2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson Power Rankings: Top 10 Golfers To Watch

May 19, 2026

Ian McNeill ranks his top-10 PGA Tour players to watch at the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson from TPC Craig Ranch. His data-backed insights into who is primed for success.

Coming off a demanding PGA Championship test at Aronimink, where elite ball-strikers were separated from the pack on firm greens and penal rough, the PGA Tour now shifts into a dramatically different environment in Dallas. TPC Craig Ranch offers one of the most forgiving scoring setups on the schedule, where scoring opportunities come in bunches and separation on the leaderboard is attained through birdie conversion rather than gritty six-footers for par.

But the contrast this week is not just architectural -- it is also found in the field itself. With only two players inside the OWGR top 25 and a noticeable lack of marquee names beyond the local Texas contingent, this is one of the lightest top-end fields of the season. As a result, the pathway to contention looks far more open than what we saw just one week ago at a major championship.

But how does this eclectic field stack up at the top -- and who, if anyone, should you be targeting on pre-week betting boards? Without further ado, here are my top-10 players to watch at the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

No. 10 - Michael Thorbjornsen

🦅👀 The EAGLE has landed for Michael Thorbjornsen at the 11th. Seeking his 1st PGA Tour win, he moves into solo 2nd and just 1 shot back. 🔥#theplayers
pic.twitter.com/oMBWQ24T8Q

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 14, 2026

What began as an encouraging start to Michael Thorbjornsen’s second full season as a professional has quickly stalled in recent weeks.

After a stretch that included a T3 in Phoenix where he held the solo lead on the 16th tee, a solo second heading into Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, and five additional top-20 finishes in his previous 12 starts, the Stanford product has cooled significantly with a T33 at the RBC Heritage followed by a T53 and missed cut at Doral and Aronimink.

This type of volatility is not unfamiliar. After a breakout fall following his 2024 turn to professional golf, Thorbjornsen opened 2025 with six missed cuts in nine starts before quickly rebounding with a T2 at the Corales Puntacana Championship and a T4 at the Zurich Classic -- resulting in a summer/fall swing that re-established him as one of the game's premier upcoming talents.

This week could well be another golden chance to turn his season around, as even with recent results trending in the wrong direction, the underlying profile still looks tailor-made for TPC Craig Ranch. Thorbjornsen ranks 10th on Tour when combining driving distance and accuracy, while also grading out 21st and 9th in this field in long and mid-iron proximity -- an ideal combination on a course where 76% of approach shots came from over 150 yards last season.

He has already shown this type of upside on comparable setups, including a T3 in Phoenix this season and a T4 at Detroit Golf Club last summer, while also gaining over six strokes ball-striking here a year ago. The recent results may not reflect it, but the tools remain intact -- and given his pedigree as a former Stanford standout who ranked among the best in program history, it feels like only a matter of time before another surge arrives.

No. 9 - Pierceson Coody

After contending deep into the weekend at both Torrey Pines and TPC Scottsdale earlier this season, the golf world would have eagerly circled the opportunity to catch a big number on Pierceson Coody in his home event. While the results have grown more sporadic over the last few months, the overarching profile remains extremely compelling for a golf course that places an inordinate demand on long driving and touch on the greens.

A former Texas Longhorns standout and top-ranked amateur, Coody already amassed three Korn Ferry Tour victories before the age of 24, and has already once flashed his upside at the PGA Tour level in his home state. At the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge, he entered the weekend at Colonial just two shots behind Davis Riley’s 36-hole lead before eventually finishing T5 -- the best result of his PGA Tour career to that point. Since then, Coody has added another three top-five finishes, including a T3 at the 2025 3M Open and a playoff loss at the 2024 ISCO Championship.

The through line between many of those performances has been bentgrass greens, a surface Coody grew up on and one that has quickly become a defining strength at the highest level. Over his last 48 rounds, he has gained 0.89 strokes per round on bentgrass putting surfaces -- the best mark in this field by nearly two-tenths of a stroke. That elite putting profile becomes even more dangerous when paired with his natural firepower off the tee, where he currently ranks 10th on Tour in Driving Distance, along with an underrated iron game that places him 20th in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach over his last 36 rounds.

Coody already posted a T25 here on a sponsor’s exemption last season, gaining over 6.5 strokes off the tee in the best driving performance of his young PGA Tour career. He may not yet carry the cache of his fellow Longhorns near the top of the betting board, but few players deeper down possess this combination of power, comfort on bentgrass, and pure scoring upside.

No. 8 - Rasmus Hojgaard

Rasmus Højgaard birdied 4 of the last 5 holes, including 3 in a row to finish, to close with a back 9 of 31, to win the Irish Open by 1 shot from Rory McIlroy. It’s his 5th DP World Tour win at just 23 years of age. Fusher 🔥🇩🇰 pic.twitter.com/dk11yYAItm

— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 15, 2024

On a golf course that features nine holes measuring over 470 yards while routinely pushing winning scores beyond 25-under par, two traits have consistently separated contenders at TPC Craig Ranch: elite power and high-end birdie conversion. Højgaard possesses both in abundance.

