The AT&T Byron Nelson resumes this week after its cancellation in 2020 due to Covid-19 and finds itself hosted at a new venue, the Tom Weiskopf-designed TPC Craig Ranch, which plays to a par 72 and measures 7,468 yards. The tournament has been played for the last two years at Trinity Forest, a layout that could be called interesting at best and downright quirky at its worst.
Even though the PGA Championship is next week at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, the AT&T has attracted a strong field, including three of the top ten ranked players in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Jon Rahm ranked third in the OWGR, Bryson DeChambeau (5), and Brooks Koepka (10) head the field, along with other headliners Master Champion Hideki Matsuyama (14) and Dallas native Jordan Spieth (31).
The defending champion is Sung Kang, who won in 2019 and is a member at TPC Craig Ranch, perhaps giving him an advantage over most of the other players who will be teeing it up at the McKinney, Texas venue for the first time in tournament play. The course has an agreement to host the AT&T Byron Nelson for the next five years.
Valero Texas Open winner Jordan Spieth at +1200 is ending a four-week layoff following a great stretch of golf.
Betting Odds Leaders
It’s not surprising that the top two in the betting odds, both at +1000, are John Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, the top-ranked players in the field but not necessarily coming into the tournament at the top of their games. Both players were in the field last week at the Wells Fargo Championship, but neither of them were ever in contention.
DeChambeau headed home Friday afternoon after he thought he’d missed the cut, then surprisingly made it on the number and headed back to Charlotte early Saturday morning and shot a pair of 68’s on the weekend to finish in ninth place. Rahm missed his first cut in 23 events after a sloppy finish to his second round.
Favorites Betting Picks
Valero Texas Open winner Jordan Spieth at +1200 is ending a four-week layoff following a great stretch of golf that concluded with a tie for third in the Masters, a week after breaking his four-year victory drought at the Valero. Since missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open to close out January, Spieth has recorded six top ten and seven top 15 finishes in eight starts, and he’ll be playing close to home this week.
Scottie Scheffler, with odds of +2500, is another Texan who has been knocking on the door in an attempt to secure his first PGA Tour victory. The 2020 Tour Rookie of the year has come close, losing to Billy Horschel in the finals of the WGC – Dell Technologies Match play in March and picking up a fifth-place finish in the WGC – Workday Championship at the Concession in February.
With three weeks off since his fourth-place finish at the RBC Heritage, Matthew Fitzpatrick has quietly put together a very solid couple of months with five finishes inside the top eleven in seven starts, including a tie for ninth at The Players Championship. At odds of +2000, the 26-year-old Englishman is a good bet to get his first Tour win to go with his six European Tour titles.
