CJ Cup Byron Nelson Field Takes Surprising Hit, PGA Tour Star Withdraws
April 29, 2025
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World No. 91 Keith Mitchell announced his withdrawal from the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Monday. He is one of seven withdrawals prior to the start of the tournament.
Despite the flurry of withdrawals, Mitchell’s decision caught the attention of PGA Tour Live and Sirius XM journalist Jeff Eisenband. The thing is, the 33-year-old could have secured his spot in the field for the Truist Championship, the sixth Signature Event of the season, with a good performance at TPC Craig Ranch.
“Keith Mitchell is currently tied for 5th in the AON Swing 5 (would qualify for the Truist Championship Signature Event in 2 weeks),” Eisenband wrote on X.
“This WD means he’s going to get passed. Makes me assume, if he’s healthy, he’ll be a sponsor exemption at Philly Cricket Club.”
Trying to wrap my head around this one. Keith Mitchell is 5th in AON Swing 5 right now (would get into Truist Championship signature event in 2 weeks). This WD means he’s going to get passed.
Makes me assume, if he’s healthy, he’ll be a sponsor exemption at Philly Cricket Club. https://t.co/wY7Z34HdUX
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) April 28, 2025
The AON Swing 5 is one of the methods used to qualify for PGA Tour Signature Events. This system awards a spot in the field for these tournaments to the five players, not otherwise exempt, who have earned the most FedEx Cup points between one Signature Event and the next.
The Truist Championship has not yet released its list of sponsor exemptions.
Mitchell has played in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson five times. He has always made the cut and has a third-place finish in 2018 as his best result.
He has played in 11 events this season with only one missed cut. He has only one top-10 finish, but that was a tie for second at the Corales Puntacana Championship.
Keith Mitchell of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the Corales Puntacana Championship 2025 at Puntacana Resort & Club, Corales Golf Course on April 20, 2025… Keith Mitchell of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the Corales Puntacana Championship 2025 at Puntacana Resort & Club, Corales Golf Course on April 20, 2025 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
As for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the tournament’s field will feature only one player ranked in the world’s top 10, but it is none other than World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The fact that he faces a relatively weak field could lead one to believe that Scheffler is hoping to fish in calm waters and return to the winner’s circle he has been missing since last August, when he won the TOUR Championship.
Without discounting that possibility, the truth is that the CJ Cup Byron Nelson is a regular stop on Scheffler’s calendar. The two-time Masters winner has played in four of the five editions of the event since he turned pro (late 2018). He adds one more edition, the 2014 one, when he played as an amateur and finished tied for 22nd.
The only edition Scheffler missed was 2024, when he had already won four tournaments by the time of the Byron Nelson.
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