THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson
Purse: $9.9M
Winner's Share: $1.782M
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Course: Colonial Country Club
Yardage: 7,289
Par: 70
Previous Winners
2025 - Ben Griffin (-12)
2024 - Davis Riley (-14)
2023 - Emiliano Grillo (-8)
2022 - Sam Burns (-9)
2021 - Jason Kokrak (-14)
2020 - Daniel Berger (-15)
2019 - Kevin Na (-13)
2018 - Justin Rose (-20)
2017 - Kevin Kisner (-10)
2016 - Jordan Spieth (-17)
Recap: Clark victorious in birdie-fest at TPC Craig Ranch
THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson has historically been a low-scoring event, with Scottie Scheffler winning last year's tournament with a cumulative event record of 31-under. Organizers poured $25 million into course renovations to make TPC Craig Ranch more challenging, but it was still very much a birdie fest this past weekend. The field at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson was thin with top-talent, with Scheffler and Si Woo Kim being the only players ranked in the top-25 of the OWGR. Kim and Scheffler were the final pairing in Sunday's round, and while both of them put together respectable scores, neither of them were able to keep up with a surging Wyndham Clark, who used a bogey-free, 11-under 60 score to win the tournament at 30-under for his fourth PGA Tour victory and first since the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Meanwhile, Blades Brown's T14 finish was enough for the 19-year-old to earn Special Temporary Membership, allowing him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the rest of the 2026 PGA Tour season. That puts Brown in a bit of a tricky spot, as he's 13th in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, with the top-20 on the list earning PGA Tour Membership for 2027. He's listed in the field for the Korn Ferry's UNC Health Challenge next week but will bounce back and forth between the Korn Ferry and PGA for the rest of the season. Other notable finishes include Keith Mitchell (solo fifth), Tony Finau (T6), Stephan Jaeger (T9), Brooks Koepka (T14), Jordan Spieth (T19) and Pierceson Coody (T19).
Tournament Preview: Charles Schwab Challenge
Last week's CJ CUP lacked firepower outside of Kim and Scheffler, but the Charles Schwab Challenge has seven players ranked in the top-20 of the OWGR in the field: J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre, Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin and Hideki Matsuyama, with Arnold Palmer winner Akshay Bhatia also teeing off at Colonial Country Club.
TPC Craig Ranch was a low-scoring affair, but birdies will be harder to come by this week at Colonial, with six of the last seven winners carding scores lower than 15-under. That said, there could still be several low-scoring rounds this week as conditions are supposed to be favorable. Several courses on the PGA Tour schedule include named three-hole stretches, and Colonial is no different with its "Horrible Horseshoe." What's different about this stretch is that it occurs early in the round -- holes three to five -- rather than as the course finisher. Getting out of the Horrible Horseshoe unscathed is a huge win, as it features two par-4s of 475 yards with a 250-yard par-3 in the middle. Hole five in particular has traditionally been one of the hardest holes on Tour; 30 double bogeys and five triples were scored at No. 5 last year.
The fairways at Colonial are narrow, and while accuracy off the tee is a premium, there are spots where players are going to naturally miss, so being a long bomber here isn't going to penalize you all too much as long as you can get yourself out of trouble. Four of the last five winners ended the tournament in the top-10 in driving distance that week. The important aspects of this course will be approach play and GIR. Mid-iron play (i.e., 100-to-200 yards) in particular will be critical. Great putting is another key attribute, as each of the last five winners finished in the top-7 in SG: Putting. Finally, with only two par-5s on the track, the par-4s are where most of the field will need to score low, five of which are under 415 yards.
Underdog Contest Overview
Underdog hosts drafts every week at three buy-in amounts; The Par 3 at $3, the featured draft at $10, and "The Sandbagger" at $100. Each entrant will be paired up with five other participants and participate in a six-man snake draft of teams made up of six players (36 total selections), with each selection on a 30-second timer. For example, the person with the first overall pick and lucky enough to get Scheffler (unless you like to live dangerously) will have to wait until 2.6 and 3.1 to make their next selections. Points are allocated to golfers based on their performance on every hole, with bonus points available for golfers who make consecutive birdies or finish a round bogey free.
First Two Rounds
Alex Smalley (3.9 Average Draft Position)
Ludvig Aberg (1.0) and Justin Thomas (2.3) are the clear top-2 picks of early drafters, so I'll focus on preferred options at the 3-4 spot, starting with Smalley. He took last week off, but it was a much-deserved break after his performance at the PGA Championship, when he held the 54-hole lead before being surpassed by the surging Aaron Rai to settle for a share of second with Jon Rahm. Smalley had been playing good golf even before the second major of the year, finishing T21-T14-T7-T17 in his four prior solo tournaments and a T2 with teammate Hayden Springer at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Smalley has a strong all-around game, ranking in the top-55 in SG: Off-the-Tee, Around-the-Green, Approach and Putting. He's also 12th in proximity and 16th in GIR.
Russell Henley (4.0 ADP)
Like Smalley, Henley also took the week off, but the latter is looking to get back on track following his MC at the PGA Championship. It was the third time this season that Henley failed to make it to the weekend, but he bounced back nicely after each of his prior two MC's (T6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T3 at The Masters). He may not be the longest driver, but he's been the most accurate on the PGA Tour this season while also ranking in the top-40 in SG: Around-the-Green, Tee-to-Green and Putting. Henley also leads the PGA in scrambling and ranks ninth in approaches from 150-to-175 yards and 11th in par-4 scoring.
