Mickey the Mouth
The Syndicate News Wire
- May 21, 2026
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McKINNEY, Texas — When TPC Craig Ranch turned to Lanny Wadkins ahead of this year’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the mission was clear: add some teeth to a course that, in just a few years, had been rendered defenseless by the world’s best players.
Since the PGA Tour event moved to this Dallas suburb in 2021, the numbers have told the story. Birdies came in bunches. Winning scores plummeted. What was intended as a modern championship test was, instead, a NASCAR-style sprint with players racing deep into red figures.
In each of the five editions played at TPC Craig Ranch, the champion has reached at least 23 under. It’s a stark contrast to the tournament’s earlier history, when across 10 different venues prior to 2018, no winner had ever touched 20 under.
Wadkins, brought in to toughen the layout, believed he could restore a measure of balance. And he wasn’t shy about it.
The Hall of Famer, clearly proud of the adjustments, predicted the winning total would look nothing like the jaw-dropping 31-under-par Scottie Scheffler posted a year ago in an eight-shot runaway. That performance, while remarkable, only underscored how vulnerable the previous setup had become.
Wadkins’ work wasn’t about simply punishing players. It was about reintroducing consequence, demanding precision, and ensuring that a victory required more than simply keeping pace in a birdie barrage. Whether the changes would fully deliver remained to be seen, but the intent was unmistakable: make the CJ Cup feel, once again, like a test.
"My basic premise with the Tour pros, I want them to step on the tee and think a little bit. I don't want them to step there and say, 'Hey, I'm just going to hit it as far as I can and chase it and hit it again.' That's not going to work out there. So they've got it if they hit it in the fairway, they can play all they want to. But I wanted them to play with a purpose," Wadkins said.
"With some of the shorter holes, we really made that happen. They've got to think. You can't just stand there and let it go."
But after two days of play on the renovation, the scores are similar to those posted in the last five editions of the event. Far too similar for those who hoped to see a reversal of the trend, however, four of the lowest seven rounds in the TPC Craig Ranch era have come over the first two days of play this year.
After he posted a personal record-tying, half-dozen birdies during Friday's second round, Jordan Spieth said the rare mixture of little wind and soft conditions has paired up to reveal a softer side to the course.
"I think the problem right now is that this is like the first time in the history of Dallas, Texas, that you'll have four or five days of very little east wind and soft conditions in May," he said. Spieth, a Dallas native, was also a star at the University of Texas, so his experience carries weight around the Lone Star state. "You get your normal, what we had on Monday out here, that's how it's designed. I think it would show that it's significantly harder, but also fair."
On Thursday, the Tour had preferred lies in effect due to wet conditions, allowing players to lift, clean and re-place the ball when it came to rest in the fairways. That gives pros a distinct advantage, for certain. But c'mon, other golf courses get wet and lack wind. They don't surrender a first-round season record 23 eagles, the way TPC Craig Ranch did.
Keith Mitchell opened the tournament with a 64, and although he said he was impressed with the redesign, the conditions made it too easy for the world's best players.
"It's more difficult off the tee and more slope on the greens. Unfortunately, the weather is not showing that right now, simply because guys are still shooting low scores because it's soft. It's in great shape. The greens are really running true," Mitchell said. "If it was firm and fast, it would definitely be playing much more difficult, and you'd be able to see a lot more of the changes. But when you give PGA Tour players a chance to place the ball around the greens, they're going to take advantage of that."
Scheffler added that the redesign jazzed up the course originally designed by Tom Weiskopf.
"I think Lanny did a really good job of adding some bunkering to really shape things," he said. "I think the shapes off the tee are a lot better than what they were. I think before it was a little bland in terms of the look tee-to-green. On the greens now, they're definitely much more interesting. Like I said, with some of the slopes on a couple of the greens being pretty aggressive. We'll see if they're too aggressive.
"But overall, I think the greens are the same size, but he put in a lot of small areas where they can put pins, and I think there's a real challenge to that. There's a bit more thought that you need when it comes to playing this golf course, whereas before I felt like a lot of the decisions were already made for you. Now you've got to think about where you want to put your ball. The real challenge, I think, to this golf course is for sure on and around the greens."
Even if TPC Craig Ranch presents a more polished visual than its predecessors, beauty and rigor don’t always travel together. The question of aesthetics is separate from the essence of championship golf—and by that measure, the course still comes up light. Despite a $25 million renovation, the changes have done little to stiffen its defenses or demand more from the world’s best.
