Steve Palmer's free predictions and golf betting tips for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

When to bet on the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

By 12.50pm on Thursday

Where can I watch the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.45pm on Thursday

Steve Palmer's CJ Cup Byron Nelson predictions

Sam Burns
3.5pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Taylor Pendrith
2.5pts each-way 33-1 bet365

Byeong Hun An
2.5pts each-way 25-1 Hills

Davis Riley
1.5pts each-way 70-1 bet365

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Steve Palmer's CJ Cup Byron Nelson preview

Scottie Scheffler dominates the market for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson as he bids to win his first title of the season. The world number one has played eight events without success and finished tied for eighth in the Heritage last time out.

Scheffler makes no appeal at such short odds, given the straightforward nature of this week's layout. The honours board at TPC Craig Ranch is filled with players who putted superbly during Byron Nelson week and Scheffler does not come with a guarantee of flat-stick performance.

Jordan Spieth is creeping back into form and will be relishing a home-state gig this week, but bookmakers are giving nothing away on him either. The top two in the betting can be opposed on value grounds.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Sam Burns 28-1

Form is temporary, class is permanent, and Sam Burns may have found his A-game at the ideal time to be a leading title contender on the PGA Tour over the next few months.

Burns is driving his ball well again, his iron-play is showing signs of life, and his typically dependable putter is warming up. The five-time PGA Tour champion looks primed for a big performance in the Byron Nelson.

Burns finished 46th in the Masters earlier this month, then followed up with 13th spot in the Heritage, closing with a 67. That was the sort of form he showed when banking some enormous cheques in the second half of last season.

From June onwards last year, Burns posted eight top-20s, including ninth spot in the US Open, fifth in the FedEx St Jude Championship and second in the BMW Championship. February and March were hugely disappointing this year, but this class act seems back in business.

Burns has already won two PGA Tour titles in Texas – the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial and the 2023 WGC-Match Play – and the 28-year-old can threaten a hat-trick on Sunday. He was runner-up on his Craig Ranch debut in 2021 and looks ready to rumble in the Lone Star State again.

Next best bet

Taylor Pendrith 33-1

The defending champion may well retain his title. Kyoung-Hoon Lee won back-to-back Byron Nelsons at Craig Ranch in 2021 and 2022, and Pendrith seems well capable of doing likewise. The course, lengthened this year and playing soft, is paradise for a powerhouse like the Canadian giant.

Pendrith finished fifth on a similarly suitable Texas layout in the Houston Open a month ago. A missed cut on his Masters debut followed, which is easy to forgive, then 42nd place of 72 in a high-class Heritage. That was the first time he had teed up on a weekend at the Heritage and he carded rounds of 67 and 68.

Pendrith has a 100 per cent record of success at Craig Ranch – last year's victory came on his tournament debut – and the market does not appear to be showing enough respect to the champion.

Other selections

Byeong Hun An 25-1
Davis Riley 70-1

The time may have come for Byeong Hun An to make an overdue PGA Tour breakthrough. He won the US Amateur at the age of 17 in 2009, triumphed on the Challenge Tour in 2014, on the DP World Tour with an emphatic 2015 BMW PGA success at Wentworth, then on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022. A PGA Tour title has been elusive, but the South Korean is looking better than ever aged 33.

From the Arnold Palmer Invitational onwards, An has looked in control. He finished eighth at Bay Hill, 16th in the Valspar, 21st in the Masters, then was mid-division in the Heritage last time out. 

Craig Ranch, where he finished 14th on debut in 2023 before closing with a 65 for fourth place last year, seems ideal terrain for this attacking player. He was fifth in the 2017 Byron Nelson at a different track.

Complete a four-pronged attack with Davis Riley, a class act hitting his irons better than ever and looking to win a PGA Tour title in Texas for a second time. He won at Colonial last year by a five-shot margin. One of his two KFT titles came in Texas in 2020, too.

Riley finished ninth on his Craig Ranch debut in 2022, before fourth spot at Colonial later that year. Sixth spot in the Puerto Rico Open at the start of last month has been followed by 38th at Sawgrass, seventh in the Valspar, 52nd in Houston, then 21st on his Masters debut. He closed with a 69 at Augusta, which must have provided a huge injection of confidence.

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Course guide for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson

• Course TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
• Prize money $9.9m ($1.71m to the winner)
• Length 7,569 yards
• Par 71 – three par-five holes; 11 par-fours; four par-threes
• Field 156 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
• Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Scottie Scheffler (1), Sungjae Im (20), Byeong Hun An (37), Tom Kim (38), Sam Burns (39)
• Course records - 72 holes 261 Jason Day (2023), Taylor Pendrith (2024) 18 holes 60 Sebastian Munoz (2022), Seung-Yul Noh (2023)
• Course winners taking part Taylor Pendrith
• When to bet By 12.50pm on Thursday
• When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 12.45pm on Thursday
• Time difference Texas is six hours behind the UK and Ireland
• Last week – Zurich Classic 1 B Griffin & A Novak (22-1), 2 N Hojgaard & R Hojgaard (28-1), 3 J Knapp & F Capan (80-1), T4 D Lipsky & D Wu (200-1), T Dickson & T Crowe (250-1), K Vilips & M Thorbjornsen (45-1), L List & H Norlander (90-1)
• Course type Parkland
• Course overview TPC Craig Ranch hosted the Byron Nelson for the first time in 2021. It staged the Nationwide Tour Championship in 2008 and the Web.com Tour Championship in 2012. It was also used for the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in 2019, won by Taylor Montgomery. The track has Zoysia fairways, relatively slow bentgrass greens, and is easy for Tour pros. The 14th hole is a driveable par-four
• The story of last year Taylor Pendrith claimed a maiden PGA Tour title, edging Ben Kohles by a shot
• Weather forecast Huge pre-tournament thunderstorms are forecast, so the course should be playing extremely soft. Clear and relatively calm on Thursday and Friday, before a thundery weekend with moderate breezes
• Type of player suited to the challenge This long, soft course sets up well for big hitters and another powerhouse putting well can follow Taylor Pendrith into the winner's enclosure
• Key attribute Power

Steve Palmer's CJ Cup Byron Nelson key stat

The five winners of the Byron Nelson at this course finished in the top two of the putting average stats

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