Following the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR is hosting THE CUP Byron Nelson this week. For the fifth straight year, this event will be played at TPC Craig Ranch (par 71, 7,569 yards, bentgrass greens) in McKinney, Texas. There will be 156 golfers competing this week and a standard top-65 and ties cut following the first two rounds.
Below, I have featured some head-to-head tournament matchup bets to consider for THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Eric Cole over Ryan Gerard (+100)
At this plus money price, Cole needs to be backed for this matchup. Both Cole and Gerard have only competed at TPC Craig Ranch and that was at the 2023 CJ CUP Byron Nelson. That week, Cole finished T23rd, while Gerard missed the cut by nine shots. This time around, both players have been producing high finishes as of late. Cole has finished T18th or better in three of his last four starts, while Gerard has carded a pair of top-10 finishes in his last four starts. That being said, Cole’s ball striking has been far better, with him gaining strokes on approach in each of his last four starts, while Gerard has lost strokes on approach at back-to-back events.
With TPC Craig Ranch being a true second-shot course where elite iron play is essential – three of the four winners at this par 71 have finished the event top-three in SG APP – Cole is in a much better position to succeed than Gerard this week.
Jake Knapp over Tim Kim (-115)
Knapp is playing much better golf than Kim right now. Knapp finished T3rd at the team based Zurich Classic of New Orleans last week with Frankie Capan as his partner. As an individual, Knapp has finished T27th or better in five of his last seven starts. Meanwhile, Kim hasn’t finished higher than T36th in his last seven starts. When we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, Knapp ranks 15th in total strokes gained, while Kim ranks near the bottom of this field at 109th.
Kim has competed at TPC Craig Ranch three times, but his average finish at this course is 34th place. Knapp has only teed it up at this par 71 once, but he contended in that start, finishing T8th at last year’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, while gaining strokes across the board. Possibly by a wide margin, Knapp should outperform the struggling Kim this week, and the former is an easy choice for this matchup.
