The PGA TOUR is back in the Lone Star State this week in the Dallas area for THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. This week’s event at TPC Craig Ranch is usually a low-scoring tournament that has allowed winners to break through for their first win, like Taylo Pendrith last year or to get back into the winner’s circle, like Jason Day two years ago. The low-scoring setup gives a variety of players a chance to win if they can find ways to make lots of birdies. If you’re looking to find some fantasy golf pivot plays who are low-ownership options to help your differentiate your lineup, my top three pivot plays this week are Rasmus Hojgaard ($8,900), Rico Hoey ($7,700) and Christo Lamprecht ($6,700). Each of those three players should have lower ownership but also the potential to outperform expectations at their price point.
To make sure we’re all aiming at the same pin position, a “fantasy golf pivot play” is a golfer with lower ownership but similar upside to more popular options available near the same DFS salary. Often, golfers with lower ownership bring extra risk factors but are worth that added risk for the lower ownership and higher ceiling. These pivot plays help make your lineup stand out in tournament formats by targeting players with lower ownership who increase the chance of your entry finishing higher on the leaderboard. Even though they’re NOT the safest plays in their price range, they have enough potential upside to be worth the sweat. 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.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Rasmus Hojgaard ($8,900)
My fantasy golf pivot plays have a distinctly international flavor this week, and we’ll start with Hojgaard, the 24-year-old from Denmark. With heavy ownership at the very top of the player pool, he’s a cheaper play tath brings leverage and plenty of upside.
He is high-risk, but he has spike potential. He contended earlier this season at the WM Phoenix Open, where he placed T12. TPC Scottsdale and this week’s course were each designed by Tom Weiskopf, and there have been some strong correlations between good performances across his courses in the past. Even though this will be his first visit to the layout, that hasn’t been an excluding factor for winners in the past.
Last week in Louisiana, Hojgaard finished runner-up with his brother at the Zurich Classic, and both Hojgaards are in action as good leverage plays this week. Of the two, Rasmus has a little more international success with five DP World Tour titles. He has a reputation for being excellent off the tee in a way that should fit this week’s layout very well.
This season, Hojgaard has made the cut in six of his nine PGA TOUR events three top-25 finishes. He should have the right skill set to go low at TPC Craig Ranch, and could emerge as a contender if he can ride last week’s momentum to a fast start in Dallas.
Rico Hoey ($7,700)
Hoey missed the cut last year at this event but went on to put together a great second half of the season starting in June. He hasn’t been quite as successful early in 2025, but he still made the cut in four of his last six events with top-33 finishes in each of those four tournaments.
Just a few weeks ago, he finished T11 at the Houston Open with a 64 in the final round. He brings a similar ceiling if he can get his putter turned around. Despite his flat stick letting him down lately, he ranks second in the field in Total Strokes Gained, first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and third in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 24 rounds.
Based on Strokes Gained: Putting, Hoey’s best putting surface over the last 12 months and throughout his whole career has been bentgrass, which he’ll be on this week. He also has his highest Strokes Gained in very easy scoring conditions.
He’s high-risk, but he brings the kind of high ceiling that makes him one of the best fantasy golf pivot plays this week.
Christo Lamprecht ($6,700)
I’m ready to really take a flier in the third of my fantasy golf pivot plays this week. Lamprecht is hard to miss at 6-foot-8, and he has the driving distance that should help him show well this week. He will be making his first PGA TOUR appearance of the season and his sixth in his career.
The South African was a star at Georgia Tech, finishing second in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking. That earned him Korn Ferry Tour membership, and he has played nine Korn Ferry Tour events in 2025 with six made cuts, three top-25 finishes, and a pair of top-10 finishes. He even finished runner-up at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard behind Kyle Westmoreland.
Lamprecht is playing this week because he received the 2024 Byron Nelson Collegiate Award. Since he’s very inexperienced, he’s a high-risk play, but he could be ready to make a splash this week in easy scoring conditions. At this low salary, he doesn’t have to do much to be one of the best fantasy golf pivot plays of the week.
