By Jay Betsill
The PGA TOUR swings into DFW with the HP Byron Nelson Championship at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas. While the glory days of the Nelson that ran from 1995-2005 and included champions such as Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson have passed, this year’s edition has a deep field led by Dallas native Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker, Keegan Bradley, Dustin Johnson, Jason Dufner and The Players Championship winner Martin Kaymer. For those looking for a few recognizable names from the height of the Tiger-Phil era, David Duval and John Daly are both in the field this week at TPC Four Seasons.
OF NOTE:
— Jordan Spieth made headlines back in 2010 when he tied for 16th as a high-school junior and brought a dose of much-needed buzz to the tournament. He is now a month removed from a runner-up at the Masters and a few days removed from contending at the Masters and should have huge galleries. He tees off No. 10 on Thursday morning at 7:40 alongside Harris English and defending champion Sang-Moon Bae.
— DFW golf fans hoping to catch a glimpse of former world No. 1 and current The Players Championship winner Martin Kaymer will need to venture to the Nelson as he will not be at Colonial next week as he will be playing in the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club on the European Tour. Kaymer finished in a tie for fifth at last year’s Nelson.
— Former world No. 1 David Duval is coming off a tie for 25th in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and looks to continue his career resurgence in Las Colinas. Duval has had success at the Nelson, including a tie for third with Tiger Woods and Nick Price in the 2001 tournament.
— Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen makes his second appearance at the Nelson. His only other time to tee it up in Las Colinas was 2005, when he missed the cut. While he was ranked No. 5 at the world at the time, Goosen’s missing the cut was overshadowed by Tiger Woods missing the cut for the first time in seven years and 142 tournaments.
— U.S. Junior Amateur champ Scottie Scheffler, who lives in Highland Park, gets his first PGA TOUR appearance at age 17.
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