The PGA TOUR is back in the mainland after a couple of great weeks in the Aloha State. This week’s tournament is The American Express, which is held on a three-course rotation in the Coachella Valley in La Quinta, California. It’s usually a low-scoring week with plenty of drama, and last year, it was Nick Dunlap ($8,500) who claimed the victory even though he was playing as an amateur. In this post, I’ll be looking for some “under the radar” choices like Dunlap was last year. You can use these picks to help your DFS lineup stand out. It’s always important to try to identify golfers who have the potential to outperform expectations and deliver good results at low ownership. This week, I like Si Woo Kim ($9,100), Will Zalatoris ($8,400) and Erik van Rooyen ($7,100) as my top-three pivot plays.
A “pivot play” is a golfer with a similar upside to a popular option available near the same salary. Sometimes, the golfer with lower expected ownership brings additional risk factors, but in order to differentiate your lineup, it’s worth the extra risk for the extra upside. Players with lower ownership increase the chance of your entry finishing higher on the leaderboard. These pivot plays tend to be “boom-or-bust,” bringing high risk and high reward. Even though they’re NOT the safest plays in the price range, they have enough potential upside to be worth the risk. These picks are ideal for GPP tournament contests where having a lineup that’s different is critical to finishing in the top spot.
They could be good plays in cash contests as well, but they come with extra risk, so make sure to consider that if you opt to roll with them in that format. Also Be sure to monitor how ownership projections shift leading up to tee time to see if these players remain under the radar compared to the players priced around them.
Last week, I highlighted Russell Henley (T10), J.T. Poston (cut) and Nico Echavarria (2) as my pivot picks. I’ve had some good hits in the early part of the season, so let’s keep it rolling this week as we head to the desert in Southeastern California.
Here’s why I like each of my top-three pivot plays this week:
Si Woo Kim ($9,100)
After salaries came out, Xander Schauffele withdrew from this event, leaving the other players at the top of the salary structure very over-saturated with ownership. Sungjae Im ($10,300), Justin Thomas ($10,400) and Sam Burns ($9,800) are all getting plenty of attention and even Max Greyserman ($9,200) is expected to get plenty of ownership. While those options are strong plays, to differentiate your lineup, it makes sense to mix in some Si Woo Kim.
Kim is flying under the radar since many people were on his last week at The Sony Open, where he missed the cut. He started the season with a solid T32 at The Sentry that could have been much better except for a bad opening round in hs 76-68-65-67. He wasn’t far off at The Sony Open, either finishing right on the cut line after a 67 in Round 2.
In his past trips to The American Express, Kim has been a fantasy force. He won the event in 2021 and has finished in the top 25 in each of the three years since then. Last year, he started strong with a 64-66-66 before fading with a 73 on Sunday. His metrics say that everything was on point but his putter, so if coming back to Coachella can turn that around, he could contend this week offering excellent leverage for GPPs
Will Zalatoris ($8,400)
Zalatoris is sandwiched between very popular options in defending champ Nick Dunlap ($8,500) and Eric Cole ($8,300), who is always a popular play and has lots on his side coming into this week’s tournament. Zalatoris’s ownership is expected to be about half of Cole’s and Dunlap’s, but I think the 28-year-old California to has a good chance to outperform expectations this week.
While working his way back from back surgery, Zalatoris 15 seven cuts in 22 tournaments last season with six top-25s headlined by a runner-up finish at The Genesis Invitational last February. Two weeks before that, he placed T34 at this tournament, posting four rounds in the 60s. Zalatoris has made the cut in all three of his previous appearances at this event, with a T6 back in 2022 as his best showing.
After a rough patch in the summer, he finished last season with some good momentum. He finished in the top 15 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship and also played the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. in the fall. He didn’t play The Sony Open last week but finished T26 at The Sentry two weeks ago. His Final Round could have been better than it appears since he had to overcome a wrong ball penalty.
Zalatoris has much more upside than he’s getting attention for with so many strong plays around him, making him a great GPP tournament option this week.
Erik Van Rooyen ($7,100)
The ownership is fairly evenly distributed at around $7,000, but Michael Thorbjornsen ($7,200), Sepp Straka ($7,600), Jhonattan Vegas ($7,600) and MacKenzie Hughes ($7,100) are getting slightly more attention than the rest of the players in this range. One alternative with good form and a good history as well as the ability to go low is South African Erik Van Rooyen ($7,100), who is my favorite tournament option in this price bracket.
In each of the last two years at The American Express, EVR has finished in the top 25. He placed in the top ten two years ago with a T6. Last season, he made 18-of-24 cuts with four top-tens, highlighted by a runner-up at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches.
He turned in solid results overall and finished by making the cut in three FedExCup Fall events. He also finished in the top 25 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour in early December. Last week, he continued that form at the Sony Open, posting four rounds in the 60s and finishing T30.
In the past, he has the ability to contend in low-scoring events, and he gained strokes from tee to green in every round last week before a great putting round on Sunday helped him to an impressive 66.
If EVR can continue his hot putting, he should be able to post another strong finish at this event, and he also saves some serious salary cap space with his salary barely over $7,000.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $500K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st] (PGA TOUR).
