The PGA TOUR is back at TPC Sawgrass this week for THE PLAYERS Championship. THE PLAYERS is one of the biggest non-majors every year, and it has a rich history, an elite field, and an incredible course to call home. If you’re playing in “cash game” formats on DraftKings, this track is especially tricky due to the volatility inherent in the layout. My top three picks for cash games this week are Collin Morikawa ($10,500), Sepp Straka ($8,600), and Brian Harman ($7,600).
Earlier on Wednesday, I broke down my top three pivot plays for tournament lineups in a companion piece to this post. The picks in both posts have upside and characteristics that I like for this week’s event. The pivot plays for tournaments are more aggressive, while these three plays are safer options, but will also likely have much higher ownerships. Think of cash game picks as playing a par 5 as it was designed — looking for a solid birdie; while the tournament plays are more aggressive picks that try to go for the green in two. There is potentially more reward with those picks, but also more risk.
The picks I highlight here are designed for “cash game” contests, which 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 rather than the ceiling. Typically, cash lineups will be more balanced in their spending. In cash games, finding low ownership plays doesn’t matter as much since you’re just trying to finish in the top half of contests rather than finish at the very top of a GPP.
With those ground rules in place, let’s dive deeper into my top three cash game plays for this week at THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP.
Collin Morikawa ($10,500)
Scottie Scheffler ($12,800) always feels very safe and a strong place to start your DFS cash game lineups, especially as the two-time defending champ. He’s very expensive, though, and brings risk by forcing you to go cheap in other spots. It’s much easier to build around Morikawa, which is why he’s my play here, even though Scottie is obviously a very strong choice as well.
Morikawa looked outstanding last week at Bay Hill, where he finished runner-up behind Russell Henley ($9,500). He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and his iron play specifically was outstanding. Morikawa already has two runner-up finishes in 2024 and finished T17 at Signature Events in his other two starts at The Genesis Invitational and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Over the last 20 rounds, Morikawa ranks in the top five in the field in Total Strokes Gained, Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Approach.
He has made the cut in three of the last four years at TPC Sawgrass with a T13 two years ago as his best career finish.
He’s been on the verge of winning so often that it feels inevitable that he breaks through with a victory at some point. Even if that isn’t this week, his tee-to-green game is so consistent that he’s very low-risk with a high ceiling–making him a great option for cash games.
Sepp Straka ($8,600)
Everyone is very high on Straka at this awesome salary with the upside and consistency he has shown this season. Even though he’s extremely popular, that’s fine for cash games since the focus is much more on safely than on lineup differentiation.
Straka has made the cut in each of his last three trips to THE PLAYERS Championship, with a top-10 finish in 2022 and a T16 last year.
The big reason everyone is so high on him this week, though, has been his outstanding form this season. He won The American Express and posted three top 10s and six top 15s in 2025 in his eight events this season.
The 31-year-old Austrian leads the field in Total Strokes Gained in the last 24 rounds and ranks third in Strokes Gained: Approach in that span as well. His short game can be a little sketchy at times, but the rest of his balanced game is compensating for any shortcomings so far this year. He won at PGA National in 2022 for his first PGA TOUR career win in 2022 and will look to add another Florida triumph this week.
Brian Harman ($7,600)
TPC Sawgrass is such a tricky track that going with a young player or one of the 24 first-timers is very high-risk. Instead, for cash games, I prefer to lean into some experience where possible. Lefty Brian Harman is a steady contributor who knows how to navigate difficult courses throughout his career.
He has put together a strong track record at TPC Sawgrass and even showed he can triumph over deep fields when he won The Open Championship in 2023. His value isn’t in his win equity, though, it’s in his ability to grind out strong finishes.
This will be Harman’s 14th career appearance at TPC Sawgrass, and he has made the cut in eight of his last nine PLAYERS Championships. He has four top-10 finishes over that stretch, including last year’s runner-up finish. Aside from the cancellation in 2020, Harman has played the weekend every year since 2018.
While he hasn’t been near the top of the leaderboard this season, he has made the cut in six of seven started, with three top-25 finishes. He finished T32 and T40 in his first two events in Florida over the last two weeks.
Harman’s usually very good around the greens and typically ranks high in Scrambling and Bogey Avoidance. He brings a very solid floor at this price while still also bringing a high ceiling. With so much uncertainty this week, getting Harman at this salary is a relatively safe option.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR GIANT $25 Double Up [Single Entry]
