The First Look: AT&T Byron Nelson

Editor's note (May 8, 2023): Jordan Spieth has withdrawn from the AT&T Byron Nelson due to a left wrist injury that requires rest and limited movement, he said on Instagram.

K.H. Lee had a special week a year ago at the AT&T Bryon Nelson, joining some elite company in the PGA TOUR’s record books.

And now he’s looking to make even more history.

Lee, who successfully defended his title at TPC Craig Ranch last year, joined the likes of Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson as the only golfers to pull the trick in tournament history.

“It's amazing, I can't believe it,” Lee said then. “Just hopefully people remember my name, but, yeah, I try more play well, so hopefully more remember my name.”

The AT&T Byron Nelson returns to TPC Craig Ranch this year, and Lee, who briefly got into contention at the Wells Fargo Championship, is eager for a three-peat.

Just nine men since World War II have won an event on the PGA TOUR three straight years, and seven of them are World Golf Hall of Famers. Steve Stricker is the most recent to have done it, his three-peat at the John Deere Classic in 2009-11.

Viktor Hovland (World Wide Technology Championship) and Sam Burns (Valspar Championship) were unsuccessful in their bids to three-peat this season while Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay have opportunities later this year.

Max Homa, who has won the Fortinet Championship twice in a row, will have his chance to three-peat next season.

Lee’s repeat victory in Texas led to him making the International Presidents Cup team for the first time, and now he’ll return with that experience under his belt seeking win No. 3.

“Very comfortable feeling, tee shot or when I'm putting it's very welcoming here,” he said last year. “Still feels like dreaming, but last year and this year still make good memories.”

Time to try to make some more.

FIELD NOTES: World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler is back after skipping the Wells Fargo. He has two victories and only one result outside the top 12 all season… Hideki Matsuyama, who tied for third a year ago, is set to return. Matsuyama withdrew from the Wells Fargo citing the need for continued medical treatment on his neck… Min Woo Lee is back as he looks to earn Special Temporary Membership on the PGA TOUR. Lee tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS but missed the cut at the Masters and the RBC Heritage… J.J. Killeen, a two-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, earned his way into the field as the PGA Section Champion. Killeen, who is playing the Byron Nelson for the second year in a row, also earned a spot in the upcoming PGA Championship at Oak Hill (his first major) thanks to a top-20 result at the PGA Professional Championship… Tyrrell Hatton is set to tee it up at TPC Craig Ranch. Hatton held a share of the 36-hole lead at the Wells Fargo.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: David Micheluzzi, the 2022-23 PGA of Australia Order of Merit winner will make his PGA TOUR debut. Micheluzzi has won twice this year in Australia … The 2022 Byron Nelson Collegiate Golf Award winner, William Knauth, will make his PGA TOUR debut. Knauth, who plays for Carnegie Mellon, was the 2022 UAA Player of the Year. He’s set to graduate with a dual degree in physics and mathematical sciences…Roger Sloan, a past PGA TOUR member and Dallas resident, will play his first TOUR event since the 2022 Wyndham Championship. Sloan has made six cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season… Brothers Parker and Pierceson Coody are both teeing it up. This is the second time this season the twins are in a TOUR event together. (The Honda Classic was the first.) Parker has made one cut on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, while Pierceson has made three cuts on the PGA TOUR, highlighted by a T14 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He is a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour and sixth on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List… Sangmoon Bae, the 2013 Byron Nelson winner, is back in action. He finished T14 on the DP World Tour last week and has played four TOUR events this season… Bo Van Pelt and D.A. Points also got sponsor invites.

STORYLINES

Aaron Wise returns

Aaron Wise, the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2018, is set to return. Wise, the 2018 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, withdrew from the Masters to prioritize his mental health and hasn’t played since the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

In a statement Wise said, in part, “Golf is just as much a mental game as it is one of physical skill, and the mental piece of it has been a struggle for me recently.”

Now he’ll return at a place where he’s comfortable – the site of his lone PGA TOUR title.

PGA Championship ahead

This marks the final event prior to the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. In 2021 K.H. Lee – after his first win – earned the final spot in that major. He didn’t need the last-minute invite in 2022, when he lifted the trophy again. Watch to see if a win-and-get-in scenario develops this time.

Texans look to end drought

Plenty of Texans will be looking for some home-state love in McKinney. Scheffler leads the way, but there’s also Harry Higgs, Ryan Palmer (he told Golfweek in 2021 he has the course record at TPC Craig Ranch), the Coody twins, and more. Someone from Texas hasn’t won the tournament since Scott Verplank in 2007.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: TPC Craig Ranch, par 71, 7,414 yards. Designed by Tom Weiskopf (with D.A. Weibring as consultant) the course opened in 2004. It features Zoysia fairways, bentgrass greens, and Rowlett Creek, which crosses the course 14 times. Weiskopf, who was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame this year, died last August.

72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Steven Bowditch (2015 at TPC Four Seasons). Aaron Wise and Sung Kang’s 23-under-par 261 in 2018 and 2019, respectively, are the lowest against par; Bowditch was 18-under after heavy rain turned TPC Four Seasons into a par-69 layout for the final three rounds.

TPC Craig Ranch record: 262, K.H. Lee (2022)

18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Arron Oberholser (2nd round, 2006 at Cottonwood Valley GC), Keegan Bradley (1st round, 2013 at TPC Four Seasons), Sebastian Munoz (1st round, 2022 at TPC Craig Ranch)

LAST TIME: K.H. Lee successfully defended his AT&T Byron Nelson title after firing an impressive 9-under 63 in the final round. He finished at 26 under, one shot lower than the year prior. Lee topped Jordan Spieth by one. Spieth missed a birdie try from less than 10 feet on No. 17 and his eagle chip on 18 – which he needed to hole to tie Lee – missed just left of the hole. Lee’s 9-under effort wasn’t even the low round of the day, however, as Hideki Matsuyama shot a 10-under 62 to tie for third at 24 under.

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