This week, the PGA TOUR switches things up a little bit with a unique format and a fun tournament after a few intense weeks of action. After ruling the golf world for the past few months, Scottie Scheffler will give someone else a chance to win this week. In fact, there will be two winners not named Scheffler this week since The Zurich Classic is the annual two-man team-up event held at TPC Louisiana.
The unique format of the event makes things interesting for DFS contests as well. Since it is a team stroke play event, lineups cannot include two players from the same team, and each player will earn the same score at the same salary as his teammate. The four rounds include two rounds of Best Ball (fourball) played on Thursday and Saturday in which each player plays their own ball for the entire hole and the best score is taken by the team. Those two rounds are usually extremely low-scoring. On Friday and Sunday, teams will play in an alternate shot format, where one ball is played and the teammates take turns.
There are 80 two-man teams in the field this year, which will be the seventh time this event has used the team format. Reigning champs Davis Riley and Nick Hardy are back to defend their title, and we do have some big names in the field. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are teaming up again as the highest-ranked and highest-priced team on the board. Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry, Sahith Theegala/Will Zalatoris, Colin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama and Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are some of the other teams that include highly-ranked players coming into the week.
It’s always fun to get a glimpse into how the two-man teams were formed as the week plays out. On the course, some teams have particularly fun vibes and chemistry, giving us a unique glimpse into the players’ personalities. With such a large field, there will be a cut after Round 2, with the top 33 teams and ties playing Rounds 3 and 4 over the weekend.
The course they’ll be playing is TPC Louisiana in Avondale, LA, just outside New Orleans. Due to the format and layout, this week typically features very low scores, especially on the par 5s. Driving Accuracy and GIR% are above the average on the PGA TOUR, and the greens also give up more long putts as a result of the humidity and speed. Good putters have dominated the leaderboard since the event was turned into a team competition, and this is the rare week where Strokes Gained: Putting is at stat I lean into.
In this post each week, we focus on players who are strong GPP options. That means they have lower ownership projections than their potential performance. Finding this kind of high-leverage play is critical for success in GPPs. The picks here go against the grain to take advantage of players who may be overlooked and under-owned.
In this post, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced are from the Rabbit Hole. Things are a little different this week since the Strokes Gained of another player impact performance so much, but I’ve trying to focus on the whole teams in each price range that I like the most for GPP usage.
Usually, I rely on the Stroked Gained Model in FantasyLabs, which is very predictive of results. I also tend to lean into players that gain shots on approach since week-to-week putting performance can be highly volatile, even for the best players on the PGA TOUR.
Since these are GPP picks, we can accept more risk if it raises the lineup’s ceiling. High-risk, high-reward options with low ownership create the “boom-or-bust” style lineups that can lead to large-field success.
This week, the biggest GPP on DraftKings is the $600K Pitch + Putt, which awards $150,000 to the first-place winner.
The players highlighted below will be good options in all formats if they deliver, but they come with risk factors that usually keep them from being safe plays. Consistency and reliability should be the focus of lineups in cash and double-up contests, where finishing in the top spot isn’t as important as in GPP tournaments. To find specific guidance for all contest types, check out our full Daily Fantasy Golf coverage each week.
No matter what type of format you prefer, be sure to use the FantasyLabs PGA Models to help you make the best choices. These models use stats and simulations to highlight different players’ strengths and weaknesses. A few critical new stats for GPP play are Perfect% and SimLeverage, which are further explained here.
As you dig into the numbers, you can enjoy the many tools FantasyLabs offers, including the Lineup Optimizer, which effortlessly creates up to 300 lineups. Alternatively, you can use the Lineup Builder if you prefer a more hands-on approach.
Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.
Editors note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.
High-Priced PGA DFS Picks
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Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.
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Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry $10,700
The consensus favorite for this event is the team of Cantlay and Schauffele, who have the highest salary of $11,200, the best odds, and the best projections. However, they also have the highest ownership projection by a wide margin at over 45%.
The team of McIlroy and Lowry has the second-highest Perect% and the second-highest median, ceiling, and floor projections in the field. They also have the second-best odds to win, to finish in the top five, and to finish in the top 10. Despite those favorable sims and projections, the duo has only the sixth-highest ownership projection. That gives them the second-highest SimLeverage in the field.
McIlroy will be making his debut at this event after asking Lowry to pair up after a “drunken lunch” following their Ryder Cup win. Lowry has played the Zurich four times in his career (once before the team event), and in his last trip, he made the cut with a T13 in 2022 alongside Ian Poulter.
Lowry exceeded salary-based expectations in seven straight events to start the year but struggled the last two weeks at the Masters and the RBC Heritage. Rory has also had his ups and downs but finished in the top 25 in six straight tournaments until last week’s T33 at Harbour Town. Despite their mixed recent results, the two have an impressive pedigree with a combined 26 PGA TOUR wins and 23 DP World Tour victories. Getting them at such low ownership could pay off if they bring their best games this week.
Adam Hadwin/Nick Taylor $9,200
Taylor and Hadwin offer excellent leverage with their ownership projection under 15%. The two come in with good recent form and some solid history on this track, making them a great play at this price.
Last year, the two finished runner up in their first attempt together after missing the cut in 2022 when partnered with other players. Since their runner-up finish, Taylor memorably won the RBC Canadian Open and celebrated with Hadwin and the rest of the Canadian pros on the 18th green. He rode the momentum of that win through the TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP and followed it up with a win at the WM Phoenix Open earlier this year. He comes into this week after some down results in Florida and a T49 last week at Harbour Town.
