CJ Cup Byron Nelson returns to McKinney for May 21-24 tournament

TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney once again became the center of Collin County’s sports calendar as the CJ Cup Byron Nelson ran May 21-24, bringing tournament crowds, sponsor activity and the kind of weekend pressure that can spill into nearby roads, restaurants and hotels.

The event has been hosted in McKinney since 2021, but its footprint reaches far beyond the course. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas has run the Byron Nelson since 1968, and PGA TOUR materials say the tournament has generated more than $185 million for charity, with proceeds benefiting Momentous Institute, a children’s mental health organization for families. That charitable identity has long set the tournament apart from a standard PGA stop and helped make it a familiar annual fixture in North Texas.

For McKinney, the tournament is also a long-term civic commitment. City leaders approved an agreement in 2024 to keep the Byron Nelson in town through 2030, with an option to extend through 2033. That means the week at TPC Craig Ranch is not just a one-off event calendar entry, but part of a larger partnership tying McKinney to one of the region’s best-known sporting brands.

The 2026 field again gave the tournament national pull. Scottie Scheffler returned as the defending champion after his 2025 win at TPC Craig Ranch, where he finished 31-under-par with a 253 total, eight shots ahead of Erik van Rooyen. The field also included Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka, giving the McKinney stop added visibility as fans followed some of golf’s biggest names.

TPC Craig Ranch itself looked different for 2026 after a redesign led by Lanny Wadkins. The course was listed by the PGA TOUR at 7,385 yards and par 71, with redesigned bunkers, resurfaced greens, new grass turf and lengthened holes built to make scoring more demanding than last year’s record-setting low numbers. The changes underscored how seriously tournament organizers have treated the course’s role in the event’s future.

For Collin County residents, the Byron Nelson is now as much a McKinney ritual as a golf tournament. It draws visitors, fills hotel rooms, drives restaurant traffic and gives the city a national spotlight, while also serving the charitable mission that has defined the event for generations.