We got the three-peat! With back-to-back-to-back winners in the playbook, let’s see if we can get 4! This week we head on over to TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas just north of Dallas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. This is your typical TPC course, and it’s usually a birdie-fest, so we should be in for a fun week of golf. 

Let’s dive in!

 

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2025: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

Yet another event that probably rings a bell, but you aren’t sure why. Now sponsored by CJ Cup, formerly known at the AT&T Byron Nelson, is named after famed PGA Tour player Byron Nelson who won 64 times as a professional. For most of the events history, this was the only event on tour named after a player (the Arnold Palmer has since joined this event). What’s more important about this event is the fundraising aspect of this event, as this event has raised over $140,000,000 for charity. Now hosted over at TPC Craig Ranch after previously being hosted at courses such as Preston Trail Golf Club and TPC at Las Colinas, this is our fifth event at this venue.

 

TPC Craig Ranch: Course Breakdown This Week

TPC Craig Ranch may, or may not, be the most boring course on the PGA Tour. Craig Ranch is basically an amalgamation of other TPC courses, as it reuses many hole designs and standard layouts. Playing over 7,500 yards at par 72, this course plays as an absolute birdie-fest, with the average winning score sitting around 26 under par. With zoysia fairways and bentgrass greens, this is a very straight forward event, made even easier by the largest greens on tour and some of the widest fairways.

Looking at the key statistics of this event, there are only a few that truly stand out here. Driving distance plays a large factor, with many of the holes prioritizing accuracy as well. While it’s hard to put yourself in bad spots, putting yourself in good spots is very beneficial. Good Drives Gained is the stat I’m using to represent it, as this stat also includes the quality of approach shots you give yourself off the tee. Approach will also be a key stat, as it is one of the few that is consistently more important than tour average, specifically over 150 yards.

Diving into a more detailed course breakdown, while one of the par 3s plays under 150 yards, the other 3 play over 215 yards. The par 4s see the most variance, with the shortest being just over 350 yards, and the longest being over 510. We see similar overall disparity with the 3 Par 5’s as the longest is nearly 80 yards longer than the shortest at over 635 yards. The emphasis on distance as the course defense is clear here. Putting also plays an important factor here, but not in the way that likely comes to mind. While the greens are huge, putting does play some importance here in the sense that you simply can’t lose strokes with the putter. As a result, three putt avoidance will play a larger factor as well.

With an overall breakdown of the field, the picture of who to target becomes clearer. We want long hitters with solid iron plays who are solid enough with the putter. Wedge game is far less important here, so players who thrive on the short game fall down the card here for me. With scoring at a premium here, birdie or better gained is a clear winner statistically as well. When looking at the key stats mentioned some of the top players in these categories are:


SG: APP : Henrik Norlander, Sami Valimaki, Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Stephan Jaeger, Rico Hoey, Jackson Suber, Doug Ghim, Michael Kim, Kevin Yu.

BoB Gained: Niklas Horgaard, Cam Davis, Scottie Scheffler, SH Kim, Jesper Svensson, Keith Mitchell, Michael Thorbjornsen, Si Woo Kim, Jake Knapp, Danny Walker.

 

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2025 Field: Golf DFS

This week, we do see an overall more low-key field in terms of overall talent. While Scottie Scheffler is in the field (likely due to this being a home field event for him), he is joined by Sungjae Im as the only two top 20 players in the field. The majority of this field is made up of players who rank outside the top 100. Taylor Pendrith is returning to defend his first PGA tour win, but he is the only previous Craig Ranch winner in the field, as Jason Day and two time winner KH Lee will not be teeing it up here. While Scottie is the number 1 player in the field, I will not be playing him this week. He is currently $2,800 more than the next closest player price wise, and I feel this is an event that truly anyone can win.

 

 

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PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2025 RBC Heritage (13-18 Overall, +3.65 Units)

  • Taylor Moore: Top 20 (+280)
  • Ryan Gerard: Top 20 (+250)
  • One and Done Picks
    • Taylor Pendrith
    • Ben Griffin
    • Taylor Moore 
    • Ryan Gerard
 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Jordan Spieth ($10,500 DraftKings/$11,900 FanDuel)

As a home-field event for Spieth, it should be no surprise that he’s one of the favorites here. While his game is streaky, this is an event where streaky play can be the key to a win. Spieth has placed in the top 10 twice in 3 starts here, and while he did miss the cut last year, his putter has bounced back in a serious way. If his putter remains solid, he’s got the upside with the irons and driver to run away with a win here.

Stephen Jaeger ($9,300 DraftKings/$10,900 FanDuel)

Jaeger finds his way into my model this week through the fact that he’s one of the top 5 players in the field on approach and birdies or better gained. He’s got a solid all-around game, and his overall play at Craig Ranch has been strong. He’s never missed the cut here, and he’s finished T20th or better in his last two starts here. If he can bring the putter and approach game he was lacking last season here, he can absolutely sneak into a win, especially given that his approach game has been elite in his last 5 starts, and his putter has shown to be deadly at times.

Ben Griffin ($9,200 DraftKings/$11,200 FanDuel)

We’re hoping Griffin can get back to back wins! Griffin presents a solid all-around player, and that’s exactly what can win here. While he doesn’t lead the field in anything, he’s also not bad in anything. He presents a very safe option to make cuts and score well.

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Ryan Gerard ($8,600 DraftKings/$10,200 FanDuel)

Gerard is a clear play this week, as he ranks top 15 or better in a majority of the key stats in my model this week. What he lacks is driving distance, but he’s not near the bottom of this board either. Gerard has been hot as well, with 3 finishes within the top 12 in the last 4 starts on tour. He is my favorite outright play of the week as well.

Jake Knapp ($8,400 DraftKings/$10,300 FanDuel)

A bomber who can get hot with the putter and irons? Sign me up. Coming off a 3rd place finish at Zurich, he’s also played well at this event with an 8th place finish here last year. He normally struggles with is wedges, but those are such a non-factor here that it shouldn’t cause any issues. Knapp also has an elite first name, which ups the vibe score as well.

Jacob Bridgeman ($8,500 DraftKings/$10,600 FanDuel)

Bridgeman leads this field in Birdies or Better Gained, and over his last 24 rounds he’s 2nd in the field in Total Strokes Gained. His putter has been on fire, and while he lacks in the distance department, he has enough distance and power to compete this week. He’s one of my absolute favorites this week, and is one of my favorite outright plays as well.

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Joel Dahmen ($7,300 DraftKings/$8,800 FanDuel)

He doesn’t bring the distance off the tee, but he’s one of the top 10 players in the field in approach from 200+, so count me in on Dahmen this week. His putter has also been a strong suit for him at times this year, and he’s got a 2nd place finish this year. The upside is there, and Dahmen is so fun to root for, that I absolutely had to include him this week.

Taylor Moore ($7,500 DraftKings/$9,500 FanDuel)

Moore is a guy who played really well here in 2022, save for the putter. Lucky for us, the putter has come around in a big way. While he missed the cut this last week with Wyndham Clark at Zurich, Moore was clearly not the issue as he gained strokes with all clubs. Moore can get hot and win here, as the putter was the only thing that kept him out of the top 20 in 2022.

Sam Ryder ($7,200 DraftKings/$8,400 FanDuel)

I’ll be blunt, Sam Ryder has been really bad here. But his game doesn’t look anything like what it previously has here. In previous years, he’s struggled here heavily with his putter and driver. The putter however has been his best club in 2025. He’s posted strong approach and driver numbers as of late, and I think his low rostership is going to make him an enticing target at this price.

 

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