While Hadwin hasn’t won on the PGA TOUR since the 2017 Valspar Championship, he has strung together some strong weeks this season, highlighted by finishes in the top five at The Genesis Invitational and the Valspar. He made the cut at Augusta two weeks ago and finished T42 last week at the RBC Heritage.
The skill sets of these two golfers fit nicely together. Hadwin hits it a little farther while Taylor’s iron play is typically rock solid. On the season, Taylor ranks in the top 15 in Strokes Gained: Approach (compared to Hadwin outside the top 100). Taylor also ranks in the top five in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Putting over the last 36 rounds. Both players have been very good with their putters this season, which should help them put up another strong result this week at TPC Louisiana.
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Mid-Priced PGA DFS Picks
Chan Kim/Doug Ghim $8,300
Kim and Ghim have the highest median, ceiling, and floor projection of all the teams under $9,000 this week and the third-highest Perfect% as well. Their ownership projection is well under 10% despite their upside.
This will be the first time Kim plays this event, but he comes in with some great momentum after making the cut and exceeding salary-based expectations in seven straight events. He finished in the top 10 at the Mexico Open and the top 15 at the Texas Open and hasn’t missed a cut since late January. Over his last 16 rounds, he ranks in the top 15 in this field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Ghim typically excels in ball-striking categories as well and gains strokes on approach. While he scuffled for most of the season, he did have a few spikes early in the year at the Mexico Open and Phoenix Open.
Both members of this team have struggled with their putting at times, but their shot-making can be good enough to overcome their troubles on the green. If working together jump starts their putters, they’ll vastly outperform expectations this week. Even though they’re boom-or-bust, they’re a strong play from this price given how high each of their ceilings is.
Davis Thompson/Andrew Novak $8,100
I’ve had each of these two PGA pros in my picks for various tournaments this year, and I like the upside the tandem brings at barely over $8,000. They have the fourth-highest ceiling projection of all the teams under $9,000 and the third-highest SimLeverage with their ownership projection under 10%.
Each player is based out of Sea Island Resort, and each comes in with solid results so far this season. Thompson has made the cut in seven of his nine events in 2024 with four top 25s, and Novak has made the cut in six of his last seven events with three straight top 10s at the Phoenix Open, Mexico Open, and Cognizant Classic.
Over the last 20 rounds, Novak ranks in the top 10 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and the top 20 in Total Strokes Gained of the players in this week’s field. During that same span, Thompson ranks in the top 25 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and second in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. Like Ghim and Kim, their putters can run hot and cold, but the upside they bring makes them a great leverage play.
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Value PGA DFS Picks
K.H. Lee/Michael Kim $7,600
The team of Taylor Moore and Matt NeSmith are very strong plays from the $7,000s but are becoming very chalky, so I’ll save them for cash lineups. As a good pivot from them with a much lower ownership projection, I like Lee and Kim, who have each succeeded in this format over the last few years while playing with different partners.
Kim made the cut in five of his seven career appearances at TPC Louisiana with a T15 in 2018 and a T19 last year. Lee made the cut in his two appearances at the Zurich with a T3 in 2019. While we’re not sure how these two will mesh as a team, their success is enough to make them stand out from the teams in this price range.
On top of their success on this track, both players come to the Zurich with good form. Lee made the cut in three of his last four events including a top 10 at the Valspar and also had a top five at the Cognizant Classic earlier this year. Kim has also made the cut in three of his last four tournaments and is coming off a solid T14 last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the alternate-field event. Kim’s excellent short game should be helped by Lee’s strong work off the tee, and the two should be a strong pairing with a great shot to make the weekend and post a high finish if things come together.
Mark Hubbard/Ryan Brehm $7,000
Last year, Brehm withdrew from the tournament, leaving Hubbard to play with Derek Lamely instead. This week, the duo will give it another go. Two years ago, they finished in the top 15 and showed intriguing upside as a contrast in styles that proved to be complementary. Brehm is one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR, and Hubbard is usually a second-shot specialist.
Brehm has been the less successful of the pair over the last year, but he did make three straight cuts before missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open. He’ll look to bounce back and feed off Hubbard, who has exceeded salary-based expectations in 10 straight events, highlighted by a top five at Pebble Beach and a top 25 at the Valero a few weeks ago.
Over the last 16 rounds, Hubbard leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Approach. His strong form and the well-matched skill set of the tandem provide this pair a lot of upside for a team at only $7,000 with an ownership projection under 5%.
Sleeper PGA DFS Picks
Jimmy Stanger/Adrien Dumont de Chassart $6,500
My flier pick for the week is the team of Stanger and Dumont de Chassart, who are both PGA TOUR rookies who have shown lots of upside. The duo has an ownership projection under 2% and the highest SimLeverage of all the players with salaries under $7,000 because they have the highest Perfect% of the players in that salary range.
The twosome should be able to go low in this “birdiefest-style” event. Stanger ranks 17th on the PGA Tour this year in birdie or better percentage, but he has had mixed results since he cards too many bogeys. His best two finishes have been top 15s at The American Express and the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished third.
His partner for the week is a 24-year-old rookie from Belgium, who had an impressive amateur and college career. He starred at Illinois and played on the international team in the Arnold Palmer Cup. Last year, Dumont de Chassart earned Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year after six straight top-10 finishes that included his win at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. This year on the PGA TOUR, he has one top ten at the Puerto Rico Open and has missed the cut in seven of his 12 tournaments.
Stanger and Dumont de Chassart may be a few years from joining the elite ranks of the PGA TOUR, but the rookies have flashed enough potential to be a fun flier pick this week.
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