Before the U.S. PGA Championship, the final PGA Tour event is attracting some big names to the field at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas this weekend.
Following an impressive win at the Wells Fargo Championship this past Sunday, Max Homa – now ranked 29th in the world rankings – is returning to McKinney in Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson event. Still, he’ll face a considerably higher level of difficulty on the field this week.
Homa will be joined by the No.1 player from the men’s world golf rankings at the TPC Craig Ranch. Alongside the Masters champ Scottie Scheffler, we’ll see Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama. To say the AT&T Bryon Nelson line-up is stacked would be an understatement.
Predicting the winner of this event could prove problematic for even the best of handicappers, not only because nine of the world’s top 20 golfers will be present.
Last year’s winner KH Lee shot 25-under par on the expansive, soft, big, flat, bentgrass greens in a shootout until the end. Lee wasn’t expected to win, and you’d believe the course overall with a Masters around the corner would push the world’s best away from competing, but that isn’t the case. We’re seeing triple the amount of top 20 golfers compete in McKinney compared to last week’s trip to Maryland. This could provide a rare occasion: a low-scoring weekend where the possibility of an elite-level champion is likely or is it?
On the road to his three-stroke, breakout PGA Tour title moment, Lee ranked T5 in greens in regulation, 4th in proximity and 2nd in putting. In addition, he placed 9th in Strokes Gained: Putting and T18 in scrambling. His scorching hot outing last year won’t easily be emulated, and this could point towards another first-time winner of the 2022 edition of the AT&T Bryon Nelson in Texas.
AT& T Byron Nelson Betting Odds
Scottie Scheffler is no stranger to the TPC Craig Ranch course, and he’s notably returning to his home state of Texas, and a win here could finish a dream year for the world’s No.1. However, we shouldn’t neglect that Scheffler is utilizing this event as a warm-up run in preparation for next week’s PGA Championship – and the bookmakers are giving the hometown hero a lot of respect in their available odds. Scheffler is the betting favorite with an available price of +1000, but is the Augusta hero justified to take this position?
Of course, we should never overlook the Masters champion. Still, he wasn’t impressive during the initial four rounds in the Zurich Classic, and he could be suffering from a lack of confidence with the added pressure of a Texas fan base looking on.
Arkansas is the nearest state to Texas to place a bet, and we should expect significant Texan money being wagered on Scheffler. Still, countless alternative betting options provide a more lavish set of odds.
In the same Zurich event where Scheffler delivered an underwhelming performance, the up-and-coming Sam Burns performed excellently with a second-place finish. We believe his available odds of +2000 are an intriguing bet. Burns was the runner-up at last year’s Craig Ranch event, and he evidently flourishes on this course with the Zoysia fairways.
The other top 10 players expected to win by the sportsbooks are the evident selections. Still, we should expect the main focus to be on next week’s Major, which could cause most of these championship-caliber golfers to take it easy in Texas.
Scottie Scheffler +1000
Justin Thomas +1300
Xander Schauffele +2000
Sam Burns +2000
Jordan Spieth +2000
Dustin Johnson +2200
Will Zalatoris +2200
Brooks Koepka +3000
Joaquin Niemann +3000
Hideki Matsuyama +3000
TPC Craig Ranch Course Information
Course: TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
Prize money: $9.1 million ($1.4 million to the winner)
Length: 7,468 yards
Par: 72 – four par-fives; ten par-fours; four par-threes
The Field: 156 (The cut: Top 65 and ties qualify for round three)
Highest-ranked players: Scottie Scheffler #1, Justin Thomas #8, Jordan Spieth #9, Sam Burns #10, Dustin Johnson #11
