The AT&T Byron Nelson will be held at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney next month, opening to full capacity for the first time since the pandemic started. The last time the Byron Nelson was at full capacity was the tournament's last year at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas in 2019.
The tournament was canceled in 2020 and played at TPC Craig Ranch at 25% capacity last year, allowing 10,000 fans per day.
"We had a nice, little dry run last year, so we're putting some changes in, we're tweaking the operations and we're getting ready," says Jon Drago, AT&T Byron Nelson tournament director.
This year, TPC Craig Ranch will open to full capacity, and the club has added additional viewing areas on the 9th, 12th, 14th and 18th greens. There will also be an expanded area at the 17th hole with public bleachers at the tee and green.
"It's going to be our largest sales year ever," says Tournament Chair Clay Duvall. "Salesmanship Club of Dallas works so hard at this for one reason and one reason only. That is for our beneficiary, the Momentous Institute."
The Momentous Institute in Dallas is a non-profit that works with kids who have suffered trauma to develop social and emotional health. The Salesmanship Club of Dallas says the Byron Nelson has raised $172.5 million for the Momentous Institute since 1968.
"We work at the intersection of education and mental health to innovate with children's wellbeing in mind," the organization writes on its website.
In addition to money raised for the non-profit, the City of McKinney says the tournament will have a $50 million economic impact on the city.
"We have a great partnership with the City of McKinney," Duvall says. "We're going to have a huge crowd here, tons of fans, tons of energy."
This is the second of a five year agreement to hold the tournament in McKinney.
The AT&T Byron Nelson begins May 9 and runs through May 15. After the Byron Nelson, golfers move to Tulsa for the PGA Championship.
"Foreign players like it because they're getting on the same time zone quickly," Duvall says. "Then they're getting to play similar grasses, similar fields, similar wind to what they're going to see at the PGA Championship, so I think it's going to be a great move for us."
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