After teaming up in last week’s unique format at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR pros will be back to the typical individual format this week at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch. Historically, this event has been very low-scoring and has seen a wide variety of players contend well in a low-scoring tournament that turns into a birdie fest. The course did undergo renovations before this year’s touranment, so it could play differently than in the past, but expect players who can hit it long and convert birdie opportunities to be near the top of the leaderboard. The event gives the pros a last chance to tune up before the Signature Event next week and the PGA Championship in two weeks. It’s a great week to build your bankroll for those events with some fantasy golf cash games! My top pitkcs for cash contests this week are Scottie Scheffler ($13,300), Ryo Hisatsune ($8,300) and Sami Valimaki ($7,300).
Earlier on Wednesday, I broke down my top three pivot plays for tournament lineups at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in a companion piece to this post. Those pivot plays for tournament lineups are more aggressive, while these three picks are generally safer picks. While these options will likely have much higher ownerships, they still make good plays in contests where your lineup being unique is less important. Think of cash game picks as laying back and playing a par 5 as it was designed with three shots before reaching the green, looking for a solid birdie. Tournament picks are doing driver off the deck to try to reach the green in two—more reward if it works but much more risk as well.
So what exactly are “cash games”? Usually, cash games pay 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 format, it’s important to minimize risk and raise the floor of your entry rather than focusing too much on the ceiling.
With those ground rules set up, let’s dive deeper into my top three cash fantasy golf cash game plays for this week at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
Scottie Scheffler ($13,300)
I probably don’t have to convince you of how good Scheffler is if you’ve been watching golf at all for the last two years. He’s extremely expensive this week, but he stands out so much above the rest of the field, that he’s worth paying up for, especially in cash games. You’ll want Scheffler in your lineup to “block” him from defeating you single-handedly if he wins the event, which there’s a good chance of according to DraftKings Sportsbook, where he is a heavy favorite.
Even though he hasn’t won this season, his results have still been exceptional. He has made the cut and finished no worse than T25 in each of his eight events this season. He comes to TPC Craig Ranch with three straight top-10 finishes and five top-10 finishes in his eight touranments this year.
While he hasn’t won at this event, the Texas native has played this event three times. He finished T47 in 2021, T15 in 2022, and T5 in 2023 before passing on the event last season.
He leads the field in Total Strokes Gained, Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee over the last 20 rounds. He has both an incredibly high floor and a high ceiling, so it’s worth being strategic and spending smartly in other spots to include Scheffler since he has so much win equity this week.
Ryo Hisatsune ($8,300)
Another very steady presence lately on the PGA TOUR has been 22-year-old Japanese golfer Ryo Hisatsune. He saves enough salary to work with Scheffler in cash game lineups, and he brings good upside and excellent form.
He made the cut in both Texas tournaments before the Masters, highlighted by a T5 at the Valero Texas Open. Last week, he teamed up with Takumi Kanaya to finish T18 at the Zurich, matching his finish from the previous week at the Harbour Town Golf Club in a Signature Event.
Last year, Hisatsune made his debut at TPC Craig Ranch and finished T13 despite a slow start thanks to low rounds of 65 on Friday and 64 on Sunday. If he puts together more rounds like that, he’ll be a great play in all formats.
So far this season, Hisatsune is having a breakout season on the PGA TOUR with eight made cuts and five top-25 finishes in his 12 events. Over the last 30 rounds, he ranks eighth in the field in Total Strokes Gained, and his well-rounded game should play well this week at TPC Craig Ranch.
Sami Valimaki ($7,300)
Valimaki comes into THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson with plenty of momentum and has proven he can contend in low-scoring events that rely on long driving.
He missed the cut in his debut at this event last season, but the 26-year-old from Finland comes in with much better form this week. He has made the cut in each of his last seven individual events, including three straight top-20 finishes with a solo fourth at the Houston Open, a T12 at Valero, and a T18 at Heritage alongside Hisatsune. He did miss the cut last week at the Zurich, but that may help him come to this week more rested.
In the last 20 rounds, Valimaki leads the entire field in Strokes Gained: Approach and ranks 12th in Total Strokes Gained. His flat stick has also been rolling well, since He also ranks in the top 25 in Strokes Gained: Putting.
He hasn’t claimed a PGA TOUR win yet, but he does have eight professional victories, including a pair of wins on the DP World Tour. We’ve seen breakthrough international winners on this track before, and Valimaki has the potential to be in the mix for the win this week, and his floor is high enough that he’s a great play at this price for cash games.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR Single Entry $25 Double Up
