Three-time PGA Tour winner forced out of CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Three-time PGA Tour winner Cameron Champ withdraws before second round tee time at TPC Craig Ranch.
Cameron Champ withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson ahead of the second round at TPC Craig Ranch on Friday.
The PGA Tour confirmed the news shortly before midday local time, with no official reason given for Champ’s withdrawal.
His playing partners Tom Kim and Mark Hubbard subsequently teed off as a two-ball at 1:10pm local time.
“Cameron Champ withdrew prior to his second round at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson,” the PGA Tour announced on X.
While no official reason has yet been provided for his WD, Champ has primarily struggled with recurring back injuries and a significant left wrist injury throughout his career on Tour.
Champ, 30, endured a difficult opening round in Texas on Thursday, carding a three-over 74 to fall towards the bottom of the leaderboard.
His recent struggles have seen him slump to 319th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Champ has spent much of the 2026 season on the lower-tier Korn Ferry Tour.
The big-hitting American has recorded two top-10 finishes in 11 starts across all competitions this season, but he has yet to make a cut on the PGA Tour in 2026 after early exits at the Puerto Rico Open and Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
He has also suffered four missed cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.
Despite his recent struggles, Champ is a three-time PGA Tour winner.
His victories came at the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship, 2019 Safeway Open and 2021 3M Open.
While Champ exited the CJ Cup Byron Nelson early several star names made significant moves up the leaderboard on Friday.
Jordan Spieth produced one of the standout rounds of the day, opening his second nine with six consecutive birdies to set a new CJ Cup Byron Nelson record.
The three-time major champion signed for a superb nine-under 62 to vault to 12-under par.
Playing alongside Spieth, South Korea’s Sungjae Im went even lower with a brilliant 10-under 61 that included a hole-in-one at the par-3 seventh and an eagle at the ninth, his final hole of the day.
Im, who started the second round just inside the top 50, charged into a share of the lead at 13-under par alongside Japan’s Kensei Hirata.
Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler are all looking to make ground on the leaders in the afternoon wave of Friday groups.
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson honours the legacy of late great five-time maor champion Byron Nelson, whose name has been associated with this tournament since 1968.
Nelson won 52 times on the PGA Tour, which puts him sixth in the all-time victories list.
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