at&t byron nelson 2022 DraftKings Preview
Elite look to sharpen sticks at TPC Craig ranch ahead of pga championship
Max Homa is pretty good at golf. He's won four times in the last three years. Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas are the only others to have done equal or greater. Solid company. For some, the Wells Fargo Championship will have been their final chance to shape up for Southern Hills. For the rest, the PGA Championship is a week away and it's crunch time. This week, the PGA Tour heads to McKinney, Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch. Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.
What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.Â
All of the course data, player stats, and most of the information below can be found on Fantasy National Golf Club (FNGC). At FNGC you can view historic course conditions, course scoring breakdowns, tournament history, simulators, and official strokes gained data provided by the PGA Tour. Start building your models at Fantasy National now!
The Field and Tournament Details for the AT&T Byron nelson
Holy field! Seems like a lot of studs want to get tuned up before next week's PGA Championship. World #1, Scottie Scheffler, is making his return to home soil having won the WGC Match Play in his state of Texas some weeks back. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka (WD), and Joaquin Niemann represent the rest of the world's top 20 contingent.
The field includes some of the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now including Talor Gooch, Tom Hoge, Seamus Power, Will Zalatoris, Adam Hadwin, Aaron Wise, Alex Noren, Marc Leishman, Mav McNealy, Tommy Fleetwood, Keith Mitchell, and Sepp Straka.
KH Lee returns as the 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson champion after defeating Burns by three shots a year ago. Lee got it to -25 after 72 holes. The top 10 also contained the likes of Daniel Berger, Patton Kizzire, Charl Schwartzel, Scott Stallings, Troy Merritt, Joseph Bramlett, Spiethm Power, Jhonattan Vegas, and Doc Redman. Burns fired the course record of 62 during the event.
The AT&T Byron Nelson will be played at TPC Craig Ranch for the second straight year. The event has most recently been hosted at Trinity Forest GC and TPC Four Seasons Resort. The field is capped at 156 players with the top 65 and ties making the cut. The total purse boasts $9.1 million in prize money with $1.63 million to the eventual champ.
at&t byron nelson Course Breakdown
- Course: TPC Craig Ranch
- Location: McKinney, TX USA
- Yardage: 7,468
- Par: 72
- Architect: Tom Weiskopf (2004)
- Grass: Bentgrass greens; Zoysia fairways
- Comp Courses: TPC Southwind, TPC Summerlin, TPC San Antonio, La Quinta CC, Port Royal GC, Pebble Beach GL,
The PGA Tour and TPC Craig Ranch signed a five-year agreement in 2021 to host the AT&T Byron Nelson. The 7,468 yard Par 72 will be hosting just its second PGA Tour event but has seen professional action in the past. The Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) Championship was held here in 2008 and 2012.
Probably does not come as a shock but this course is pretty easy. Although there have only been four PGA rounds played here, the scoring average ranks as the third easiest. The Zoysia grass fairways are wide, the rough isn't troublesome, and the Bentgrass greens are pretty large. The average driving distance was just under 290 yards. Fairways were hit at a 74% clip and greens were only missed 26% of the time.
There were eight holes that had at least a 20% birdie rate in 2021. There isn't much in terms of defense either. A creek weaves through the course on 14 holes but rarely comes into play and 83 bunkers line the fairways and surround the greens.
Wind can come into play, it is Texas after all. As of now, things look tame aside from a bit of breeze for Round 1.
Key Stats for the at&t byron nelson
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Opps Gained
- Driving Distance
- Birdies
- Eagles
- Par 5 Scoring (550-600 yds)
- Bentgrass Putting
This will be pretty short. If there is a scoring stat, take a look at it. Making birdies stats with a good approach game and the sharpest ball strikers should feast here. FNGC's opps gained stat is my next favorite as it shows us who's giving themselves the most chances from inside 15 feet. Birdies, eagles, and DK scoring are all great stats for a week like this.
This is a great spot for fine-tuning your driver. The guys who can bomb it will have the course at their mercy. The Par 5's will be reachable in two by most and are all around 550 yards. Some decent length to Par 4s as well with five being over 450 yards. Long irons will need to be tight for those and the three Par 3s over 200 yards.
