,900

Lee Hodges - $7,500 (+8000)  
Hodges has made only eight starts this year because of injury. He's healthy now. He tied for 11th at Houston and for ninth at the Farmers. Impressively, Hodges is ranked 16th on Tour in SG: Total, highlighted by 19th in SG: Putting and 38th in Approach.

Sami Valimaki - $7,300 (+10000)  
The second-year Tour player from Finland has been on a roll. He finished fourth at Houston, then T12 at the Valero and T18 at the RBC Heritage. When you see that Valimaki is ranked eighth on Tour in Approach and 14th in Putting, it starts to make sense. His birdie-or-better numbers for the season aren't great, but over his past 24 rounds they are.

Davis Riley - $7,200 (+11000)  
Riley's season started WD-MC-MC-MC-MC. Since then he's made six straight cuts with two top-10s before a tie for 21st at a little tournament we like to call "the Masters." His birdie numbers are great over that stretch, he's been playing the long par-4s terrifically. Riley tied for ninth at Craig Ranch three years ago and for 30th last year.

$6,000-$6,900

Max McGreevy - $6,900 (+12000)  
McGreevy's season started out MC-MC-WD-MC. Since then, he's made six of eight cuts. He's actually very good with his longer clubs, ranking top-50 on Tour in Off-the-Tee, Approach and Tee-to-Green. He's ranked 116th in Putting, a little bit below the middle. McGreevy has made the cut here two of the past three years, including T30 last year.

Danny Walker - $6,600 (+17000)  
Walker's tie for sixth at THE PLAYERS may very well be his season highlight. His missed the Houston cut soon after, but did shoot a Friday 65, equaling his best round of the season. Walker is ranked top-50 on Tour in Approach, Around and Tee-to-Green. He's also top-20 in both birdie average and birdie-or-better.

Kevin Tway - $6,500 (+35000)  
It's always a struggle identifying a bargain-bin play at $6,500 or under. Tway has been terrible this season. But was terrible in past seasons and still managed to tie for ninth and 11th the past two years at Craig Ranch. Playing out of the 126-150 category this season, he's made only five starts. One of them was a made cut at another long track, Torrey Pines. Another was last week and, while it was the Zurich Classic team event, any made cut goes a long way for a guy needing confidence. Tway hits the ball far and is a good putter. It's the stuff in between that gives him trouble.

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