The Byron Nelson is back. This go around with a new title sponsor CJ Group, a South Korea-based holding group with a presence in food, retail, logistics, media, and biotechnology. Now dubbed the CJ Cup Byron Nelson—after AT&T’s title sponsorship ended after last year—the tournament at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney is coming off a 2023 in which it produced more than $80 million in economic impact, according to a study conducted by EventCorp Services, reported first by Community Impact.
That 2023 figure is up from $55.4 million in 2022 and as far as the 2024 tournament goes, tournament officials say its too early to make a determination on what this year’s total economic impact will be.
“The better we do the more we deliver back to local children and families,” immediate past tournament chair Jeff Eckert said. “If we deliver a great experience, a great golf event, with some fun along the way, while hitting our revenue targets, then ultimately we’ll deliver even more funds to the Momentous Institute.”
Momentous Institute, which is a DFW-based mental health nonprofit, is the sole beneficiary of the tournament. Over the last 55 years, the Byron Nelson tournament has raised about $185 million for the local nonprofit. Each year, the weekend is the institute’s most significant fundraising effort.
Over the past half-decade, the tournament has undergone several modifications—like host course and fan experiences—and a change that came in this year is a new title sponsor. While the Byron Nelson eventually agreed to a 10-year deal for the CJ Group to serve as the tournament’s new title sponsor, the process of finding new sponsorship was not without swirling national rumors about other potential options, including U.S. defense contractor Raytheon.
“Raytheon was one of our options that got out in the public that we were talking to,” Tournament Director Jon Drago said. “These deals take time. They’re big, long-term deals. And it takes a lot of energy to get them across the finish line. At the end of the day, it didn’t work out with Raytheon. We are big fans of them, and they are big supporters of the tournament. They have a great partnership with us with hospitality on hole 17 and do some employee recruiting here during the tournament. But it was one of those deals where the business deal just didn’t work.”
According to Golf Week‘s reporting, the Byron Nelson was on the verge of securing a title sponsorship deal with Raytheon in 2023, however, Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan vetoed the agreement at the eleventh hour due to the company’s involvement in selling missiles to Saudi Arabia.
One month later, Monahan agreed to merge its golf product with LIV Golf’s, with financial backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The leagues’ merger is still under review by the Federal Trade Commission one year later.
Its no secret that the landscape of golf is changing with the introduction of LIV Golf. Last year, the new tour hosted a competing tournament in Tulsa the same weekend as the Byron Nelson, but this weekend’s LIV tournament is in Singapore so there will be no poaching of local golf fans.
“There’s a lot of noise around the PGA Tour, where everything is falling, who is playing—and playing where—and what tournaments look and feel like,” Drago says. “[For the Byron Nelson], we’ve always focused on what we can do best for the fans.”
No competing tournament in 2024 is good news for the Momentous Institute. “Every dollar we raise will go to the Momentous Institute,” current Tournament Chairman and JLL executive James Esquivel said. “It’s a charity that we are all passionate about and that we love, and it’s why we’re all here at the end of the day.”
To help spur fundraising for the Momentous Institute, for every birdie made on the 17th hole, a par 3 with stadium seats and suites surrounding, The CJ Group will donate $1,000 to the nonprofit.
This year, the tournament will boast over 1,300 volunteers from the community in various roles, while the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, the tournament’s organizer since 1968, will have around 400.
“I think it says a lot about our sport in general,” Drago said of the number of volunteers. “They’re golf fans, so they get a chance to be a part of the actual event itself. But probably what we’re most proud of is the fact that the tournament exists for one reason only and that’s the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and their involvement with this golf tournament to raise money for their nonprofits at the Momentous Institute. And seeing these volunteers that are committed to helping us do that is what makes it special for us.”
The first iteration of the CJ Cup golf tournament was in 2017 at Nine Bridges Golf Club on Jeju Island in South Kore, the first PGA Tour event to be held in the country. Eventually, due to the pandemic, the tournament moved to Las Vegas in 2020 and 2021 before landing in South Carolina in 2022. Now, the marriage between the CJ Cup and Byron Nelson is something that all invested parties feel good about as they set out together for the next decade.
As far as the tournament’s future outlook is concerned, Drago considered this first year to be a trial run with the CJ Group to see what works and what might need to be addressed in the years ahead. The tournament is in its fourth year of a five-year deal with TPC Craig Ranch, and initial discussions are underway on extending that agreement.
“We’re working with the CJ Group now to get one under our belt to see what we like, what we don’t like, and figure out collectively where we want the tournament to go,” Drago said. “And we’re going to react to what’s happening with the PGA Tour right now. What can we do to best promote our new partners in CJ with their goals of growing their business in North Texas? I wish I had a crystal ball of what it might look like in year 10, but I can tell you our goal is to get better in year two with them, and on and on.”
The field this year includes several Dallas natives and residents including Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Ryan Palmer, and more. Returning champion Jason Day will look to defend. Emerging stars Min Woo Lee, Nick Dunlap, and Jake Knapp, as well as Full Swing sensation Joel Dahmen are all in the field, as well.
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