Scottie Scheffler is coming back to defend his title in his home state of Texas. And he will have a much simpler time than he had anticipated in the $10.3 million PGA Tour event this week. That’s because three big names have decided not to participate in the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Let’s find out who will not be at TPC Craig Ranch this week to compete against the world #1.

Rory McIlroy

The world #2 and probably Scottie Scheffler’s biggest rival today, Rory McIlroy, was originally scheduled to appear in the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson. However, after missing out on winning the Wanamaker Trophy at the Aronimink Golf Club, the Northern Irishman has had a change of heart.

It wasn’t a decision he made after losing the 2026 PGA Championship. McIlroy was already troubled with an injury before the beginning of the second major in Pennsylvania.

Before the tee off on Thursday, May 14, 2026, McIlroy told the reporters, “I’ve got a blister on my pinky toe on my right foot, but it’s underneath my nail. I can’t really get to it, so it’s a little sore. But I’ll be all right.”

So after he had completed the major event, it was time to take some time off to recover. And with the next big event still a few days away, McIlroy had some time to rehabilitate before getting back on the fairway.

He told the media, “I’m going to take a couple weeks off, and then Memorial will be my next one.”

The next Signature event on the PGA Tour calendar, the Memorial Tournament, will be played from June 4 to 7, 2026, at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. That will be McIlroy’s date of return to action. Until then, he will be missing the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this week, and the Charles Schwab Challenge that is scheduled for the last week of May.

Aaron Rai

Winning the 2026 PGA Championship was the biggest achievement of Aaron Rai’s career so far. Doing so by beating the field by three strokes showed how dominant he was against the best golfers in the world. And he received high praise for his efforts from them, including the likes of Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Jon Rahm.

He broke many records and achieved many goals by capturing the Wanamaker Trophy. He became the first Englishman since Jim Barnes in 1919 to win the title. He was also the first international golfer since Jason Day in 2015 to lift the coveted title. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the PGA Championship, a golfer had progressively had better scores in each round as he managed scores of 70-69-67-65.

But after the tremendous and stressful run at the Aronimink Golf Club, the Englishman deserved to take a much-needed break. And despite confirming his appearance at TPC Craig Ranch earlier, he has decided to withdraw from the event.

Yes, Rai won’t be competing in the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson this week. That’s one less threat for Scottie Scheffler in the $10.3 million. The world #1 would surely be relieved about it after watching Rai’s spectacular performance at the Aronimink Golf Club.

Cameron Young

Cameron Young has been Scottie Scheffler’s kryptonite recently. The 29-year-old has gotten the better of the world #1 at the Cadillac Championship. He nearly outplayed Scheffler at Augusta National as well.

Young has been in spectacular form in 2026. He has already achieved two big wins this season. The first one came at TPC Sawgrass, where he won the PGA Tour flagship event, The PLAYERS Championship. Young followed that up by winning a Signature event at Trump National Doral, the inaugural Cadillac Championship. This has helped him jump up to first place on the FedEx Cup leaderboard.

However, after three straight weeks of competition, it was time for him to take a break. So it’s understandable that Young is not taking a trip to TPC Craig Ranch to compete in the $10.3 million event this week. It won’t be a surprise if he even skips the Charles Schwab Challenge and returns to Muirfield Village Golf Club in June.