The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history, and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
THE FIELD
This week is another PGA signature event that will see an elite field of around 72 golfers tee it up at Torrey Pines and compete for a 20M prize purse (4M to the winner). As of writing, World 1-2-3 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy will be in the field, with McIlroy being the only one of the group to land a win thus far. Of course, the really big news, and the reason why this is the biggest event of the year thus far, is that Tiger Woods (who is also the official host of this event) is playing.
Woods is playing his first PGA event since the 2024 Open. He missed the cut in three of four majors last season but has been a regular at the TGL league events. While he is the GOAT for a reason, it’s impossible to expect much if anything out of Woods in terms of competing or finishing position. If you’re tempted, he’s currently listed at +15000 in the outright odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
As mentioned above, the field this week is limited to around 72 players, so there will be no Friday cut. All entrants will get in four rounds of play barring injury or disqualification. The course, this year will also be different, as the event has been moved to Torrey Pines South in San Diego due to the wildfires in the L.A. area.
THE COURSE
Torrey Pines—San Diego, California
South (home course) 7600-7700 yards, par 72
As mentioned above, the venue this season has been moved from Riviera Country Club to Torrey Pines in San Diego due to the wildfires that have decimated the Los Angeles area. That means we’ll again see Torrey Pines South in play, a venue that hosted the Farmers Insurance Open just a few weeks ago — an event won by Harris English at 8-under par.
Torrey Pines South is a completely different challenge than what the players will have been exposed to so far this year. It’s consistently ranked as one of the hardest courses on the PGA TOUR and yields one of the lowest birdie-or-better percentages every season. In 2022, despite relatively calm conditions, it played as the seventh-toughest on the PGA TOUR and +.534 above par. In 2023 and 2024, the winner came home at just 13-under par, the lowest winning score in over four years. Players may be getting bigger and stronger, but Torrey Pines South is still a challenge for the modern pro.
The greens at Torrey South are also some of the toughest on the PGA TOUR. Players who can regularly sink their putts in the 5-10 foot range will have a huge advantage, and it’s no shock that English gained 6.1 strokes putting for the week here in January. Overall, the last four winners of the Farmers) have all now gained over 3.5 strokes putting and over 3.5 strokes on approach for the week at Torrey South as well.
On the South course, scoring well on the par 5s is also important as the venue features seven par 4s over 450 yards, which are all very difficult to play. As a result of the longer par 4s — and lengthy par 5s — we’ll see far more approaches from 175-200 yards and >200 yards, putting a large emphasis on good mid-to-long iron play. Setting yourself up well off the tee then is also paramount and players with good strokes gained off the tee metrics often thrive at Torrey Pines. In 2022, seven of the top 10 players gained over one stroke OTT for the week and in 2021, every player in the top 10 for the event gained strokes OTT. In 2023, four of the top-10 finishers gained over 2.0 strokes OTT.
That said, past winners like Patrick Reed, Marc Leishman, Pavon, and English have all proven you don’t have to be super accurate off the tee to win at Torrey. All three men gained under 1.0 strokes OTT but made up the difference with their long irons and putting.
As mentioned above, the players will also be putting on poa annua greens which can be very difficult to maneuver. Three-putt percentages often spike this week and three-putt avoidance will be crucial to success, along with good efficiency from putts 15 feet and in. A few of the other courses on the West Coast swing also feature poa on the greens (Pebble Beach and Riviera) and many of the players this week will be more comfortable than others on this surface.
While you don’t need to use putting splits exclusively to make picks this week, using strong Poa putting history as a tiebreaker when making 1v1 or 2v2 decisions often pays dividends this week.
2025 outlook: The weather this week could be an issue. The first two days have a strong chance of rain, with Thursday currently showing an 80-90% chance of precipitation. Friday has less rain but it’s still likely we’ll see at least a little moisture in the AM. Winds during the first two days will also be strong enough to affect play. Gusts in the 10-12 mph range are expected Thursday and they may get stronger Friday afternoon. It’s going to be near impossible for any wave or tee times to avoid bad weather the first two days, unless they pause play and the first two rounds drift into Saturday (a good possibility). It may be beneficial to target later tee times on Friday as those players would have the best chance of finishing their second round on Saturday when the sun is expected to shine. The event will likely finish in four days as the weekend forecast is much better, but you can still expect some stoppages on days one and two.
