05/21/26 03:02:00
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05/21 15:01 CDT Brooks Koepka leads the Byron Nelson, with Scottie Scheffler
lurking in his hometown event
Brooks Koepka leads the Byron Nelson, with Scottie Scheffler lurking in his
hometown event
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) --- Scottie Scheffler won't be the wire-to-wire winner of
his hometown CJ Cup Byron Nelson again this year.
For now, the world's top-ranked player is chasing Brooks Koepka, the five-time
major champion looking for his first victory since returning to the PGA Tour
from LIV Golf.
Koepka shot 8-under 63 for a one-shot lead over five other early finishers at
the revamped TPC Craig Ranch on Thursday, with Scheffler three back while
playing with Koepka and Si Woo Kim, one of those at 64.
"I felt like I was getting lapped out there for a little bit," said Scheffler,
who led from the start of last year's Nelson and won by eight shots at 31 under
while tying the tour's 72-hole scoring record at 253. "So I was fortunate to
make a couple birdies late in the round and keep myself in the tournament."
Kim --- the highest-ranked player in the field behind Scheffler at No. 24 ---
had the only bogey in the threesome, on his 16th hole at the par-3 seventh.
One of several countrymen in the event sponsored by South Korean conglomerate
CJ Group, Kim got back within a shot of the lead with a birdie while Koepka
saved par 5 at the ninth.
Emiliano Grillo, Keith Mitchell, Stephan Jaeger and Michael Thorbjornsen were
tied with Kim, one shot ahead of Doug Ghim and Mackenzie Hughes.
Koepka, who contended at last week's PGA Championship before fading on Sunday,
eagled the par-5 12th and was 4 under through five holes. He had four more
birdies in a span of five holes in his back nine, capped by a 3-foot birdie
putt on the short par-4 sixth.
Kim had four birdies on the front and four more on the back while Scheffler was
lagging at 2 under before getting birdies on three of his final five holes.
"It was just a comfortable group," Koepka said. "Everyone is just kind of
feeding off each other, easy. Everyone's having fun. Makes it enjoyable. I feel
comfortable on the golf course as well."
Even though he hardly recognizes parts of it.
Koepka last played at TPC Craig Ranch in 2021, the year before he bolted for
LIV. The sixth Nelson at the par-71 layout about 30 miles north of Dallas was
the debut of a Lanny Wadkins-led redesign that cost nearly $25 million and
added bunkers everywhere and overhauled the greens with mounds and ridges.
"The greens are totally different than when we played," Koepka said. "That's
obviously the biggest thing. Off the tee it looks pretty good. Place hasn't
changed too much. It's familiar. I like it."
Koepka was a regular at the Nelson a decade ago, including a runner-up finish
in 2016 when he lost to Sergio Garcia in a playoff. The 36-year-old also has a
little CJ Cup history. He rose to No. 1 in the world with a victory when the
event was in South Korea in 2018.
The title sponsorship moved to the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic and has
been associated with the Nelson since 2024.
The move to LIV forced Koepka to put aside things such as world rankings, and
now he's dealing with stipulations he had to agree to in order to rejoin the
PGA Tour. Among them is not being exempt for the $20 million signature events,
even though he won a major --- the 2023 PGA --- while with LIV.
"I think there's such a huge difference right now of trying to get into
signature events, on my way back, coming back to the tour," Koepka said.
"(Winning) would be a big confidence boost for sure because I feel like I've
been playing well. I feel like I'm knocking on the door, and I'm very, very
close."
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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