Lastly, like last week, TPC Craig Ranch features Bentgrass greens. They can be on the slower side but a good history on bent doesn't hurt.
Here's a tidbit from our Nut Hut in-house caddie: "Updated on Tuesday."
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at&t byron nelson Picks & Fades
Each week we will give you some plays and a fade from each DraftKings salary range. For all of DB and Pat’s thoughts and picks make sure to check out and subscribe to the Tour Junkies Podcast.
To Play or Not to Play Brooks Koepka
BK is a WD this week
$9K & AboveÂ
- DB: Play - Sam Burns | Fade - Brooks Koepka
- Pat: Play - Hideki Matsuyama | Fade - Tommy Fleetwood
- AC: Play - Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris, Joaquin Niemann | Fade - Xander Schauffele
JT is just too good. Homa was number one in my model last week. JT has that honor this week. First in approach, opps gained, and tee to green over the last 24 rounds. Willy Z's numbers match JT's. The two are tied in tee to green and approach. Willy Z is just behind in opps gained. Both are superior scorers. Niemann would be the third wheel in my model. He doesn't have the distance as the other two but he's not short by any means. Don't have to think too hard.
You can't play everyone. Xander isn't as shiny as the rest. Sure he won the Zurich but c'mon, that was 97% Cantlay.
$8K Range
- DB: Play - Jhonny Vegas | Fade - Adam Scott
- Pat: Play - Cam Champ | Fade - Adam Scott
- AC: Play - Talor Gooch, Adam Hadwin | Fade - Cam Champ
Goochie man has been a beast. He's fifth in this field in total scoring over the last 50 rounds. We haven't seen him much since a T14 at The Masters. Not worried about it. He's a family man who should be geared up and ready to take on a major. Boxes are checked. Hadwin has also been scorching over that time. 10th in the field in scoring over the last 50 rounds. He's 11th in Par 5 scoring and third in Par 3 scoring over 200 yards. Approach and tee to green are superb as well.
Champ is coming off back-to-back top 10s which may drive up his ownership. His approach game is pretty bad and the putter isn't impressive either. Something to look at if he is under 10% but I doubt it.
$7K Range
- DB: Play - Matthew Wolff | Fade - KH Lee
- Pat: Play - Keith Mitchell | Fade - Marc Leishman
- AC: Play - Alex Noren, Mito Periera, Luke List | Fade - Ian Poulter
Noren lacks a bit of distance but it didn't affect him last year. The Swede polished up a T21 and hasn't fallen off. He's 12th in total scoring over the last 50 rounds. Loves the Par 4s and has some solid iron sticks. Mito has a strong Par 4 game as well and can bomb it. He went to school in Texas and popped out a couple of decent results at the Valero and Heritage. In a week where putting maybe a bit neutralized, Lukey is always a prime pick. Premium ball striker. Smacking the lights out of it lately. Got that first win earlier this season.
Not that Poulter has been playing well but this course doesn't seem like a place where he could drum up a top 25. He's short. The approach game isn't great anymore, and the comp courses would agree.
$6K Range
- DB: Play - Hudson Swafford, Austin Smotherman, Brandon Hagy
- Pat: Play - Stefan Jaeger, Scott Piercy, Wyndham Clark
- AC: Play - Austin Smotherman, Joseph Bramlett, Paul Barjon
I've been riding the SmoSho and enjoyed the result last week. The new loop on the bag is a friend of the Tour Junkies and it says something about him choosing to carry the clubs again this week. Bramlett is a bomber and placed 7th here last year. The form isn't great but it's a spot where he needs t take advantage. Barjon is another bomber who was able to break a streak of three missed cuts. Clean up the short game a touch and the rest will carry him.
There ya go. This should be fun if you like birdies. Can't wait for the Nut Hut meltdowns over the weekend. "I hate these stupid birdiefests!" Follow along in the #Tilt channel! Remember, save some bankroll for the major next week. Good luck!
THE INS & OUTS
*The field is 156