Rickie Fowler (7.0 ADP)
Fowler had plenty of momentum heading into the PGA Championship with three-straight top-10s, but he fell down to a T60 finish at Aronimink after struggling in the final round. Colonial Country Club is a good opportunity for him to bounce back, as he's made the cut in four consecutive years at the Charles Schwab, including T6 in 2023 and T16 in 2025. Fowler ranks seventh in par-4 scoring, 20th in SG: Putting, 29th in total driving and in the top-50 in SG: Tee-to-Green, Off-the-Tee and Approach .
Sudarshan Yellamaraju (12.0 ADP)
Yellamaraju has shown flashes of potential this season, highlighted by a T5 performance at THE PLAYERS Championship. He failed to make the cut at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, but the 24-year-old Canadian has the kind of game that can do well at Colonial, as he ranks in the top-50 in SG: Off-the-Tee, Approach and Putting. Yellamaraju is also 10th in total driving (including 25th in distance), 15th in Approaches greater than 100 yards, 25th in par-4 scoring and 26th in bogey avoidance
Also consider: Keith Mitchell (6.9 ADP - coming off a solo fifth at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, his best finish of the season. Ranks fifth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 19th in SG: Tee-to-Green, 21st in GIR and 23rd in driving distance).
Middle-Round Value
Max Greyserman (13.3 ADP)
It's been a tough 2026 season for Greyserman, but he appears to have turned a corner following his T14 at the PGA Championship and T9 last week at TH CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the latter of which was his first top-10 of the year. He doesn't have great stats this year, but last week he gained 11.2 strokes with his irons while finishing second in GIR and 18th in SG: Off-the-Tee. Greyserman finished T22 at last year's Charles Schwab after failing to make the cut in his event debut in 2024.
J.J. Spaun (15.3 ADP)
Spaun has missed the cut in six of 13 tournaments this season, including both majors, but he's also finished in the top-25 in four of his last six events, including T5 at the Truist Championship and a victory at the Valspar. He's enjoyed recent success at Colonial, finishing T6 in 2025 after failing to make it to the weekend the year prior. Spaun ranks eighth this season in SG: Approach (including second in proximity), 14th in SG: Tee-to-Green and 44th in SG: Off-the-Tee (including 20th in driving accuracy).
Stephan Jaeger (19.9 ADP)
Like Greyserman, Jaeger has turned his 2026 season around over the past couple of weeks with a T18 at the PGA Championship and T9 last week at TPC Craig Ranch. He's been one of the better short-game players on the Tour this season, but he finished 12th in GIR and T9 in driving distance last week. Jaeger also ranks 42nd in SG: Putting this season.
Gary Woodland (24.0 ADP)
Woodland's missed cut at the PGA Championship was his first since THE PLAYERS in March, but he's enjoyed success at Colonial Country Club, making the cut in five of six prior outings that include a solo ninth in 2020 and a T11 finish last year. He ranks fourth on the PGA Tour this season driving distance, 11th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 18th in par-4 scoring and in the top-55 in both SG: Approach and Putting.
Also consider: Eric Cole (23.0 ADP - jumped up 25 spots to T31 last week thanks to a six-under 65 score in the final round. Ranks fourth this season in SG: Around-the-Green, 16th in SG: Putting and top-50 in both par-4 scoring and SG: Approach).
Late-Round Targets
Mac Meissner (26.5 ADP)
After missing the cut in three straight tournaments, Meissner has finished T31 or better in each of his last five events, including a T9 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. He's made the cut in each of his two appearances at Colonial, including a T5 finish in 2024. Meissner ranks in the top-60 this season in SG: Putting, Approach, Around-the-Green and Off-the-Tee. He's also 25th in both par-4 scoring and scrambling.
Brian Harman (29.9 ADP)
Harman saw his chances of a top-15 finish at the PGA Championship dashed away by a five-over 75 score in the final round, ultimately settling for a T60 finish. He's enjoyed success at the Charles Schwab Challenge, making the cut in 11 of 13 previous outings including a T24 in 2024. Harman ranks 17th this season in approach outside 100 yards, including seventh in approaches from 125-to-150 yards.
Andrew Putnam (33.0 ADP)
Putnam is back in action after withdrawing from last week's Byron Nelson, and he's looking for better results than his T55 at the PGA Championship. He's made the cut in three of his last four outings at Colonial, and his T3 in 2019 is his best finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Putnam ranks third in driving accuracy, seventh in scrambling, eighth in SG: Around-the-Green and 48th in SG: Approach.
Jackson Suber (36.0 ADP)
Suber has missed the cut in five of 10 tournaments this season but has strung together strong performances as of late, including a T19 at the ONEflight and solo fourth at last week's CJ CUP. He's been one of the best iron players on Tour this season, ranking seventh in proximity, 14th in SG: Approach and 15th in GIR. Suber also ranks 14th in approaches from 100-to-125 yards and 19th in approaches from 125-to-150 yards.
Also consider: Johnny Keefer (30.5 ADP - bounced back from his solo 79th at the PGA Championship with a T9 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Ranks second in proximity, fourth in GIR, 12th in driving distance and 17th in SG: Off-the-Tee).
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