With AT&T exiting as the sponsor for Bryson Nelson, formerly known as Dallas Open, South Korea-based CJ Group has entered the scenes as a new partner. With CJ Cup Byron Nelson‘s introduction, the tournament will debut its latest trophy inscribed with Korea’s ancient writings. Although the sponsors explained that the ancient writing systems – ‘Hangeul’ and ‘Jikjisimcheyojeol’ have been used to write the words, they have received severe backlash from the fans for it.
Interestingly, Hangeul is a unique and only writing system whose creator and principles are known to the world. On the other hand, Jikjisimcheyojeol (or Jiki) is the oldest book ever known in the world. Also, the sponsors revealed that the new CJ Cup Byron Nelson trophy will have the winner’s name engraved in gold on the right side.
As per the South Korea-based Group, the latest trophy’s base will symbolize the link between Byron Nelson and the CJ Group. The new partnership will give a sense of feeling that “everyone can achieve their dreams.”
The CJ Cup Bryson Nelson has a field of 155 players competing for a prize purse of $9.5 million. The tournament has carried forward the same prize money that the AT&T-sponsored event had in 2023. Also, all the rules will be similar to other PGA Tour events with the first and only cut to be made after two rounds. Meanwhile, the tournament’s winner will earn $1.71 million in prize money.
CJ Cup Byron Nelson’s Korean inscription on trophy receives massive backlash from fans
The new trophy that will debut this year at TPC Craig Ranch seems to glorify the Korean culture rather than the legendary Bryson Nelson. Fans were certainly not pleased with the replacement of the old trophy and expressed their distaste for the same.
A golf enthusiast asked to translate the Korean script written on the trophy. He also questioned how the new trophy fit at the United States-based event, and would have made sense if it was an overseas event.
Translation please. What does all that mean & what is the back story to the design? If played overseas this makes sense…but w/o explanation ….how does this fit in?
— JROBGolf (@JROBGolfX) April 30, 2024
Another fan criticized the smaller font size of Byron Nelson’s name in the new CJ Cup trophy.
Seems like a large cup of noodles would’ve been more appropriate. It’s also a bit of a bummer that Byron Nelson is basically a footnote.
— Living It Up golf podcast (@LivingItUpPod) April 30, 2024
A fan posted two pictures of previous winners. He claimed that the original tournament was dusted with the decreased size of the new trophy.
Used to be a good sized trophy with Nelson on top… easier to do away with it now that Nelson is gone smh pic.twitter.com/lpBWojhwA4
— FireballsFan69 (@FireballsFan69) May 1, 2024
According to a golf fan, the new trophy glorifies the sponsors and has forgotten the history of the tournament. He criticized the sponsors for making bad calls that looked like advertisements.
Sponsor clearly over thought this thing wayyyyy too much. Made it all about them instead of about the tourney. Bad call. It’s not even a trophy – just a big block of advertising.
— The Dude (@dude58527161) May 1, 2024
Another fan in the comment section accused the CJ Group of their attempt to “Koreanize the West.”
This is CJ trying to co op the event and koreanize the west. Awful
— skycitygolf (@skycitygolf) April 30, 2024
The CJ Cup Byron Nelson is already underway at TPC Craig Ranch. Although the new trophy does not seem to attract fans, it is still a PGA Tour title. Golfers will still fight their way out this weekend to win the Cup despite the massive backlash from fans.
