Jordan Spieth hopes familiar turf at CJ Cup brings better results

The PGA Tour’s first visit to Texas this year may not feature local stars Scottie Scheffler or Will Zalatoris, but the CJ Cup Byron Nelson still has an intriguing line-up of players highlighted by Dallas darling Jordan Spieth.

Spieth will hope some home cooking helps him turn around a lacklustre season when the tournament gets underway on Thursday in McKinney, Texas.

Spieth went 67-65-64-67 his last time at TPC Craig Ranch, the 2022 edition of the tournament, yet it wasn’t enough to beat South Korea’s KH Lee.

Spieth narrowly missed a chip-in on his 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff, and he settled for second.

After missing last year’s event to rehab an injured wrist, Spieth is grateful to return to familiar territory.

“Got a heavy stretch of golf coming up, so looking forward to getting back out here at a familiar place with familiar faces,” Spieth said.

“Enjoyed the support I’ve had over the years here. Hopefully going to be no different this year.”

Though he is the highest-ranked player in the field (No 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking), Spieth has missed three of his last five cuts after a few top-10s early in the year.

That won’t mute any cheers for the local favourite. Spieth is the headliner while fellow Dallas-area natives Scheffler and Zalatoris took the week off.