2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson PGA Tour Betting Odds: Scottie Scheffler enters as a heavy favourite
Considering it is being played the week after the PGA Championship, it’s a pretty decent field this week on the PGA Tour at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson event from Texas. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is a ridiculously priced favourite on the golf odds.
CJ Cup Byron Nelson
I actually doubt Scheffler, the only world Top 20 guy in the field, would be playing this week if the tournament wasn’t near his Dallas home. And he’s the defending champion, shooting a tournament-record score of 31-under 253 to lap the field by a whopping eight shots in 2025 – the previous three stagings were each decided by a one stroke. It was the second largest margin of victory in event history, and Scheffler was only the third wire-to-wire winner.
The total of 253 tied the PGA Tour record set by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open and equaled six years later by Ludvig Åberg at the RSM Classic. Scheffler shot a final-round 63. That victory came 11 years after his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson as a high school senior.
TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas, has been the host since 2021. The course underwent a $25 million overhaul in 2025, its first major redesign since opening in 2004, and now plays to par 71 at 7,385 yards.
I’m a bit surprised that Aaron Rai (+4200) is playing as on Sunday he became the first Englishman in more than a century era to win the PGA Championship for his first career major championship title. His 72-hole total of 9-under 271 was three strokes better than Jon Rahm and Alex Smalley. Rai sank the putt of his life on No. 17 Sunday outside Philadelphia, a 68.5-footer on the par-3 17th to briefly go four strokes in front.
Rai’s victory ended a 10-year streak of American golfers winning the Wanamaker Trophy. With Rory McIlroy taking the Masters in April, it’s the first time European golfers have won the first two majors of the season.
My 2025 pick here to win was South Korea’s Si Woo Kim at +3000, and he finished T15.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson Golf Odds
Scottie Scheffler (+150) entered the PGA Championship on a string of three straight second-place finishes on the Tour, but his putter betrayed him last week and he finished a disappointing 14th. Still just the one victory this season for the world No. 1. He looks to become the first repeat winner of this tournament since South Korea’s KH Lee in 2022.
Another Korean, Si Woo Kim (also a Dallas resident), is +1225. As noted, he was my pick to win last year. He hasn’t been worse than 15th here since 2022 and was a runner-up in 2023. Texas native Jordan Spieth (+1850) always plays events in his state. He hasn’t won on Tour in years but was a solid 15th at the PGA Championship and has a handful of Top 20s this year. Spieth, who made his PGA Tour debut in this tournament at age 16 in 2010, hasn’t won this event yet but was fourth last year and a runner-up in 2022. He seeks his first Top 10 on Tour since the 2025 Memorial Tournament.
Brooks Koepka (+2600) and Keith Mitchell (+3200) round out the favourites. Koepka had been on the LIV Tour so he hasn’t played this event since a missed cut in 2021. He was 55th at the PGA Championship and looking for his first Tour win since the 2023 PGA Championship. Mitchell is not having a good year with just a single Top 10 and was 20th his last visit here in 2024.
The only Canadian to win this tournament was Taylor Pendrith in 2024 at 23-under 261 and one shot up on runner-up Ben Kohles. Pendrith flopped last year trying to repeat in shooting 67-71 and missing the cut. None of the four from Canada last year played the weekend with Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson and Ben Silverman also missing the cut. Pendrith is +5900 this week with Hughes +11500, Svensson +28000, AJ Ewart +31000, Adam Hadwin +40000 and Silverman +70000. It’s the event debut for the 27-year-old Ewart, who looks for his first career win and first Top 10 this year.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson Golf Predictions
Like an American winner overall but will take a long-shot wager on Eric Cole (+7800) getting his first PGA Tour victory. The 37-year-old didn’t qualify for the PGA Championship but hasn’t been worse than T14 in his past three events and has been fifth and 23rd in two trips to the Byron Nelson.