Betting the CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Best bets, tips and more - ESPN

The CJ Cup Byron Nelson has basically been three different golf tournaments in three years, making course history less of a factor.

In 2024, it was a wide-open target where guys could fire at flags all week and make birdies in bunches, a version of the course that no longer exists.

Then last year, new tees got added, the course got longer and Scottie Scheffler showed up and completely overwhelmed the place with his irons. His approach play was so ridiculous that it almost broke the tournament.

In 2026, this is a different setup.

Designers rebuilt nearly every green, tightened fairways, repositioned bunkers, added waste areas and made the closing stretch play tougher into the wind. The course is clearly trying to move away from the «everybody gets to -25» version of Craig Ranch.

So, this week, I still leaned more toward ball strikers who can control shots into the redesigned greens, but the wild card is the new bentgrass greens. No one has had reps on them yet, potentially creating more putting volatility than normal. While approach play still matters, there's a path where elite putters get hot and hang around.

Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook (with ties) and subject to change.

How to bet Scottie Scheffler, if you want to bet Scottie Scheffler

Top 5 -265

To win +168

You don't need strokes gained data to know that Scheffler is the best player in the field by miles. The price is expensive, but he's first in nearly every strokes gained metric, won this event by eight strokes last year and has the course record here. Scheffler's floor is absurdly high compared to everyone else, especially this week.

Normally I'd say fire the top-5 finish with a favorite this dominant, but laying -265 in a golf tournament is tough to justify