LAST 5 WINNERS
**All past events played at Riviera CC. This year’s event will be played at Torrey South
2024 – Hideki Matsuyama -17 (over Luke List and Will Zalatoris -14)
2023 – Jon Rahm -17 (over Max Homa -15)
2022 – Joaquin Niemann -19 (over Collin Morikawa and Cameron Young -17)
2021 – Max Homa -12 (over Tony Finau playoff)
2020 – Adam Scott -11 (over three players at -9)
WINNING TRENDS
Recent West Coast form is important this week
- 12 of the last 14 winners here had played at Pebble Beach or Phoenix as their final start before winning the Genesis. Of those, eight had played Pebble as their last start, and four had played Phoenix as their last start.
- Only two of the last 13 winners had missed the cut in their final start before winning at Riviera (Holmes in 2019, Watson in 2016).
- 8 of the last 11 winners of this event had posted a finish of T15 or better in one of their previous three starts (before winning at Riviera)
Winners Stats and Course Highlights
2024 Winner: Hideki Matsuyama at 17-under par
2024 lead-in form (T22-T71-T13-T30-T58)
- Matsuyama came in without any higher finishes on the season but he had a solid leadup, which included a bunch of west coast starts (one in Hawaii and three on the mainland).
- Like most past winners he played Pebble (and Phoenix) and showed strong ATG play in his final start before winning
2025 Torrey South Winner (Farmers): Harris English at 8-under par
SG: OTT—-0.2
SG: APP—+3.7
SG: TTG—+4.5
SG: ATG—+0.9
SG: PUTT—+6.1
- Three of the last five winners now (Pavon, Reed and Leishman) have rode insanely hot putters to win. Reed gained less than +2.0 ball-striking for the week but was +8.4 ATG/Putting for the week combined. Leishman did gain over 3.0 strokes on approach in 2020, which is very typical for winners at Torrey. Pavon last season gained over 6.0 strokes putting (but also gained over 5.0 strokes on approach)
- List (2022) also had a terrific week putting and was one of the top players from 15 feet and closer in strokes gained putting.
- He also gained 5.4 strokes on approach, which was the fourth-best mark in that category for the week. List also ranked top 10 in proximity gained from 150-175 yards and 175-200 yards.
- Homa was also fantastic on approach in 2023 and was able to win by multiple strokes thanks to a hot putter as well.
- This is still a venue where you want to emphasize distance and consistency off the tee, however, of late, approach play and putting have been more vital, with four of the past five winners gaining less than a stroke OTT.
- Suggesting that perhaps the rough and length of the course is no longer as big of a factor (or the greens are getting easier to hold).
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Sam Burns +2200 and $8,700
Comparables:
Adam Scott +3000 and $8,200
Comparables:
- Matthew Fitzpatrick +3500 and $8,400
- Wyndham Clark +3500 and $8,300
- Sahith Theegala +3500 and $8,600
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
HORSES FOR COURSES (Torrey Pines)
1. Jason Day (best finish: win – 2018, 2015): Despite being marred by perpetual poor form and injuries the last few years, Day has maintained a solid record at Torrey Pines. He’s posted two wins and seven top-10 finishes at Torrey over his career. He’s finished top 10 here in two of the last three seasons and has started 2025 looking healthy with a top-five finish in Palm Springs.
2. Tony Finau (best finish: T4-2017, T6-2018): Finau has now landed finishes of T-9 or better at this week’s venue in six of his last nine trips to Torrey. He’s a great iron player and his improved putting over the last few seasons makes him a leading contender to post a high finish this week once again. He’s coming off a start at Pebble where he gained over 4.4 strokes putting.
3. SungJae Im (best finish: T4 – 2023 and 2025): Im has become a solid course horse to back at Torrey South. He’s finished T6 or better at the Farmers event in three of the past four seasons and has gained strokes around the greens at Torrey in each of the last four years. His T4 from January at this course saw him gain strokes across the board.
