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This week's field features 25 players ranked inside the top 100 of the Official World Rankings, with three of those inside the top 50. World #1 Scottie Scheffler headlines the group, joined by Si Woo Kim (#24) and Jordan Spieth (#47). That's a noticeable drop from last year, when the field included 37 top-100 players and seven inside the top 50.

On the FedEx Cup standings, two players in this field currently sit inside the top 25: Scottie Scheffler at #2 and Si Woo Kim at #9.

Past champions in the field include Scottie Scheffler (2025), Taylor Pendrith (2024), K.H. Lee (2021 & 2022), Aaron Wise (2018), and Billy Horschel (2017).

One late note worth flagging: recent PGA Champion Aaron Rai had been scheduled to tee it up at Craig Ranch but withdrew on Sunday night. After his three-shot win at Aronimink, his odds are tightening across the board, but he won't be on the board this week..

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It might be hard to believe, but this week's field is even thinner on marquee names than last year's. For a long time, the conventional wisdom blamed the host course, but the bigger culprit is the spot on the calendar. This event sits inside a brutal six-week stretch that includes two majors and three signature events. Outside of locals Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth, most of the top-tier names are sitting this one out. The same scheduling squeeze will hit Colonial next week.

That said, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson still occupies a unique place on Tour. Since 1968, it has been the most financially successful charity event on the PGA Tour, raising $195 million for the Salesmanship Club. This marks the 71st edition of an event that started life as the Dallas Open in 1944, when Byron Nelson himself won the inaugural by 12 shots. The CJ Group is locked in as title sponsor through 2033, so the long-term future of the event is secure.

This is the sixth year at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, a Tom Weiskopf design that opened in 2004. The course plays as a par 71 at 7,385 yards, with each hole flanked by mature trees and Rowlett Creek snaking through the property. The bentgrass greens average around 6,800 square feet with slight undulations, and 83 bunkers dot the layout.

The bigger story this year is the renovation. After Scheffler's eight-shot demolition last year, bulldozers rolled in for a $25 million overhaul led by Lanny Wadkins. The project re-grassed all 777 bentgrass greens, installed Stadium Zoysia fairways and TifTuf Bermuda tees and rough, narrowed the fairways, added a Biarritz green at the par-3 4th, and stretched the par-5 5th to 624 yards with a massive central waste bunker dubbed "Hell's Full Acre." The bones of the layout remain, but the undulation on the greens is more pronounced and the fairway corridors are tighter. Bombers should still rule the week, but they need to be a touch straighter than in years past.

Weather will be a factor. Expect mid-70s all week, with thunderstorms in the forecast for Thursday and showers early on Sunday. Anything can happen on the opening day, and the weekend could see weather impact scoring as well.

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Craig Ranch has always rewarded the long-and-aggressive profile, and even with the renovation, that's still the blueprint. Here's what to focus on:

Driving Distance and Accuracy: This remains a bombers' delight. The newly narrowed fairways add a wrinkle, but length still wins the week. Last year, 1,980 birdies were recorded at Craig Ranch, with only TPC Deere Run and Keene Trace producing more on Tour. The course yielded eagles or birdies on 25.55% of holes played, putting it inside the top ten on Tour for birdie averages.

Par 5 Scoring: All three par 5s are reachable in two, and they played to a 4.44 average last year. Every recent champion has feasted here. Scheffler played them in 14-under in 2023, Pendrith was 11-under in 2024, and K.H. Lee was double-digits under par in both of his wins. If you can't score on the par 5s at Craig Ranch, you can't win.

Greens in Regulation and Strokes Gained Approach: With wedges in hand on most holes, spin control and proximity from short range will separate the field. Seven of the top 12 finishers in 2024 ranked inside the top six in greens hit. Expect the new undulation on the greens to put a premium on landing it in the right quadrants.

Scrambling and Around the Green: 65.36% of the field got up and down on missed greens last year. With tighter fairways and more difficult greens, the recovery game matters more than it used to.

For a single look that blends all of these together, check out our Composite Rankings. We pull the four most relevant stats for the week based on course fit and deliver a pre-ranked list, so you can see at a glance which players match the Craig Ranch profile.

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