In the final event of the West Coast Swing that starts the PGA TOUR season, we normally get a stop in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club for The Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods. This year, though, the event has shifted to Torrey Pines Golf Course in nearby San Diego due to the damage to the surrounding community due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Earlier on Wednesday, I gave you my top three pivot plays for tournament lineups, but let’s take a look at who makes the most sense to include for Cash games this week. At Torrey Pines, my favorite Cash game plays at different points in the salary structure are Scottie Scheffler ($12,300), Maverick McNealy ($7,800), and Adam Scott ($7,500).
Just to make sure we’re all aiming at the same target, “cash game” contests are contests on DraftKings that pay out to about the top half of entries. Typically, they are in the 50/50s & Double Ups or Head to Head sections of the DraftKings lobby. In this style of contest, it’s important to minimize risk and try to focus more on the “floor” of your entry than the ceiling.
While you definitely still want to get players that can contend and win the tournament, the priority is to avoid disasters. Mainly, cash lineups minimize risk where posible and go for the most reliable play. In tournament play, you need to finish in the top spot to win the biggest prize, so you want your lineup to be different as much as possible. In cash games, finding low ownership plays doesn’t matter as much as since you’re just trying to finish in the top half of contests rather than finish at the top of a GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool).
With those ground rules in place, let’s dive into my top three cash game plays for this week at Torrey Pines:
Scottie Scheffler ($12,300)
Scheffler has the lowest risk of any golfer on the slate since he has so consistently been excellent. Even though he hasn’t won in 2025, he has placed T9 and T25 at Pebble Beach and TPC Scottsdale, respectively.
Dating back to the start of last season, Scheffler has finished in the top 10 in 17 of his 21 tournaments (81%).
Last week at the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler did show some signs of fatigue with three bogeys and a closing double bogey on Sunday to slide all the way to T25. As he continues to ramp back up after taking time off for his hand surgery, though, he should return to top form as the best golfer in the world.
Scheffler has played Torrey Pines four times in his career, making the cut in each of his last two trips to the venue with a T7 at the U.S. Open in 2021 and a T20 at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2022.
Even though he’s popular, Scheffler has too high a floor and too much potential to win to overlook in cash-game lineups. You will have to work the rest of your roster around his salary, but ultimately, the next two picks should help with that.
Maverick McNealy ($7,800)
McNealy has made the cut in five of the last six years at Torrey Pines, highlighted by a T15 in 2020. He hasn’t had many extremely high finishes but he has consistently been comfortable on the course.
McNealy broke back into the winner’s circle last fall at The RSM Classic to close out last season and has made the cut in eight straight events since a withdrawal at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall.
The course plays to his strengths, and he should be able to handle the weather variability since he is originally from California and has extensive course experience. He typically putts well on Poa Annua greens and ranks 12th in this strong field for Strokes Gained: Approach, seventh in Scrambling and ninth for Strokes Gained: Putting (Poa Annua) over the last 36 rounds.
Adam Scott ($7,500)
Scott is another solid play who should have a good weekend in San Diego even though he has limited upside. The 44-year-old veteran has played Torrey Pines four times in his career. He made the cut finishing T26 and T35 in the two U.S. Opens on the track in 2008 and 2021. He also played the Farmers Insurance Open twice, posting a runner-up finish and a top-ten in 2021 earlier in the year before the U.S. Open.
Even though he hasn’t played at this track in the last four years, he continues to turn in solid results whenever he tees it up. He has only played in the two PGA TOUR Signature Events this season, posting a T15 at The Sentry and a T22 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He usually plays more in Florida in the coming weeks leading up to The Masters, where he claimed his major championship in 2013.
Scott’s game has always been built on strong play tee-to-green, which has helped him age gracefully into a reliable cut-maker and someone who can catch fire for a strong finish in the right environment.
At Pebble Beach, he trended in the right direction after an opening 74, posting 71 and 69 before finishing with a sizzling 64. He made six birdies on the final nine holes (which was his start) and climbed up that top-25 finish. If he picks up where he left off, he could contend right away this week.
Another bonus of playing Scott is that he’s known for being good in adverse weather conditions, so even if the weather gets bad, he remains a relatively safe play.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR SINGLE ENTRY $25 Double Up (PGA TOUR).
