Steve Palmer's AT&T Byron Nelson predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 1.30pm tomorrow

Best bets

Bryson DeChambeau
5pts 9-1 Betfred, Hills

Scottie Scheffler
3pts each-way 20-1 general

Keith Mitchell
1pt each-way 80-1 Sporting Index

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The PGA Tour moves to previously uncharted terrain this week, with the TPC Craig Ranch taking centre stage, and Dustin Johnson will not be taking part. The world number one was set to tee up in Texas, but he complained of a knee problem on Monday night and has withdrawn, eager to get himself fully fit for next week's US PGA Championship.

Jon Rahm tops the betting for the AT&T Byron Nelson despite missing the cut by two shots at Quail Hollow last week. Jordan Spieth makes his first appearance since finishing third in the Masters and the Texas Open champion, based in Dallas, will be well fancied on home turf this week.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Bryson DeChambeau 9-1

The claims of Spieth are obvious and the three-time Major champion should be a factor if he can quickly shake off a month's rust, but preference is for a player who makes Spieth look like a powder-puff driver. Bryson DeChambeau can bully Craig Ranch into submission this week.

DeChambeau, the longest driver on the PGA Tour, will be licking his lips at the layout, particularly with a Tuesday thunderstorm set to soften the track. The fairways are welcoming - only extremely errant hitting will find serious trouble - and the Dallas-based 27-year-old knows the venue much better than most.

Having not played since the Masters, DeChambeau was full of rust in the early stages of the Wells Fargo Championship and thought he had missed the halfway cut. He flew home to Dallas on Friday afternoon, before realising he had made the cut on the mark, then jetted back to Charlotte in the early hours of the following morning.

An eight-under-par weekend followed - a pair of 68s - which hauled DeChambeau up to ninth place. That was an incredible effort in the circumstances and the Californian is thrilled with the state of every department of his game bar his driving. His short-game is in great shape and if he can straighten out his driver in the three days prior to his Byron Nelson tee-off, the world number four looks the man to beat.

Next best bet

Scottie Scheffler 20-1

Another Dallas-based pro may provide the main obstacle to DeChambeau. Scottie Scheffler has lived in this part of the world virtually his whole life and relishes competition in the Lone Star State. He finished runner-up in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, at the end of March and has been threatening a PGA Tour breakthrough ever since his promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour in the summer of 2019.

Scheffler has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, is one of the best maidens on the PGA Tour, and his power and ball-striking class make him seem an ideal candidate to contend at Craig Ranch.

Other selections

Keith Mitchell 80-1

Complete a three-pronged attack with Keith Mitchell, who gave a good account of himself in a high-pressure final twoball alongside a triumphant Rory McIlroy at Quail Hollow on Sunday. Third place in the Wells Fargo was a continuation of a Mitchell purple patch which makes him a lively outsider for Craig Ranch.

Mitchell started playing well in the Texas Open just over a month ago, finishing 17th, then he was the standout performer in the Zurich Classic pairs event, finishing fourth alongside Brandt Snedeker, who happily admitted afterwards that Mitchell would have won the Zurich by about ten shots had it been an individuals event.

It seemed Mitchell's form had disappeared when he carded a final-round 82 in the Valspar Championship, but it subsequently came to light that his putter had somehow been knocked out of alignment. Having taken 42 putts with his dodgy flat-stick in Florida, he got it fixed and putted solidly at Quail Hollow. His ball-striking was imperious throughout the Wells Fargo and he can make waves this week at a tournament in which he finished third in 2018.

Players to note

Marc Leishman
The Aussie, who won the Zurich Classic alongside Cameron Smith last time out, finished fifth in the Masters last month and has a great Byron Nelson record. He also has some course form, having tied seventh in the 2008 Nationwide Tour Championship at Craig Ranch.

Will Zalatoris
The Texas-based greens-in-regulation machine produced an uncharacteristically poor performance at Quail Hollow to miss the cut. This seems an ideal opportunity for the Masters runner-up to resume normal service.

Si Woo Kim
The Korean lives in Dallas and should have decent knowledge of Craig Ranch. The American Express champion seems likely to feature on the leaderboard.

Cameron Champ
The power-packed Californian was bright alongside Tony Finau in the Zurich Classic and could fall in love with this layout.

Craig Ranch course guide

Course TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas
Prize money $8.1m ($1.422m to the winner)
Length 7,468 yards
Par 72
Field 156
Course records- 72 holes 267 Matt Bettencourt (2008 Nationwide Tour Championship) 18 holes 63 Peter Tomasulo, Matt Bettencourt (2008 Nationwide Tour Championship)

When to bet By 1pm tomorrow

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf red button from 1.30pm tomorrow

Time difference Texas is six hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - Wells Fargo Championship 1 R McIlroy (20-1), 2 A Ancer (40-1), T3 V Hovland (22-1), K Mitchell (140-1), 5 G Woodland (140-1), T6 M Wallace (90-1), P Reed (28-1), L List (200-1)

Spectator quota 10,000 per day (25 percent of capacity)

Course type Parkland

Course overview TPC Craig Ranch, a private course designed by Tom Weiskopf and opened in 2004, hosts for the first time. It staged the Nationwide Tour Championship in 2008 and the Web.com Tour Championship in 2012 - an event which became the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2019. It was also used for the second stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in 2019. A creek comes into play on the course 14 times. The track has Zoysia fairways and fairly slow bentgrass greens. Winning totals of 267 and 268 in the Tour Championship mentioned above suggest the PGA Tour professionals will make mincemeat of Craig Ranch, despite its considerable yardage. The leading Korn Ferry qualifier carded 270 in 2019. Driveable par-fours are a feature of Weiskopf designs and the downhill 330-yard 14th, with water left and bunkers around the greens, is the signature hole at Craig Ranch. The 18th is a reachable par-five, heavily bunkered at the driving landing zone.

Story of 2019 Sung Kang won the last AT&T Byron Nelson, winning by two shots at TPC Four Seasons

Weather forecast A Tuesday thunderstorm softened the track. Clear, sunny conditions are forecast for the event, with two relatively calm days followed by a windy weekend

Type of player suited to the challenge The trees are a long way from the fairways, making for welcoming targets off the tee, and this looks a stage for big-hitters to thrive

Key attribute Power

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