AT&T Byron Nelson Preview 2021

AT&T Byron Nelson Preview 2021

• Dates: May 10-16, 2021
• Where: McKinney, Texas
• Course: TPC Craig Ranch (36-36—72/7,468 yards)
• Defending champion: Sung Kang (2019)
• Purse: $8,100,000 ($1,458,000/winner)
• FedExCup: 500 points (winner)
• Field size: 156
• Format: 72-hole stroke play

For a list of AT&T Byron Nelson Winners, follow the link.

Things to Know

• Due to COVID-19, the AT&T Byron Nelson was not contested in 2020; Sung Kang set to defend his 2019 title
• The AT&T Byron Nelson moves to TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, after two years at Trinity Forest Golf Club
• Hideki Matsuyama will make his first start since winning the 2021 Masters Tournament
• Additional field headliners include AT&T ambassador Jordan Spieth, FedExCup leader Bryson DeChambeau, four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and World No. 3 Jon Rahm (making tournament debut)
• Pierceson Coody, Cole Hammer and Tyler Strafaci are participating after leading the United States to victory in last week’s Walker Cup; Strafaci makes professional debut

Field Notes

• 10 of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, led by No. 1 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 8 Jordan Spieth and No. 9 Hideki Matsuyama
• 17 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, led by No. 3 Jon Rahm, No. 4 Bryson DeChambeau and No. 12 Brooks Koepka
• 82 PGA TOUR winners combining for 269 total victories, led by Jason Day and Jordan Spieth (12 each)
• Eight major championship winners combining for 15 major victories, including past PGA Championship winners Padraig Harrington (2008), Jason Day (2015), Jimmy Walker (2016) and Brooks Koepka (2018, 2019)
• Five past champions: Rory Sabbatini (2009), Jason Day (2010), Sergio Garcia (2004, 2016), Aaron Wise (2018), Sung Kang (2019)
• Three FedExCup champions: Bill Haas (2011), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Jordan Spieth (2015)

A look back at the 2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

Pos.	Player	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Sung Kang	65	61	68	67	261 (-23)
T2	Matt Every	65	65	67	66	263 (-21)
T2	Scott Piercy	67	69	63	64	263 (-21)
4	Brooks Koepka	65	66	68	65	264 (-20)

• Sung Kang became the 10^th Korean-born player to win on the PGA TOUR and second to win the AT&T Byron Nelson (Sangmoon Bae/2013)
• Marked the 11^th win by an international player at the AT&T Byron Nelson since 2000 (Jesper Parnevik/2000, Shigeki Maruyama/2002, Vijay Singh/2003, Sergio Garcia/2004, Adam Scott/2008, Rory Sabbatini/2009, Jason Day/2010, Sangmoon Bae/2013, Steven Bowditch/2015, Garcia/2016, Kang/2019)
• Scott Piercy became the first player to play all 72 holes without a bogey and not win since 2010 (Charles Howell/A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier)

AT&T Byron Nelson and the FedExCup

• The AT&T Byron Nelson is the 33^rd of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season
• Seven of the 13 winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson during the FedExCup era have qualified for the season-ending TOUR Championship: Scott Verplank (2007), Jason Day (2010), Keegan Bradley (2011), Jason Dufner (2012), Brendon Todd (2014), Steven Bowditch (2015), Aaron Wise (2018)
• 2019 champion Sung Kang finished No. 45 in the FedExCup standings that season

Current FedExCup standings

Top 10 at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship will be recognized through the Comcast Business TOUR Top 10. Updated standings are below:

Pos.	Player	Points	Wins	Top-10s	Pts. Behind	Starts
1	Bryson DeChambeau	1,654	2	6	—	11
2	Justin Thomas	1,634	1	5	20	14
3	Viktor Hovland	1,593	1	6	61	16
4	Xander Schauffele	1,423	0	6	231	14
5	Cameron Smith	1,381	1	6	273	15
6	Stewart Cink	1,364	2	3	290	16
7	Patrick Cantlay	1,313	1	4	341	15
8	Jordan Spieth	1,250	1	6	404	15
9	Hideki Matsuyama	1,244	1	2	410	17
10	Dustin Johnson	1,203	1	4	451	11