Spieth, always an advocate for North Texas golf, still insists he's a fan.
"I think it's awesome. I think the Tour's done a good job with the tee boxes on the par-3s because there's obviously a design element to it where it's not just like you're supposed to play the back of every box to every pin," he said. "So far, they've done a good job of creating some fun spots, and it looks like maybe No. 3 could be drivable or something like that. So there may be some unique stuff that we haven't been able to see here."
* - The tournament was not played in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic
So, can tournament organizers do anything to help a defenseless, wounded animal?
The weekend could hinge on how the course is set up. Hole locations, in particular, will be worth watching—Scheffler noted that they may be the clearest lever officials have to restore some balance and bring scoring back toward something resembling normal.
"A lot of it depends on where they want to put the pins. If they want to get really aggressive, the scoring could be drastically different, just based upon the slopes and the greens," said Scheffler. "I think, if you have greens with a lot of slope, you can get about as aggressive as you want. It just depends on what kind of test you're looking for. A lot of it is just how the course is set up, like how close do you want to put the pin to the slope essentially is what it is.
The world's No. 1 player added, "Like, if they wanted the winning score here to be 5- to 10-under par, I think they could do it if they wanted to, just based on where they put the pins, but would that be the best test? Who knows.
"I think a lot of it just comes down to setup. If they set it up where the pins aren't very close to the slopes, you could see similar scoring. Last year, I played some pretty good golf. I doubt it gets that low again, but you never know."
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek.This is a developing story that is being updated as low scores come in.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Byron Nelson course redesign still yielding low scores
Continue reading...
Since the PGA Tour event moved to this Dallas suburb in 2021, the numbers have told the story. Birdies came in bunches. Winning scores plummeted. What was intended as a modern championship test was, instead, a NASCAR-style sprint with players racing deep into red figures.
In each of the five editions played at TPC Craig Ranch, the champion has reached at least 23 under. It’s a stark contrast to the tournament’s earlier history, when across 10 different venues prior to 2018, no winner had ever touched 20 under.
Wadkins, brought in to toughen the layout, believed he could restore a measure of balance. And he wasn’t shy about it.
The Hall of Famer, clearly proud of the adjustments, predicted the winning total would look nothing like the jaw-dropping 31-under-par Scottie Scheffler posted a year ago in an eight-shot runaway. That performance, while remarkable, only underscored how vulnerable the previous setup had become.
Byron Nelson winning scores, TPC Craig Ranch era
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Scottie Scheffler | -31 |
| 2024 | Taylor Pendrith | -23 |
| 2023 | Jason Day | -23 |
| 2022 | K.H. Lee | -26 |
| 2021 | K.H. Lee | -25 |
Wadkins’ work wasn’t about simply punishing players. It was about reintroducing consequence, demanding precision, and ensuring that a victory required more than simply keeping pace in a birdie barrage. Whether the changes would fully deliver remained to be seen, but the intent was unmistakable: make the CJ Cup feel, once again, like a test.
"My basic premise with the Tour pros, I want them to step on the tee and think a little bit. I don't want them to step there and say, 'Hey, I'm just going to hit it as far as I can and chase it and hit it again.' That's not going to work out there. So they've got it if they hit it in the fairway, they can play all they want to. But I wanted them to play with a purpose," Wadkins said.
"With some of the shorter holes, we really made that happen. They've got to think. You can't just stand there and let it go."
But after two days of play on the renovation, the scores are similar to those posted in the last five editions of the event. Far too similar for those who hoped to see a reversal of the trend, however, four of the lowest seven rounds in the TPC Craig Ranch era have come over the first two days of play this year.
| Score | Player | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | Seung-yul Noh | 2023 | 18-hole course record |
| 61 | Sungjae Im | 2026 | Included hole-in-one |
| 61 | Scottie Scheffler | 2025 | Opening round; 1 shot off course record |
| 62 | Jordan Spieth | 2025 | Final round |
| 62 | Taylor Moore | 2026 | Bogey-free round (early-round lead) |
| 62 | Jordan Spieth | 2026 | Six straight birdies |
| 62 | Max Greyserman | 2026 | One eagle, seven birdies |
So the big question is, why so low?
After he posted a personal record-tying, half-dozen birdies during Friday's second round, Jordan Spieth said the rare mixture of little wind and soft conditions has paired up to reveal a softer side to the course.
