The PGA TOUR has arrived in the Sunshine State for a four-week stay, and the Florida Swing begins this week at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. PGA National will host this event once again on a familiar course with the famed “Bear Trap” as the most difficult part of the water hazard-strewn layout. It’s a switch to Bermuda greens, which is definitely a significant change from what we’ve seen lately, so putting form tends to totally change at this point in the schedule. In this week’s tournament, my top pivot plays are Taylor Pendrith ($9,500), Max Greyserman ($8,700) and Bud Cauley ($7,300). Each of those players should have lower ownership but also the ability to outperform expectations at their price point.
To make sure we’re all aiming for the same green, a “pivot play” is a golfer with lower ownership but a similar upside to a popular option available near the same DFS salary. Sometimes, the golfer with lower ownership brings extra risk factors, but to make your lineup stand out in tournament formats, it’s worth the extra risk for the higher ceiling. 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. Be sure to check out my picks for cash lineups if you’re looking for safer options that raise the floor of your lineup.
Let’s break down why I like each of my top-three pivot plays this week.
Taylor Pendrith ($9,500)
Pendrith had a strong start to the season on the West Coast, but now he’ll be moving to his better putting surface on Bermuda. He isn’t getting nearly as much attention as the other top salaried players like Russell Henley ($10,700), Shane Lowry ($10,500) and even Sepp Straka ($9,400). Pendrith has had success at PGA National, though, and brings a very high ceiling.
He made the cut in two of his three trips to this specific event, finishing T25 in 2022 but missing the cut last season.
This year, he comes in with strong form after a top-10 finish at last fall’s Shriners Children’s Open and top-15 finishes at The Sentry, the Farmers Insurance Open, and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He struggled and finished just T50 in his last start before taking last week off.
The 33-year-old Candadian ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and third in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over the last 20 rounds but hasn’t contended since his flat stick has been iffy. Over the last two years, Pendrith has lost 0.5 strokes per round on Poa but has gained 0.25 strokes per round on Bermuda.
If he can keep his tee-to-green game firing on all cylinders and flip his putter, he could contend this week and be a great source of leverage.
Max Greyserman ($8,700)
Between $8,000 and $9,500, are several big names like Jordan Spieth ($8,600) and defending champion Austin Eckroat ($8,100) along with some players getting early hype like Davis Thompson ($8,900) and Min Woo Lee ($9,200). One alternative who is flying more under the radar is Max Greyserman.
Greyserman actually lives in Palm Beach Gardens and grew up playing PGA National, so it’s basically a home game for him. He played this tournament last year for the first time and made the cut to finish T47.
He’s in much better form coming into this week after a strong FedExCup Fall and a good start to 2025. Last fall, Greyserman finished runner-up at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and fourth at the World Wide Technology Championship. That gave him six top-ten finishes in 2024. In 2025, he has played six events and not missed the cut. He finished in the top 25 three times including in The Sentry and The Genesis Invitational which were signature events. His only real letdown was at the other Signature Event, where he was forced to withdraw from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a hand injury.
Over the last 30 rounds, Greyserman is in the top-ten in the field in Total Strokes Gained, and getting this event in his back yard and on Bermuda greens should set him up to be a strong pivot play this week.
Bud Cauley ($7,300)
Cauley’s comeback continues after an awful car accident in 2018 and further surgeries until as recently as April of 2021. He’s not getting much attention, but has been playing very well lately and has a good history at PGA National.
Cauley has made the cut in each of his last four events, finishing T34 or better at the WM Phoenix Open, the Sony Open in Hawaii, The RSM Classic, and the Shriners Children’s Open last fall. Before that run, he missed the cut in Utah at the Black Desert Championship but had a top-five finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the FedExCup Fall as well.
The 34-year-old Florida native has made the cut four of the last five times he has played this event, with the exception being a withdrawal in 2018. He finished T12 in 2019 and T21 last year, when he held the lead after Round 2 but struggled with a 74 in Round 3.
Cauley has a very high ceiling if he can catch fire like he did with his 66-65 opening rounds last year, and his recent form also has him trending in the right direction after overcoming so many obstacles.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st] (PGA TOUR)
