Golf
CJ Cup Byron Nelson preview: Min Woo and Kyoung-Hoon to Leed the way in Dallas
After a more laid-back week on the PGA Tour the players return to their individual battles, as a slightly depleted field take to Dallas for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
TPC Craig Ranch will host the event for the fourth time and so far the course has not been a happy hunting ground for local Texans, with the title going to South Korean Lee Kyoung-hoon twice, and Australian Jason Day once since it moved there.
Find our selections for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson below.
Min Woo Lee 28/1
There is no doubting the fact that Min Woo Lee is one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour, with a devoted following often seen turning up in chef’s attire to some of golf’s most prestigious venues.
Support can only get you so far, but luckily the Australian has a huge skillset and all the tools to land his first victory on the Tour sooner rather than later.
At 28/1, Lee currently sits tenth in the market standings, his position pushed up in comparison to normal given the lack of firepower on show this week, with the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and many others sitting this one out. In fact, Jordan Spieth is the only player ranked inside the OWGR top 20 competing in Dallas.
This could open the door for someone like Min Woo who has achieved a T2 finish already this season, narrowly losing out to Austin Eckroat at the Cognizant Classic in March.
Approach play has played a large part in success here over the past few years, but Lee could be the one to buck that trend. It is off-the-tee where the 25-year-old excels and his ball-striking is some of the best on the Tour.
Long approaches, specifically from 200-225 yards are his speciality and that could help him capitalise on the Par-5 holes here where others can’t, making him a good each-way shout to finish in the 8 places available at William Hill, and maybe even score his first ever Tour win.
Lee Kyoung-hoon 45/1
From the inexperienced Australian to the man who has more winning experience here than anybody. Lee Kyoung-hoon, better known as K. H. Lee, is our second selection for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Hat-tricks are few and far between on the PGA Tour but that is exactly what Lee is hunting in Dallas. Even rarer is the fact that he only has two PGA Tour wins to his name, both of which came here in back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.
At 45/1 it is hard to ignore a man that has won two of the last three renewals of this tournament and he knows TPC Craig Ranch like the back of his hand.
His form this season has not been too shabby either with two top 10 finishes to his name, the most notable of which came at the Cognizant Classic where he finished T4 behind the aformentioned Min Woo Lee. A T11 at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans also bodes well.
Lee excels around the greens and gains strokes on the rest of the Tour in that area, as well as with the putter and from tee-to-green. A consistent ball-striker with a good all-round game, Lee has certainly shown he has all the tools to get the job done here for a third time.
Lee is more used to winning in Dallas than he is anything else, so the 8 places available with William Hill will probably not even be on his mind as he sets his sights firmly on joining the illustrious company of Tom Watson and Sam Snead who have won this tournament on three separate occasions.
