Draftkings CJ Cup Byron Nelson First Round Picks 5/1/25

This Thursday morning, Draftkings golf fans will be presented with the first round of the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Let’s take a look at the first round of this tournament from a DFS perspective.

Before I discuss my Draftkings player selections for this week’s PGA Tour event let’s review where the first round of the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson will be played.

The 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson will be played at TPC Craig Ranch in Dallas, Texas. This track is a par 72 that measures approximately 7,468 yards.

*Taylor Pendrith won the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a four round cumulative score of 23 under par.

I wanted to emphasize that the purpose of this article is not to provide an exact DFS lineup.

Having stated that, this article will provide multiple player options in an effort to assist the reader in generating a unique lineup that will hopefully have the potential to win a DraftKings GPP (guaranteed prize pool) contest! Keep that in mind as you construct your lineups for this DFS slate.

For those readers that are not aware, the rules and scoring for DraftKings single round showdown contests are vastly different than the traditional classic contests offered by the platform.

If you need to review the specific rules for the single round showdown contests feel free to check out the DraftKings website.

Here are my DraftKings player selections for the first round of the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Draftkings CJ Cup Byron Nelson First Round Picks

Sam Burns $9,600

Two weeks ago, Sam Burns fired a final round 67 at the 2025 RBC Heritage en route to an eventual 13th place finish.

Sam Burns has posted a quality result at TPC Craig Ranch in the past. More specifically, Burns finished second at the 2021 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Si Woo Kim $9,400

Si Woo Kim has compiled five top 24 finishes in his last eight tournaments played on the PGA Tour, including a 12th place finish at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Pro-Am in January.

Kim also checks the box for me when it comes to key player statistics. Kim is currently ranked tenth in birdie or better percentage (25.42%), sixth in overall birdie average per round (4.5), 23rd in strokes gained around the green (0.331) and 25th in total average putts per round (1.563) on the PGA Tour.

Mackenzie Hughes $9,000

The talented Canadian arrives at this week’s event on the heels of two consecutive top ten finishes on the PGA Tour, including a tenth-place result at the 2025 Texas Children’s Houston Open last month.

Additionally, Hughes finishes 14th at the 2023 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Chad Ramey $7,100

Chad Ramey has compiled two top 18 finishes in his last three tournaments played on the PGA Tour, including an impressive fifth-place result at the 2025 Valero Texas Open earlier this month.

In summary, I fully expect Chad Ramey to continue his outstanding play in Thursday’s first round of the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Henrik Norlander $7,300

Henrik Norlander has accumulated four top 18 finishes in his last five events played on the PGA Tour, including a 12th result at the 2025 Valero Texas Open.

Due to Henrik Norlander’s quality finish at the 2025 Valero Texas Open I decided to take a hard look at the relevant player statistics for the event to determine how Norlander fared relative to the field.

Upon the completion of four rounds of competitive play at the 2025 Valero Texas Open, in relation to the field, Henrik Norlander ranked 17th in driving accuracy (53.6%), 15th in GIR (greens in regulation-59.7%) and third in bogey avoidance (9).

Additional golfers I like to perform well in the first round of the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (Draftkings price noted): Scottie Scheffler $13,700: Jordan Spieth $10,400: Ben Griffin $9,100: Stephan Jaeger $9,200: Ryan Gerard $8,900: Seamus Power $7,600.