2023 AT&T Byron Nelson: Top 10 Power Rankings in Texas

Outside of the majors, there might not be a tournament Jordan Spieth wants to win more than the AT&T Byron Nelson.

The Dallas native was introduced to the golf world when he made his PGA Tour debut at this event at age 16 in 2010. Spieth showed maturity beyond his years at TPC Las Colinas, contending through 54 holes and finishing T-16th.

The next year, he skipped his high school graduation ceremony and paid it off (not literally, since he was an amateur) placing T-32nd.

Spieth has played well since the event moved to TPC Craig Ranch in 2021. He finished T-9th (63-70-66-71) in year one and was a shot out of a playoff last year for solo second (64-68-67-63).

"“If the wind doesn’t blow, you really are kind of looking at trying to go score,” Spieth said of TPC Craig Ranch in a 2021 ASAP Sports transcription. “Then when it does, you’re almost kind of holding on and saying, all right, I want to take advantage of the par-5s but the rest of the course is going to be really tough. It’s got really hard par-3s.”"

The former Texas Longhorn is eager for a win not only in his home event, but of any kind. Spieth’s yet to win in the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. His last was at the 2022 RBC Heritage.

He almost defended successfully at Harbour Town, losing in a three-hole playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick.

That was his second top-five in a row after T-4th at the Masters, though Spieth missed the cut last week at the Wells Fargo Championship.

That could be a blessing in disguise.

Quail Hollow isn’t a great course fit for him, which doesn’t make me overly concerned about the MC. Plus, the extra time off is likely a good thing considering next week’s PGA Championship will be his third event in a row.

I expect Spieth to have his game resharpened for the Byron Nelson. He hasn’t missed the cut in consecutive events since 2020.

The 29-year-old is 20th on the PGA Tour this season in total strokes gained per round (1.051). He’s gaining strokes in every category and peaks at 23rd in SG around-the-green (.327).

Spieth is far from a bomber, but he has enough distance to keep up well enough to let the rest of his game and elite creativity make up for the rest.

I don’t know what it will portend for next week, but this seems like the perfect week for Spieth to get the hype train going for next week where he goes for the career Grand Slam.