The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
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The Field
The field for the second major championship of the season is set at 156 players. Like all PGA Championships, the year’s event gives out 20 spots to PGA TOUR teaching professionals who qualified through the 2025 PGA Professional Championship. The rest of the competitors come from the top pros in the world, with the top 70 on the PGA TOUR money list (from last year’s PGA Championship until two weeks prior) getting spots. Open Championship, U.S. Open, and Masters winners from the past five years also get invites.
From a field perspective, all of the big names are playing. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy remain tight co-favorites with Scheffler sitting at +400 on the DraftKings Sportsbook and McIlroy at +450. LIV golfers such as Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, and Bryson DeChambeau (among others) have all qualified from their past major wins and will be in attendance. DeChambeau sits at +950 on DraftKings and is the clear third favorite. A couple of late field notes include Vijay Singh (past champ) withdrawing and Victor Perez getting entry into the field. Ryan Fox (winner in Myrtle Beach) also gained a late entry, as did Michael Thorbjornsen (alternate).
For daily fantasy golf purposes, it’s also worth noting that the PGA Championship has its own cut rule. For this week only, the top 70 players and ties will be allowed to play the weekend, with no secondary cut rule intact. This is different from regular PGA TOUR events, where only the top 65 and ties play the weekend.
The Course
Quail Hollow (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Par: 71, 7,626
- Greens: Bermuda overseeded with Perennial Ryegrass
- Design: George Cobb (Tom Fazio redesign 2014/2016)
- Course Record: Rory McIlroy (61; 2010 Wells Fargo)
The PGA Championship returns to Quail Hollow again in 2025. The event was last played here in 2017, the year Justin Thomas won his first major championship at 8-under par, beating the likes of Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, and Patrick Reed. The overall yardage now spans well over 7,600 yards, and the par remains at 71, making it one of the longest venues in play on the PGA TOUR. For this year’s event, the already hard-to-play 16th hole, one of the toughest par 4s on the PGA TOUR, already has a new back tee that can add 20 yards to the hole. Otherwise, the venue remains the same as it was in 2017.
Quail Hollow is a traditional par 71 with just three par-5s, but its length really plays out in the par 4s, eight of which span well over 450 yards. The course begins with one of the toughest holes on the course—the par-4 first—that plays as a dogleg par 4 at over 500 yards. It also ends with one of the toughest finishing stretches on the PGA TOUR (the Green Mile), where players are tested with two monster par 4s and a long par 3 guarded by water.
Quail is essentially a classic tree-lined course that challenges golfers with tough driving holes and doglegs throughout, but still adds in the odd scoring hole here and there to make things fair. It’s also a massive piece of property and has above-average greens and long winding fairways that still require good accuracy off the tee as they are guarded by fairway bunkers, heavy tree lines, rough, and water hazards. In 2018, it played as the fifth-toughest venue on the PGA TOUR, playing to a 72.132 scoring average. In 2019, it played as the eighth-toughest venue with a 71.762 average score. In terms of profile, it’s very similar to what we see at Cooperhead CC (host of the Valspar) and also profiles well with Riviera, where there is always a big emphasis on great tee-to-green play. 2019 Wells Fargo winner Max Homa (who also has a win at Riviera and a top-10 at the Valspar) provides a good link to all three courses.
From a profile perspective, this venue has tended to favor good drivers of the ball (and longer hitters), who can get the ball up high with their long irons, and that theme has been even more evident since the renovations. Of the past eight winners at Quail Hollow, none have ranked worse than 36th in Driving Distance for the week—Thomas ranked first in Driving Distance at the 2017 PGA Championship, as did last year’s winner of the Wells Fargo (played at Quail), Rory McIlroy. Winners have tended to gain nearly as many strokes off the tee as they do on approach, with good, long-to-mid iron play being another key factor.
To go along with driving distance, players with good height on their approaches and irons (Apex Height) have been able to conquer this expansive course better than most. McIlroy is almost always inside the top 20 in Apex Height, while other past winners at Quail Hollow like Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, and even James Hahn from back in 2016, have also excelled in this stat.
