After a stormy evening in Dallas on Wednesday, TPC Craig Ranch was primed and ready for scoring on the first day of action. The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, hosted in McKinney, Texas, kicked off on Thursday with a field full of gentleman looking for their first victory of the season. Without the likes of Scottie Scheffler or Wyndham Clark, there is plenty of opportunity for players to cash in here in Dallas.
Winners:
Matt Wallace
The 34 year old Canadian has only made five cuts on the PGA Tour this season, and that did not matter on Thursday. Wallace fired an eight under round, which gave him a field leading 63 going into the second day of action. After an impressive season in 2023, Wallace had struggled to return to Top 10 fashion so far in 2024.
Wallace's best finish on Tour this season was a T17 in Florida at the Valspar Championship. After five birdies on the first six holes, Wallace cruised his way to a -8 finish via three more birdies on the back nine. On a day that you absolutely had to score to keep up with the field, Wallace led the field with a dominating performance.
2. Jason Day
The reigning Byron Nelson champion teed off early in the morning on Thursday, which played to the Australian's strengths. Day was -4 on the back nine (his first nine of the day) and battled through a back and forth front nine to finish -5 on the day.
Day has recorded two Top 10 finishes on Tour this season, but has also missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Texas Children's Houston Open. After not playing nearly his best golf over the last two months of tournament play, Day rebounded with an impressive opening round to finish T7 after 18 holes of the Byron Nelson.
3. Daniel Berger
A more under the radar player, Berger had himself a day here at TPC Craig Ranch on Thursday. While T14 at -4 doesn't seem like the greatest round of all-time, Berger looked very impressive and cruished to a season best 67 on Thursday.
With an open and soft course like the one here in McKinney, Berger will have ample opportunity to elevate his score in the next three days. The last four winners of the Byron Nelson have been at least 20 under par, so Berger will have to pick up the pace a little bit to bring himself into contention.
Highlights of the day:
Nick Dunlap is AN ANIMAL. 3 feet out on a Par 5?! Give me a break.
Rookies getting it done:
Rookie Brad Hopfinger also shot a -6 for an incredible opening round to his PGA Tour career. At 35 years old, making your first PGA tour start and doing that?! Incredible.
And last but not least, a casual 200 yard hole out:
It's incredibly rare to see hole out's, let alone from 200 yards. The hole out eagle helped push Hardy into the top 25 through nine, putting him in great position to make a run at the Top 10 after Day 1.
For more PGA Tour coverage, follow MJ Hurley on Twitter (X) and follow along with the TDT Media coverage all week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in McKinney, TX.
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