The Dane ranks third on Tour in average carry distance this season, trailing only his twin brother Nicolai Højgaard and Aldrich Potgieter, giving him the firepower to attack Craig Ranch’s collection of lengthy Par 4s and reachable Par 5s. And when those opportunities present themselves, few players in this field have been more efficient from scoring range. Over his last 36 rounds, Højgaard ranks fifth in make percentage from inside 15 feet.

But the argument for Hojgaard extends far beyond the statistical profile. At just 25 years old, Højgaard has already compiled one of the stronger winning résumés of anyone in this field. The youngest member of either side at last fall’s Ryder Cup, he has captured five DP World Tour titles since the start of the decade, including a memorable one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy at Royal County Down Golf Club, one of McIlroy’s favorite venues in the world.

He'll be one of the few in this field -- especially within his price range -- who has come through in big moments before, and I see him as a particularly intriguing upside option with the raw tools he possesses.

No. 7 - Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Christiaan Bezuidenhout admittedly represents a slight departure from the player profile we’ve highlighted throughout much of this list, but finishes of T12 and T23 in two career starts at TPC Craig Ranch prove there are multiple ways to succeed around this venue.

Rather than relying on overwhelming power or elite tee-to-green dominance, Bezuidenhout has built his career around one of the most reliable putting strokes in professional golf. Through the first five months of the season, the South African ranks seventh on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting, and he arrives in Texas with the flat-stick trending in the right direction once again. Over his last four starts alone, Bezuidenhout has gained 3.8 strokes on the greens at the Myrtle Beach Classic, 5.8 at the Texas Children's Houston Open, and another 5.9 last week at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.

The benign greens at Craig Ranch have consistently suited Bezuidenhout’s eye, as evidenced by the +12.9 strokes he has gained putting across just eight career rounds at this venue. And encouragingly, the irons have begun to trend upward alongside the putter. Over his last 30 rounds, Bezuidenhout rates out as a top-15 approach player in this field.

While he may not have the sheer firepower of some of the names surrounding him in these rankings, Bezuidenhout has more than enough precision and putting prowess to compensate. Based on recent form alone, he deserves consideration among the hottest players in this field, and with a thinner collection of elite talent assembled this week, few opportunities may set up better for him to seriously contend.

No. 6 - Ryo Hisatsune

A shot worthy of the club twirl 😍

Ryo Hisatsune sets up birdie to go 2⃣ clear at the top!#CazooOpenDeFrance pic.twitter.com/UYIJkHCyZN

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 24, 2023

Ryo Hisatsune’s recent finishes may not immediately jump off the page, but context matters when evaluating the stretch of golf he’s played over the last month. Each of his past four starts has come against elite competition loaded with top-end talent, and this week presents a much softer setup than the Signature Events and Major Championship fields he has recently been navigating.

In many ways, the divide between players who have thrived in opposite-field events like the Myrtle Beach Classic or the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and those merely surviving elevated fields is an important distinction to make at TPC Craig Ranch. Hisatsune may actually be a perfect example of a player being punished by circumstance after playing well enough early in the season to qualify for golf’s toughest events.

The last time the Japanese star teed it up in a more modest PGA Tour field came at the 2026 Valero Texas Open, where he entered Sunday just one shot off the lead before ultimately finishing T8. And while the results since then have remained relatively quiet, signs of encouraging form still exist beneath the surface. At the PGA Championship, Hisatsune produced his best ball-striking week since San Antonio, gaining over 5.4 strokes tee-to-green en route to a T35 finish -- a result that would still rank ahead of nearly everyone in this week’s field.

For the season, Hisatsune remains one of the more well-rounded statistical profiles on Tour: ranking inside the top 30 in Total Driving while grading out as a top-10 approach player in this field over the course of 2026. And when the putter cooperates, the upside has consistently followed. In the four tournaments this season where he has gained at least two strokes on the greens, he has finished no worse than T10. Few players in this field profile as cleaner bounce-back candidates this week.

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No. 5 - Davis Thompson

In a field lacking much proven top-end pedigree, one of the safest paths to identifying contenders is simply following the recent form sheet. Few players arrive at TPC Craig Ranch with more momentum than Davis Thompson, who enters the week on the heels of three consecutive top-15 finishes.

More impressive still has been the versatility with which those results have been achieved. Across solo starts at the 2026 Valero Texas Open and the Myrtle Beach Classic, Thompson gained a combined 13.8 strokes through his driving and approach play. Then at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, paired alongside Austin Eckroat, Thompson carried the pair with his putter: gaining six strokes on the greens en route to a T6 finish.

The recent form alone would warrant serious attention this week, but Thompson’s broader statistical profile fits TPC Craig Ranch beautifully as well. Over the course of the 2026 season, he ranks inside the top 25 on Tour in both Total Driving and Strokes Gained: Approach, while only Si Woo Kim owns a better average proximity from the critical 150–200 yard range.

