2025 CJ CUP Byron Nelson Odds, Picks & Predictions: Best PGA Bets
Scottie Scheffler headlines the betting favorites ahead of Round 1 at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson this week. The PGA Tour returns to its standard stroke-play format after Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak won the lone team event at the 2025 Zurich Classic on Sunday.
Scheffler has yet to win in 2025 but he’s a massive betting favorite at +280 odds. The Texas native is followed by another local star, Jordan Spieth, at +1800 in the outright futures betting market. Sungjae Im (+2200), Byeong Hun An (+2500) and defending champion Taylor Pendrith (+3000) round out the top-five favorites at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
I took last week off during the Zurich Classic but my three RBC Heritage best bets all lost. I’ve regrouped and have three new best bets to tail ahead of Round 1 teeing off Thursday morning at the 2025 CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more free bets and weekly PGA Tour analysis.
2025 CJ CUP Byron Nelson: Best Bets
These plays are 1 unit, or 1% of your betting bankroll. Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Top 20 Finish
This will be Sungjae Im’s debut at TPC Craig Ranch and he’s entering with great form. The South Korean golfer logged a T5 at The Masters and a T11 at the RBC Heritage, competing in much more loaded fields.
Im ranks 22nd SG: Off-the-Tee, 38th SG: Putting, 15th in driving accuracy and sixth in putting average. Accuracy off-the-tee and short game will allow Im to climb the leaderboard at this par 71 track.
He’s 22nd in birdie average and 27th on par 4s, which further cements my confidence in a third consecutive top 20 finish. Landing even odds on Im to card a top 20 finish is too good to pass on since he’s played the best golf of the season right now.
Let’s bet a unit on Im to log a top 20 finish during his debut at The CJ CUP Byron Nelson at +100 odds.
Pick: Sungjae Im (+100)
Top 30 Finish
Alex Smalley has been struggling lately, missing four of five cuts and falling outside the top 60 in his lone weekend appearance. Despite his struggles, Smalley’s game should translate well during his return to TPC Craig Ranch.
Smalley logged a T13 finish at this event in 2024. He’s ranked 10th in total strokes gained, 12th in scoring average and second on par 4s.
The 28-year-old American is best off-the-tee, ranked second in total driving, 11th SG: Off-the-Tee and 23rd in driving accuracy. Smalley is also finding greens in regulation at over 68 percent, ranked 30th on the PGA Tour.
Smalley carded six top 30 finishes before getting cold at the Valspar Championship in late March. Let’s bet a unit on him to bounce back with a seventh top 30 finish at TPC Craig Ranch at +160 odds.
Pick: Alex Smalley (+160)
Top 40 Finish
One of the best power hitters on the PGA Tour, Jake Knapp should play well at a lengthy par 71 course like TPC Craig Ranch. We saw Knapp wind up with a solo eighth-place finish at the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson, hitting a ton of greens in regulation.
Knapp has been in contention several times this season, although he hasn’t been able to close out for his second PGA Tour win. Ranked 34th in driving distance, he should be able to cover plenty of fairway at this 7,569 yard track.
Knapp is also ranked 21st SG: Putting, which will help him bury birdie putts on one of the PGA Tour’s most gettable courses. He’s 12th in birdie average and was in brief contention at the Zurich Classic on Sunday. He’s missed two cuts in the last three solo events played but has cleared a top 40 finish in seven solo outings.
Let’s bet a unit on Knapp to play well enough to log a top 40 finish after carding a top 10 finish at the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Pick: Jake Knapp (-120)