4. Taylor Pendrith (best finish: T7-2025 and T9-2024): The big-hitting Canadian has found this course to his liking. He’s 4/4 in making the cut the Farmers for his career and has posted three top 20 finishes over that span. His T7 from January at Torrey saw him gain 4.8 strokes ball-striking and 3.8 strokes ATG.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Im a solid value
SungJae Im had a tough end to his start in Phoenix, but he’s likely glad to see Torrey Pines back on the schedule. The South Korean likes tougher golf courses and finished T4 at Torrey Pines just a few weeks ago, gaining over 3.0 strokes around the green. Overall, Im has finished Top six at Torrey in three of his last four visits there and has gained over 4.0 strokes putting on the tricky Poa greens twice. Below Im, I’m still prone to trusting Tony Finau on this venue as well, where he’s typically outperformed. Finau had a decent start at Pebble and that could jump-start his season. Adam Scott (see below) is another name I’m prone to go overweight on this week and has solid course history, much the same as Im and Finau.
Tournaments: Fleetwood could strike
Torrey Pines isn’t a place where Tommy Fleetwood has played much on the PGA, but his last start does suggest he is finding some form. The Englishman gained 4.4 strokes on approach and 1.7 strokes off the tee at Pebble Beach and traditionally does very well on US Open setups. If he can find some range with his putter he could be a great lower-owned option in GPPs. Under him, I also like the idea of using Si Woo Kim this week in larger fields. The South Korean has picked up his ball-striking of late and has done well at Torrey, posting a T11 at the Farmers in 2022. Other names to consider for larger field GPPs include Cameron Davis, Gary Woodland, and Daniel Berger.
Top Recent Form
1. Sepp Straka (Recent finishes: T15-T7-win): Straka continued his great play last week in Phoenix. He’s finished top 15 in three straight events and is gaining big ATG and on Approach.
2. Thomas Detry (Recent finishes: win-T48-T15): Detry dominated in Phoenix. The Belgian just destroyed everyone around and on the greens last week leading to a six-shot win.
3. Justin Thomas (Recent finishes: T6-T48-T2): Thomas posted his second top-10 finish in his last three starts at TPC Scottsdale. While he’s never had much luck at Torrey Pines he looks close to notching another win soon.
4. Taylor Pendrith (Recent finishes: T9-T7): Pendrith has played some very solid golf over the past couple of months. The Canadian is riding two straight top 10s into the Genesis, one of which came at Torrey Pines last month.
5. Russell Henley (Recent finishes: T5-T10): Henley hasn’t played a ton this season but both starts have resulted in solid finishes. The American isn’t the biggest hitter but is performing on the greens – and gained 7.5 strokes putting on Poa in his last start.
MY PICK: Collin Morikawa
I’m going back to Morikawa this week. He disappointed a little in his last start at Pebble but the signs are there that a big is still imminent. In his two starts in 2025, he’s gained 5.9 and 3.9 strokes on approach while also gaining big off the tee in both starts. His around the green and putting stats dipped at Pebble but he still managed a top 20 finish there despite losing strokes in both areas.
Overall, Morikawa has shown great upside on the west coast and is a player who should add multiple wins on this side of the country before it’s all said and done. His PGA Championship was won a little bit up North at TPC Harding Park and he’s finished T2 at Riviera (2022) and T3 at Torrey Pines (2023) in past seasons.
Given the struggles of some of the other top names and the fact we’ve never seen Scottie Scheffler perform well at Torrey, it’s not outlandish to think Morikawa might finally breakout this week and legitimize his current OWGR of 4th, a spot he’s gained without actually winning an event over the last 15 months.
He’s a solid core play for me in all DFS formats and a player I don’t mind backing at all above +1200 on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
MY SLEEPER: Adam Scott
I like this setup for Scott. He took last week off but has made two starts this year already, posting a T15 at the Sentry and a T22 at Pebble Beach. Neither result jumps off the page but Scott has looked close to putting together some big finishes. He shot a 64 in Round 3 of the Sentry and closed out his Pebble Beach event with a 64 as well.
The Aussie gained 3.8 strokes on approach at Hawaii and was positive on approach and off the tee at Pebble. He’s also shown a far better around the green game to start the season, gaining strokes around the green in all five of his last PGA starts. His putter can be up and down but he’s typically excelled on the greens at Torrey Pines. Since 2019 he’s made three starts at Torrey Pines (2019 and 2021 FIO and 2021 US Open) he’s gained over 3.0 strokes putting on each occasion.
At age 44, Scott’s still in phenomenal shape and should be motivated by the chance to play in his old rival, Tiger Woods’ event. He’s a solid value play to build around in core lineups this week for DFS and at +7500 on the DraftKings Sportsbook he’s a player I wouldn’t hesitate to back in the outright market, given the huge odds and his solid history at this week’s course.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