Player Notes

Defending champion Sung Kang

• Currently No. 184 in the FedExCup standings
• Will be making his 22^nd start of the season, led by a T29 at the 2020 Masters Tournament
• Last player to successfully defend AT&T Byron Nelson title (Tom Watson: 1979, 1980)

Bryson DeChambeau

• Regained the lead in the FedExCup standings with a T9 at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship; has held the FedExCup lead in 17 of 30 weeks this season, most of any player
• Seeks ninth career PGA TOUR title and third of the 2020-21 season (U.S. Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
• Enters the week No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Dallas resident; missed the cut in both prior starts at the AT&T Byron Nelson (2016, 2017)

Brooks Koepka

• Making first start since missing the cut at the Masters Tournament in April
• Making his 11^th start of the season, led by his eighth PGA TOUR win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
• Has made six starts at the event, highlighted by a runner-up in 2016 and a solo-fourth in 2019
• Owns four major championship titles (2017 U.S. Open, 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 PGA Championship, 2019 PGA Championship)

Marc Leishman

• Picked up his sixth career TOUR win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, partnering with Cameron Smith
• Shot a 10-under 61 in the first round of the 2018 AT&T Byron Nelson, his career-low 18-hole score on TOUR
• Three top-three finishes in 10 starts in the event (2^nd/2018, T3/2014, T3/2012); is one of three players in tournament history with three top-three finishes without a victory (others: Lee Trevino, Hal Sutton)

Hideki Matsuyama

• Making first start since winning the 2021 Masters Tournament
• Enters the week No. 9 in the FedExCup standings and No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Making third start at the AT&T Byron Nelson (T16/2018, T23/2019)

Jon Rahm

• Making tournament debut at the AT&T Byron Nelson
• Enters the week No. 12 in the FedExCup standings and No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Leads the TOUR with nine top-10s this season
• Seeks a sixth career PGA TOUR title and first since the 2020 BMW Championship

Jordan Spieth

• AT&T ambassador and Dallas native
• Picked up his 12^th PGA TOUR victory earlier this season at the Valero Texas Open
• Making 10^th start at the event, with best result a T16 in 2010, where he made his TOUR debut at age 16

Tyler Strafaci

• Making professional debut after representing the United States in last week’s victory at the Walker Cup
• Won the 2020 U.S. Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, defeating Charles Osborne, 1 up
• Seeking first made cut in fourth start of the season (Farmers Insurance Open/MC, The Genesis Invitational/WD, Masters Tournament/MC)

Will Zalatoris

• Finished second in April in bid to become the first player to win in Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979
• Was the only player with four under-par rounds at the Masters
• Six top-10s and 11 top-25 finishes in 17 starts this season (currently a Special Temporary Member)
• Dallas resident; has missed the cut in both prior starts at the AT&T Byron Nelson (2016, 2018)

Tournament records/history

• The AT&T Byron Nelson was the first TOUR event to be named in honor of a professional golfer
• 18-hole scoring record: 60 (Sam Snead/R2/1957, Arron Oberholser/R2/2006, Keegan Bradley/R1/2013)
• 36-hole scoring record: 126 (Sung Kang/2019)
• 54-hole scoring record: 194 (Loren Roberts/1999, Brooks Koepka/2016, Sung Kang/2019)
• 72-hole scoring record: 259 (Steven Bowditch/2015)
• Youngest winner: Tiger Woods, 1997 (21 years, 4 months, 18 days)
• There have been 11 wins by an international player since 2000 (Jesper Parnevik/2000, Shigeki Maruyama/2002, Vijay Singh/2003, Sergio Garcia/2004, Adam Scott/2008, Rory Sabbatini/2009, Jason Day/2010, Sangmoon Bae/2013, Steven Bowditch/2015, Garcia/2016, Sung Kang/2019)

The AT&T Byron Nelson Preview 2021 is via PGA TOUR.