AT&T Byron Nelson preview: Tom Kim the man to back in Dallas

We might just be one week away from the second Major of the year, but before that we’ve got a good field assembled for the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Unsurprisingly, Scottie Scheffler heads the betting at just 7/2 and if on his A-game he’ll be very hard to beat in his home state. He is very much the one to beat, but we fancy an up-and-coming star to usurp him this week.

Back Kim to win

Speaking of players who will enjoy home comforts this week, Tom Kim is another and the Dallas resident looks the best bet at 16/1. It’s always a positive when a selection is able to wake up in their own bed at a tournament as comfort is a big thing for golfers and that showed for Kim who returns to a course he played well at on debut.

An opening 70 left him playing catch-up in a tournament where birdies, and a lot of them, are required, but rounds of 67, 66 and 67 were much better. A tie for 17th was more than respectable and he can be expected to build on that here with the experience under his belt.

He shot 18-under last year – further evidence of the fact that Kim likes it when you need to go low to win. His two wins on the PGA Tour so far have come with scores of 20-under and 24-under, so this is a player who isn’t afraid to register a plethora of birdies when it’s needed.

If there is one criticism of Kim it’s that he isn’t long off the tee, so in the modern era is at a disadvantage compared to so many of his peers who average well over 300 yards with the driver. With that in mind, it’s very impressive that he’s finished inside the top-25 in eight of 15 events played this campaign, four of which have yielded top-10 finishes.

Hot Scottie must go well

A word must be given to Scheffler as he has the ability to absolutely rout this field and with that in mind, he’ll have plenty of supporters at 7/2. His stats this season are staggering with 11 top-25s from 12 events, eight top-10s and two victories.

As we all know now, the American doesn’t do bad weeks, so has to be greatly respected again this week. He didn’t play very well at 12 months ago, but still managed to finish in a tie for 15th, and given the form he’s shown this year, a better result can be expected.

It might simply be a case of if you beat Scheffler this week you win.