The Byron Nelson is a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

tournament in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, currently hosted by

TPC Craig Ranch TPC Craig Ranch is a private golf club in the south central United States, located within the community of Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, north-northeast of Dallas. Designed by major champion Tom Weiskopf, the championship golf course is ...

McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau lis ...

, northeast of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the

2020-21 PGA Tour The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

, was the only metropolitan area to host two events on separate courses in the area (

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

have since hosted two events on two separate courses, both of which were pandemic-related changes). The tournament is the leading fundraiser for charity on the PGA Tour and has raised more than $143 million. For much of its history, it was the only PGA Tour stop named after a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

, and remains one of only two such events, along with the

Arnold Palmer Invitational The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...

. As host,

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hog ...

commonly made appearances during the tournament. It is hosted by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, a 600-member civic organization, and has benefited the club's nonprofit Momentous Institute since its inception. For its first several decades, the tournament was played at various courses in Dallas. Nelson, a Texas native raised in Fort Worth, was the tournament's first winner in 1944, when it was played at

Lakewood Country Club Lakewood Country Club is a private country club in Dallas, Texas, United States, founded in 1912, and is now often referred to simply as ''Lakewood''. It is located at the corner of Gaston and Abrams Avenues in Lakewood, Dallas, Texas, about five mi ...

. The following year it was played at

Dallas Country Club Dallas Country Club is a country club located in the town of Highland Park in Dallas County, Texas. Located on the northern end of Exall Lake across from Highland Park Village, its borders are Preston Road on the west, Beverly Drive on the south, G ...

, and then in 1946 moved to Brook Hollow Golf Club. For the better part of the next decade the event was not contested, until two iterations of it were held in 1956, both at Preston Hollow Country Club. In 1957, the event moved to Glen Lake Country Club before it began a decade-long relationship with Oak Cliff Country Club, from 1958 to 1967. In

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, the event was renamed the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and its title, through a series of sponsors, has continuously included Nelson's name. That same year the event moved to Preston Trail Golf Club, where it was played through 1982, then moved to venues in

Irving Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...

: Las Colinas Sports Club (1983–1985) and TPC at Las Colinas (1986–1993). Beginning in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

, the tournament was played at two courses, the Tournament Players Course and the Cottonwood Valley Course, both located at the

Four Seasons The Four Seasons, originally referring to the traditional seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter (typical of a temperate climate), may refer to: Music * ''The Four Seasons'' (Vivaldi), a 1725 set of four violin concertos by Antonio Viv ...

. Previously only the TPC was used, but since the tournament was played in May (during the height of the

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort W ...

storm season), the weather played havoc with the tournament in some years, causing several delays and shortened tournaments. Therefore, the decision was made to add the Cottonwood Valley course in order to shorten the amount of time needed to complete the first two rounds. The first two rounds were played on both courses (each player played one round on each course); after the cut was determined, the TPC is used exclusively for the final two rounds. However, in 2008 the tournament reverted to using only the TPC course, which was significantly renovated. Hewlett-Packard (HP) bought the previous title sponsor,

Electronic Data Systems Electronic all cash BSN acc: 1311729000110205 Data Systems (EDS) was an American multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas which was founded in 1962 by Ross Perot. The company was a subs ...

(EDS) in mid-2008. The agreement ran through

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, with

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

becoming the title sponsor in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

. The tournament moved from the Four Seasons course in Irving to the new Trinity Forest Golf Club, southeast of

downtown Dallas Downtown Dallas is the central business district (CBD) of Dallas, Texas, United States, located in the geographic center of the city. It is the second-largest business district in the state of Texas. The area termed "Downtown" has traditionally ...

, in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Not played in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, it moved north to

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. In 2024,

CJ Group CJ Group () is a South Korean conglomerate holding company and one of the largest Chaebol headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous businesses in various industries of food and food service, pharmaceutics and biotechnology, ente ...

replaced AT&T as title sponsor under a ten-year agreement, rebranding it as the CJ Cup Byron Nelson (reusing a title previously used for a former early-season event hosted in South Korea).

Tournament highlights

* 1956: Peter Thomson, a five-time winner of

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

shoots a final round 63, then makes birdie on the first two holes of sudden death to defeat

Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler (July 21, 1930 – February 15, 2019) was an American professional golfer and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth, rhythmical swing, he once said ...

and

Cary Middlecoff Emmett Cary Middlecoff (January 6, 1921 – September 1, 1998) was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 39 Tour wins place him tied for tenth all-time, and he won three major championships. Middlecoff graduated as ...