"I think the problem right now is that this is like the first time in the history of Dallas, Texas, that you'll have four or five days of very little east wind and soft conditions in May," he said. Spieth, a Dallas native, was also a star at the University of Texas, so his experience carries weight around the Lone Star state. "You get your normal, what we had on Monday out here, that's how it's designed. I think it would show that it's significantly harder, but also fair."
On Thursday, the Tour had preferred lies in effect due to wet conditions, allowing players to lift, clean and re-place the ball when it came to rest in the fairways. That gives pros a distinct advantage, for certain. But c'mon, other golf courses get wet and lack wind. They don't surrender a first-round season record 23 eagles, the way TPC Craig Ranch did.
Keith Mitchell opened the tournament with a 64, and although he said he was impressed with the redesign, the conditions made it too easy for the world's best players.
"It's more difficult off the tee and more slope on the greens. Unfortunately, the weather is not showing that right now, simply because guys are still shooting low scores because it's soft. It's in great shape. The greens are really running true," Mitchell said. "If it was firm and fast, it would definitely be playing much more difficult, and you'd be able to see a lot more of the changes. But when you give PGA Tour players a chance to place the ball around the greens, they're going to take advantage of that."
Scheffler added that the redesign jazzed up the course originally designed by Tom Weiskopf.
"I think Lanny did a really good job of adding some bunkering to really shape things," he said. "I think the shapes off the tee are a lot better than what they were. I think before it was a little bland in terms of the look tee-to-green. On the greens now, they're definitely much more interesting. Like I said, with some of the slopes on a couple of the greens being pretty aggressive. We'll see if they're too aggressive.
"But overall, I think the greens are the same size, but he put in a lot of small areas where they can put pins, and I think there's a real challenge to that. There's a bit more thought that you need when it comes to playing this golf course, whereas before I felt like a lot of the decisions were already made for you. Now you've got to think about where you want to put your ball. The real challenge, I think, to this golf course is for sure on and around the greens."
Even if TPC Craig Ranch presents a more polished visual than its predecessors, beauty and rigor don’t always travel together. The question of aesthetics is separate from the essence of championship golf—and by that measure, the course still comes up light. Despite a $25 million renovation, the changes have done little to stiffen its defenses or demand more from the world’s best.
Spieth, always an advocate for North Texas golf, still insists he's a fan.
"I think it's awesome. I think the Tour's done a good job with the tee boxes on the par-3s because there's obviously a design element to it where it's not just like you're supposed to play the back of every box to every pin," he said. "So far, they've done a good job of creating some fun spots, and it looks like maybe No. 3 could be drivable or something like that. So there may be some unique stuff that we haven't been able to see here."
Byron Nelson winning scores decade prior to TPC Craig Ranch
| Year | Player | Score | Course |
| 2019 | Sung Kang | -23 | Trinity Forest Golf Club |
| 2018 | Aaron Wise | -23 | Trinity Forest Golf Club |
| 2017 | Billy Horschel | -12 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2016 | Sergio Garcia | -15 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2015 | Steven Bowditch | -18 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2014 | Brendon Todd | -14 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2013 | Bae Sang-moon | -13 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2012 | Jason Dufner | -11 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2011 | Keegan Bradley | -3 | TPC Las Colinas |
| 2010 | Jason Day | -10 | TPC Las Colinas |
* - The tournament was not played in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic
What can be done to make scoring tougher?
So, can tournament organizers do anything to help a defenseless, wounded animal?
The weekend could hinge on how the course is set up. Hole locations, in particular, will be worth watching—Scheffler noted that they may be the clearest lever officials have to restore some balance and bring scoring back toward something resembling normal.
"A lot of it depends on where they want to put the pins. If they want to get really aggressive, the scoring could be drastically different, just based upon the slopes and the greens," said Scheffler. "I think, if you have greens with a lot of slope, you can get about as aggressive as you want. It just depends on what kind of test you're looking for. A lot of it is just how the course is set up, like how close do you want to put the pin to the slope essentially is what it is.
The world's No. 1 player added, "Like, if they wanted the winning score here to be 5- to 10-under par, I think they could do it if they wanted to, just based on where they put the pins, but would that be the best test? Who knows.
"I think a lot of it just comes down to setup. If they set it up where the pins aren't very close to the slopes, you could see similar scoring. Last year, I played some pretty good golf. I doubt it gets that low again, but you never know."
Tim Schmitt is the managing editor of Golfweek.This is a developing story that is being updated as low scores come in.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Byron Nelson course redesign still yielding low scores
Continue reading...