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PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the Masters on DraftKings

By Landon Silinsky @landonjake24
Apr 10, 2024

The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.

I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.

My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:

Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green

Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The cliff notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

We head to Augusta, Georgia this week for the 88th edition of the Masters Tournament. Augusta National Golf Club will be the host, and it is a beast of a par-72, measuring 7,545 yards with Bentgrass greens. There will be an 89-man field this year.

Disclaimer: Some players will find their way into my player pool who have not been written up, as you will see in the player pool section for each price range. I have less conviction in the names I did not write up, but they still remain in play for me on tight builds

PGA DFS Cash/GPP Thoughts

Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link!

Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.

Prices will increase the day after the Masters, so take advantage and get grandfathered in at Betsperts’ lowest price now!

Tool Highlights

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DraftKings $10,000+ Range

Scottie Scheffler of course is the best play on the board yet again. This $12,100 tag is not quite pricey enough to make you consider fading him, especially since Jon Rahm is only $900 cheaper. There’s just nothing to be gained by not rostering the No.1 player in the world. Last year in his title defense, Scheffler lost four strokes putting and STILL finished T10. That feels like his absolute stone floor this week, while his ceiling could look something like a five-to-six stroke victory.

We all know how dominant Scheffler has been, but I don’t think the average golf fan quite grasps it. Using the Rabbit Hole, I went and looked at the past 150 rounds for every golfer on TOUR, and the results are truly mind numbing. Scheffler has gained a total of 326.44 strokes from tee-to-green over his past 150 rounds, which obviously ranks No. 1 in this field. Rory McIlroy, who ranks second in that time frame, has gained 193.88. That 133-stroke difference is the same gap between Rory and Austin Eckroat, who ranks 52nd. Stop the damn fight.

If you do in fact decide to fade the world’s No. 1 golfer this week, both Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy are fine plays at their price points and will obviously come in way lower owned than Scottie. I believe it makes way more sense to fade Scottie in single-entry contests, where you have to hit the nuts around him to win money. In MME stuff, there are a million combinations to run with.

Player Pool: Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

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DraftKings $9,000 Range

I really am not a huge fan of the $9,000 range this week outside of Xander Schauffele. The X-Man has been the second-best player on the PGA TOUR this season behind Scottie Scheffler, and it hasn’t been particularly close. In eight starts, Schauffele already has four top fives and a pair of top 10s. He’s been dominating across the bag as well, showing virtually zero weakness in any part of his game right now. As for Augusta, he’s got a T10 and a pair of top-three finishes over his past four starts. Schauffele is criminally underpriced for the way he’s playing right now, and I suspect he’ll be one of the highest-owned players on the slate this week.

Player Pool: Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay

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DraftKings $8,000 Range

Cameron Young just might win a major this year, and that very well might be this week. Young has already flashed serious upside at the game’s marquee events, posting three top 10s in major championships dating back to 2022. He missed the cut in his first start at Augusta but then lit it up last year en route to a T7. You could easily make the argument that Young has been the third-best player on the PGA TOUR this season behind Scheffler and Xander.

He’s made the cut in all eight of his starts, with a T8 and two additional top-four finishes. If you run this field back 24 rounds, only Scottie has gained more strokes ball striking than Young has. Very few people on earth can hit the ball as far and as straight as the 26-year-old, and that will be a big-time weapon at this behemoth of a course.

Shane Lowry is the other guy in the $8,000 range that really stands out. His game was tailor made for major-championship golf, and that’s especially true if we get some weather issues this week, which is what the forecast currently calls for. The Irishman started his career at Augusta quite poorly, missing three of his first four cuts.

However, he’s since done a 180 here, as he’s one of just three golfers (Scottie and Hideki being the other two) who have finished T25 or better in each of their past four Masters starts. Lowry also checks other important boxes, such as recent form. He crushed the Florida swing, finishing T4 and third at PGA National and Bay Hill. Over that stretch, Lowry ranks No. 1 in this field in SG: Approach while sitting fifth from tee-to-green. He’s peaking at the perfect time.

Player Pool: Cameron Young, Shane Lowry

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Sahith Theegala has really come into his own in 2024. In eight starts so far this season, the Pepperdine product has posted four top-nine finishes, three of which came at difficult courses: Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass and TPC Scottsdale. His biggest weakness used to be his off-the-tee play, but he’s turned that into a strength this year, as he ranks ninth in this field in SG: Off-the-Tee across his past 24 rounds. Overall, he sits ninth in Total Strokes Gained in that time frame, and after a T9 in his Masters debut last year, it makes a ton of sense to go back to him at just $7,700.

Tommy Fleetwood has never really flashed elite upside at Augusta, but he’s always been solid, having made each of his past six cuts with three top 20s. After a brief malaise at the API and PLAYERS, he roared to life last week at the Valero, finishing T7. Fleetwood put on a tee-to-green clinic at TPC San Antonio, gaining 8.1 strokes ball-striking and 2.5 more around the greens. We saw all we needed to see from him leading into Augusta, and his $7,500 price tag makes him one of the safest plays on the board.

Patrick Reed has not done much on LIV all season up until last week of course. He finished T9 at Doral, which suddenly puts him firmly into play this week at just $7,400 with his Augusta history. Reed of course won this event back in 2018 but has been equally as impressive since then, reeling off three top-10 finishes across his past four starts here. He’s always on the radar at major championships.

Russell Henley is peaking at just the right time. He finished T4 last week at the Valero, which marked his fourth T4 finish in eight starts this season. He gained 8.9 strokes ball striking at TPC San Antonio, including 7.7 on approach. His Masters track record is also quite good, as he’s coming off his career best finish last season when he finished T4. However, he’s always had success around Augusta, having finished T31 or better in all six of his starts this decade. At $7,200, he’s one of the best values on the board this week.

Player Pool: Sahith Theegala, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed, Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Si Woo Kim

DraftKings $6,000 Range

Some players in the $6,000 range that stand out are: Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley, Taylor Moore, and Denny McCarthy.

Kirk has sneaky-okay history at Augusta, with his best finish coming last year at T23. He also posted a T20 and T33 in 2014 and 2015. Kirk already won this season, and has the requisite short game to hold his own at this event. You could do worse at $6,900.

Keegan has been pretty subpar for much of this year, but he’s still one of the better long-iron players in the sport and is also coming off a T23 at last year’s Masters. If the putter cooperates, he can easily repeat last year’s performance.

Taylor Moore and Denny McCarthy are more of long-shot plays, as the latter will be making his first career start at this event, which comes on the heels of his devastating playoff loss to Akshay Bhatia last week at the Valero. Moore finished T39 in his lone Augusta start last year, but likely offers very little upside beyond that this week.

Player Pool: Chris Kirk, Keegan Bradley, Taylor Moore, Denny McCarthy