. It was his one and only PGA Tour victory in the United States. * 1976: Mark Hayes becomes the first wire to wire winner of the Nelson. * 1981:

Bruce Lietzke Bruce Alan Lietzke (July 18, 1951 – July 28, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour between 1977 and 1994, including two victories in the Canadian Open. His best finish in a major championship was ...

defeated Tom Watson in a playoff spoiling Watson's bid for a 4th straight Nelson triumph. * 1985:

Bob Eastwood Robert Fred Eastwood (born February 9, 1946) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous amateur and professional tournaments. Eastwood was born in Providence, Rhode Island, but spent most of his youth in north-central California. H ...

defeated

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three Men's major golf championships, major championships, the last of which came just a few months before ...

in a playoff after coming to the 72nd hole trailing Stewart by three shots. Eastwood made birdie on the final hole while Stewart made double bogey. Stewart made yet another double bogey on the first hole of sudden death to give Eastwood the title. * 1994:

Neal Lancaster Grady Neal Lancaster (born September 13, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Lancaster was born, raised and makes his home in Smithfield, North Carolina. He turned ...

won the first ever six-player sudden death playoff in PGA Tour history. He made a birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat

Tom Byrum } Thomas Elliott Byrum (born September 28, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Byrum was born in Onida, South Dakota. He attended the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University ...

Mark Carnevale Mark Kevin Carnevale (born May 21, 1960) is an American professional golfer and commentator for PGA Tour Radio. Carnevale was born in Annapolis, Maryland, where his father, Ben, was the head basketball coach at the United States Naval Academy. H ...

, David Edwards,

Yoshi Mizumaki is a Japanese professional golfer. Mizumaki, graduate of Hosei University, played on the Japan Golf Tour, winning seven times. He also played on the PGA Tour in 1994 and 1995. His best finish was a tie for second (playoff loss to Neal Lancas ...

, and

David Ogrin David Ogrin (born December 31, 1957) is an American professional golfer. Ogrin was born and grew up in Waukegan, Illinois. He graduated from Waukegan East High School in 1976, then attended Texas A&M University, graduating in 1980 with a degree i ...

. * 2005:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

' record streak of 142 cuts made came to an end at this tournament. * 2006: After graduating from Q school,

Brett Wetterich Brett Milton Wetterich (born August 9, 1973) is an American professional golfer. Wetterich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Oak Hills High School and Wallace State Community College. He turned professional in 1994. Wetterich was a PGA T ...

's win propels him to a surprise Ryder Cup appearance. * 2008: Australian Adam Scott sank a 48-foot putt on the third playoff hole to clinch victory over American Ryan Moore. * 2010: At age 16,

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first maj ...

(the defending U.S. Junior Amateur champion, and a student at nearby Jesuit College Preparatory School) became the youngest player to play in the tournament, courtesy of a sponsor's exemption (the first one granted since 1995). Spieth would make the cut (becoming the sixth-youngest person in PGA Tour history to make a professional tour event cut) and finish 16th overall. (In 2011 Spieth would again be granted a sponsor's exemption and would again make the cut, finishing 32nd overall.) * 2013:

Keegan Bradley Keegan Hansen Bradley (born June 7, 1986) is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour. He has won five tour events, most notably the 2011 PGA Championship. He is one of six golfers to win in his major debut, along with Ben Cu ...

hits a course-record 60 (−10) in the first round. Bradley leads the first three rounds, but

Bae Sang-moon Bae Sang-moon ( ko, 배상문; born 21 June 1986), or Sang-moon Bae, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Professional career Bae turned professional in 2004. He won the 2006 Emerson Pacific Group Open on the Korean ...

earned the win. * 2018: Aaron Wise sets the tournament record. * 2019: Kang Sung-hoon won his first PGA Tour title in his 159th start.

Scott Piercy Scott Piercy (born November 6, 1978) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Piercy played college golf at San Diego State and turned professional after graduation in 2001. C ...

went bogey-free for the entire tournament, becoming the first to do so in a 72-hole PGA Tour event since

Charles Howell III Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on LIV Golf and formerly on the PGA Tour. He has been featured in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking and ranked 9th on the PGA Tour m ...

at the 2010

Greenbrier Classic The Greenbrier Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held from 2010 to 2019 at The Old White at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. For its final two editions, the tournament was titled A Military Tribute at the Greenb ...

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Sources:2012 HP Byron Nelson Championship Media Guide
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Multiple winners

Seven players have won this tournament more than once through 2023. *4 wins ** Tom Watson: 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 *3 wins **

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four ...

: 1945, 1957, 1958 *2 wins **

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

: 1970, 1971 **

: 1981, 1988 **

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably ...

: 2004, 2016 **

Lee Kyoung-hoon Lee Kyoung-hoon (; born 24 August 1991), also known as K. H. Lee, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2021 and 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Professional career Lee turned professional in 2010 and joined the O ...

: 2021, 2022 **

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015 ...

: 2010, 2023

Notes

References

External links