Just one week after Rory McIlroy ended his 18-month winless drought to claim the Wells Fargo Championship for the third time in his career, the PGA Tour heads to McKinney, Texas, for the AT&T Byron Nelson.

This is the final tournament before the season's second major when the PGA Championship is contested next week, and two of the top-five players in the world are teeing it up following Dustin Johnson withdrawing.

Jon Rahm, who missed the cut last week in Charlotte, is the favourite to win outright, followed by Bryson DeChambeau.

Competitors this week will play at a venue that will be unfamiliar for most, as the tour has moved away from Trinity Forest Golf Club in order to stage this event at TPC Craig Ranch.

While this course has never hosted a PGA Tour event, it was the venue for the 2008 and 2012 Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

With there being little course history to draw upon, it makes selecting a potential winner that much more difficult this week.

We've hit on two of the last three winners, having selected the Australian duo of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith to emerge victorious at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Rory McIlroy to prevail at the Wells Fargo Championship.

This tournament wasn't contested last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning 2019 winner Sung Kang is the defending champion.

There are just three Canadians teeing it up this week, each considered a long shot to earn their maiden PGA Tour victory.

Roger Sloan has the shortest odds to claim the trophy at +20000 to win outright.

The other two are both +50000 extreme dark horses to get into the winner's circle, with David Hearn and Michael Gligic attempting to defy the odds.

Here's our first look at the field for the AT&T Byron Nelson.

 

Betting Odds To Win 2021 AT&T Byron Nelson – Top 15

Jon Rahm                      +700
Bryson DeChambeau   +800
Jordan Spieth               +1000
Daniel Berger               +1400
Brooks Koepka             +1800
Matthew Fitzpatrick    +1800
Hideki Matsuyama      +2000
Scottie Scheffler           +2000
Will Zalatoris                +2500
Marc Leishman            +3000
Si Woo Kim                   +3300
Sam Burns                    +3500
Sergio Garcia                +4500
Jason Day                     +5000
Ryan Palmer                 +5000

 

Scheffler eyes first PGA Tour victory

Scottie Scheffler will be playing in front of hometown fans this week as he grew up just 30 minutes down the road in Dallas. He also attended the University of Texas, which will undoubtedly have the fans on his side as he searches for his maiden tour win.

He very nearly captured that first trophy in March, losing in the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play final to Billy Horschel.

That is a part of a nine-tournament stretch that has seen him post four top-10 finishes.

The other strong showings were a fifth at the WGC-Workday Championship, T-7 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a T-8 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Scheffler is 14th in birdie average and 15th in strokes gained off-the-tee on the campaign, and in the last 36 rounds, he's been very solid in plenty of 'strokes gained' categories.

He's seventh in SG: around-the-green, eighth off-the-tee and total strokes gained, ninth tee-to-green and 18th in both ball striking and short game.

At +2200 odds to win outright, you're getting him at better value than the top-six golfers on the board.

He's ready for that breakthrough victory, and it could come in front of plenty of huge Scheffler supporters.

 

Past Five Winners of the AT&T Byron Nelson

2019 Sung Kang -23              (2 shot win)

2018 Aaron Wise -23            (3 shot win)

2017 Billy Horschel -12         (playoff over Jason Day)

2016 Sergio Garcia  -15        (playoff over Brooks Koepka)

2015 Steven Bowditch -18   (4 shot win)

*All wins came at a different golf course

 

Fore Your Information

Trending Up

Aaron Wise +6600

Last week we were all over Aaron Wise even though he was a +12500 long shot to win. Wise wasn't able to capture his second trophy but, as we suggested, he could be a great player to wager on for a top 10/20 bet, and he came through with a T-9 showing at the Wells Fargo Championship.

This week, Wise is +6600 to win outright following that strong showing at a tournament that yielded his first PGA Tour victory in 2018, albeit at a different golf course.

Wise is a player that will give himself plenty of opportunities to make birdies, as he ranks seventh in greens in regulation percentage on the campaign.

In his last 36 rounds, he's also eighth in strokes gained tee-to-green.

Just 24 years old, Wise is just coming into his own as he works to become more consistent.

His +6600 odds to win outright are juicy, as he hopes to continue his strong form going at a tournament he has good mojo at.

 

Diamond in the Rough

John Catlin +15000

Thirty-year-old American John Catlin is not a name very familiar to North American golf fans, as he's only competed in six PGA Tour events in his career.

The best result of those was a tie for 22nd at the 2018 CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur.

However, Catlin has made a name for himself on the European Tour, where he won three times in a 13-tournament stretch beginning last September.

Included in that was a dramatic five-hole playoff triumph at the Austrian Open last month.

His most recent outing produced a fifth-place result a few weeks ago at the Tenerife Open.

It's probably too much to expect him to jump to the tougher tour and walk away with yet another title, but a top 10/20 wager on Catlin could be within the realm of possibilities.

The TSN Edge is a destination for information and analysis relating to fantasy and sports betting. This is not a gambling website. This site is for informational and recreational purposes only and provides no opportunity to gamble for real money or money’s worth.