Still just 26 years old, Thompson has already proven capable of capitalizing in weaker-field scoring environments, capturing the 2024 John Deere Classic for his maiden PGA Tour victory. And given his recent run of play, he should be considered a legitimate threat for No. 2 should the top names in this field falter.

No. 4 - Brooks Koepka

Finishing strong with a birdie on the 18th and hardest hole @MyrtleBeachCl 💪

Brooks Koepka wraps up his first round at 3-under. pic.twitter.com/qYlYYUJSjg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 7, 2026

What began as an encouraging Thursday at the Aronimink Golf Club (T15 on the leaderboard; 1st in ball-striking) ultimately unraveled into a Sunday 74 and a T55 finish. The flashes have been there throughout Koepka’s comeback, but finding the staying power to convert them into legitimate wins has been a different battle entirely for the now 36-year-old.

Across 10 starts on the PGA Tour in 2026, Koepka has failed to enter a weekend round better than five shots off the lead, despite logging five top-20 finishes since March. The issue has been clear: the putter, which continues to lag well outside the top 100 in both overall performance and from 5–15 feet.

The good news for Brooks is that the ball-striking has kept him relevant in many events in spite of the putting struggles. Over his last 32 rounds, he leads this field in approach play, while ranking top 15 in each of the key proximity ranges (150–200 and 200+ yards) and top 20 in driving distance.

It’s been the defining question of his comeback for some time now, but if the putter does cooperate, his path back to contention is still very much intact.

Despite carrying a top-25 World Ranking and sitting No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings, there are legitimate questions about whether Kim arrives in the same form that propelled him into that position earlier in the season.

Finishes of 65th and 35th across his last two starts have started to cool a blistering opening stretch to his 2026 campaign, and the underlying profile has followed suit. Since the PLAYERS Championship, Kim has lost strokes on approach in four of seven starts, while grading out at just +0.10 per round in that category over that span -- a notable step down from his early-season ceiling.

If the elite iron play doesn’t return this week, Kim is left to rely heavily on a driver-and-putter combination that is merely average relative to this field — ranking 66th in driving distance and 83rd in putting from inside 15 feet among the players in this field.

He still carries elite weekly upside, but the margin for error is far thinner than the ranking suggests.

Jordan may not be the other top 30 player in this field, but his current skillset may just be the best matchup for Scottie Scheffler in this field. Firstly, Jordan has turned himself into a prolific driver of the ball: gaining a combined 9.98 strokes off of the tee across his last three starts (Aronimink, Quail Hollow, Doral), while sitting 25th in this field in driving distance.

And while the putter isn't nearly what it was over the course of his peak years, Jordan has shown a repeated capability of spiking on the greens in a given week. He's gained 5.82, 6.15, and 7.89 shots with his putter in three of his last 11 starts -- a figure Scottie hasn't reached since his Open Championship victory 10 months ago.

Spieth also rates out as a top 20 iron player in this field through the first four months of the season, and was one of just four players last week to best Scottie Scheffler from tee-to-green at Aronimink. His results haven't exactly told the tale of a player knocking on the door of a breakout win, but I see positive trends in each of the four facets of his profile.

He has already recorded three top-10 finishes in four career starts at TPC Craig Ranch. The volatility remains, but so does the ceiling, and few players in this field can match it when all phases align.

Twelve months ago, this very tournament provided Scheffler with the perfect tonic to a sluggish start to his season, as he posted rounds of 61, 63, 66, and 63 to set a tournament scoring record and lap the field by eight strokes.

While he will not carry a winless season into May as he did in 2025, Scheffler’s nine-start stretch since his most recent victory at the American Express does mark his longest drought since the 2023 campaign. And last week at Aronimink, signs of vulnerability finally appeared with the putter, as he lost a combined 5.05 strokes on the greens over the final three rounds en route to a T14 finish.

Still, the underlying performance remained dominant. Scheffler gained 8.91 strokes ball-striking and 5.17 strokes on approach -- his second-best iron week of the season behind the Masters. With five consecutive positive approach weeks, he has now climbed into the top 30 on Tour in iron play, ranking ahead of players such as Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Akshay Bhatia, and Tommy Fleetwood. For those questioning whether his approach game has fully stabilized, a combined +21.78 strokes gained tee-to-green across the first two majors is a strong counterpoint.

Back at TPC Craig Ranch, the putting concerns appear less threatening. He logged the fifth-best putting week of his career here last season en route to a five-shot victory, and the surfaces in his home city of Dallas present far less complexity than the firm, undulating test at Aronimink. The market reflects that comfort level, listing Scheffler as a heavy favorite in a field that features just one other top-40 player in the world.

It feels as inevitable as it ever has this season. The question is not whether Scheffler contends -- it is whether anyone in this field can do enough to prevent him from separating once he does.