The PGA Tour heads back to North Texas in two weeks for one of the wildest birdie-fests on the schedule: THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, May 21–24 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. Last year’s defending champion is the same name everyone is chasing in 2026 — Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and a Dallas native who has turned this event into a homecoming.
The tournament — named after the Texan who won 11 PGA Tour events in a row in 1945 and is widely considered one of the most influential figures in modern golf swing technique — sits in an awkward but consequential schedule slot. It tees off four days after the PGA Championship at Aronimink ends, which means the field is split between major hangover stories and players desperate to find form before the US Open in June.
The Course: TPC Craig Ranch’s Birdie Buffet
TPC Craig Ranch is a Tom Weiskopf design that plays as a par-71, 7,500-yard layout sitting in the Dallas suburbs. It’s one of the lowest-scoring tracks on the PGA Tour calendar — the winning score has finished at 23-under or better in three of the last four editions, and Scheffler’s 2025 winning total left the field looking for explanations.
The defining features of the course are wide fairways (which shrink rough penalties dramatically), severely sloped greens that reward aggressive approach play, and four reachable par-5s. Add the McKinney spring wind — usually 10–15 mph from the south — and you get a setup that takes putters off the bag and asks for fearless approach play. It’s the inverse test of a US Open and a clean preview of the kind of low-elevation, high-temperature Texas golf that defines this part of the schedule.
Who’s in the Field
Because the Byron Nelson is sandwiched between the PGA Championship (May 14–17 at Aronimink) and the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial the following week, top-10 players in the world will pick which one of those two Texas events to play after the major. Confirmed names so far include:
- Scottie Scheffler — defending champion, world No. 1, Dallas Highland Park product
- Sam Burns — Shreveport-based, four-time Tour winner, big-week player on bombers’ courses
- Tony Finau — won this event in 2022, lives 30 minutes from the course
- Will Zalatoris — Dallas resident, plays this every year regardless of form
- Cameron Young — fresh off his Cadillac Championship win at Trump National Doral
The full field of 156 will close in the days following the PGA Championship as PGA Tour members commit. The tournament does not have signature event status, so the purse sits at $9.5 million with 500 FedExCup points to the winner — meaningful, but a tier below the Truist or RBC Heritage signature events.
Why Scheffler Owns This Place
Scheffler’s 2025 victory was a 23-under demolition where he gained 9.6 strokes on the field with his irons over four rounds. That stat tells you everything about how to win at TPC Craig Ranch. The course punishes mediocre approach play because the greens are slope-defended rather than rough-defended — short-side yourself and you’re chipping into a downhill green that runs away.
For amateur readers, the actionable lesson from how the world’s best play this kind of low-rough, big-green course is simple: commit to flag hunting from inside 150 yards. If your iron play is the weakest part of your game, this style of course will expose it brutally. If it’s your strength, even a 14-handicap can shoot a personal best on a TPC Craig Ranch-style track.
The Schedule Squeeze
The Byron Nelson’s calendar slot has caused tension for years. Players coming off a major championship — Adam Scott will be teeing it up at his 100th consecutive major start — often skip the following week to recover. The Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, the next week, is also a Texas event with deep history and a stronger field tradition.
For 2026, the PGA Tour’s signature-event-heavy structure has actually helped this tournament — second-tier events get strong fields when the elite players sit out, because everyone else is fighting for points. Watch for breakout performances from players ranked 60–125 in the FedExCup standings looking to lock in playoff eligibility.
What This Means For You
If you’re heading to McKinney to watch the tournament, the practice rounds Tuesday–Wednesday are the best value. The course’s natural amphitheaters around the par-3 7th and the par-5 18th give the best viewing — both are reachable in two by Tour pros, both produce eagles. If you’re watching at home, the Sunday afternoon broadcast is when this event peaks: the back nine has a stretch of three reachable holes that has produced the kind of birdie barrages that change leaderboards in 30 minutes.
For amateur golfers traveling to Dallas-Fort Worth, TPC Craig Ranch is a stadium course closed to the public, but McKinney has several Tom Weiskopf-influenced public layouts within 30 minutes — and the broader DFW area is one of the densest concentrations of top public courses in Texas.
Key Takeaways
- THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson runs May 21–24, 2026 at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
- Scottie Scheffler returns to defend his 23-under-par 2025 win in his hometown of Dallas.
- $9.5 million purse, 500 FedExCup points to the winner — non-signature status.
- The course historically delivers winning scores in the 22-under range — bring patience for a birdie-fest, not a US Open grind.
- Schedule slot between the PGA Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge will determine which top-10 names actually tee it up.