2025 Weather Outlook: The weather this week calls for a lot of rain early. Monday saw rain all day, with practice being canceled. There is also a 70% chance of precipitation on Tuesday, and thunderstorms are possible for Wednesday. The course will certainly be softer than it was in 2017 (when the event was played here in August 2017), and the fairways will likely see less roll and place an even bigger emphasis on distance off the tee. It’s too early to make a call about which wave will benefit from the forecast, but Thursday PM looks like it will have sunny skies and could be a good spot to go off on Day 1. There will be low winds each of the first two days, but the breeze could start to pick up Friday afternoon. Saturday and Sunday have bigger afternoon gusts in the 15+ mph range, so there could be room for early starters on Saturday to make some moves as well.
Last 5 Winners
2024–Xander Schauffele -21 (over Bryson DeChambeau -20)
2023—Brooks Koepka -9 (over Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland -7)
2022—Justin Thomas -5 (over Will Zalatoris playoff)
2021—Phil Mickelson -6 (over Brooks Koepka/Louis Oosthuizen -4)
2020—Collin Morikawa -13 (over Paul Casey -11)
Winning Trends
- Nine of the past 12 winners of the PGA Championship finished T15 or better in their last start before winning this event (Justin Thomas finished T28 in his final start in 2017, and Collin Morikawa finished T20 in his final start in 2020).
- Eight of the past nine winners of the PGA Championship played in an event the week directly before their win (exception: Mickelson in 2021)
- Outside of Phil Mickelson (2021), each of the last 10 winners of the PGA Championship gained strokes OTT and on APP in their final start before winning the PGA Championship.
Winners Stats and Course Overview
Xander Schauffele 2024 (21 under par — played at Valhalla)
- 2024 lead-in form (2nd-T18-T8-T15-T2)
SG: OTT—+5.2
SG: APP—+7.8
SG: TTG—+13.5
SG: ATG—+0.4
SG: PUTT—+4.7
- Koepka’s win came at a different course but a similar PGA setup to what we have seen over the last couple of seasons.
- Much like 2022 winner Justin Thomas and 2023 Brooks Koepka, Schauffele also had a great lead-in, which was earmarked by a top 10 at Augusta and multiple other top-five finishes.
- Schauffele became the sixth winner in a row to have gained over 2.0 strokes off the tee for the week of his win.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them. This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Tyrrell Hatton +4000 and $9,000
Comparables:
Tony Finau +11000 and $7,400
Comparables:
- Robert MacIntyre +11000 and $7,500
- Matthew Fitzpatrick +18000 and $7,600
- Dustin Johnson +11000 and $7,500
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
HORSES FOR COURSES
1. Rory McIlroy ($12,200; best finishes: win-2009, 2015, 2021, 2024): McIlroy loves Quail Hollow. On top of winning this event four times already, he set the event scoring record in 2015 and holds the overall course record at 61 as well. He’ll go for his second major win in a row at this venue this week after winning the Masters back in April.
2. Jason Day ($8,800; best finishes: win-2018, T4-2024): Despite missing the cut at this event in 2023, Day has taken to this venue since the remodel. He finished T9 at the PGA TOUR Championship in 2017, won this event in 2018, and finished T4 at Quail in 2024. Day has not been striking it well of late, but certainly his familiarity with the course gives him a small leg up this week.
3. Patrick Reed ($8,100; best finishes: T2-2017, T6-2021): Reed posted some great results at Quail when he was on the PGA. He was T2 at Quail in 2017 at the PGA, the year Thomas won, and was also T8 at the Wells back in 2018 and T6 in 2021. The American has also finished T4, T17, and T7 in his last three LIV starts and was 3rd at the Masters.
4. Rickie Fowler ($7,100; best finishes: win-2012, T4-2019): Fowler grabbed his first PGA TOUR win at this venue back in 2012 and has been a force at Quail most seasons. He finished T4 at this event back in 2016 and put up a T5 in 2017 at Quail during the PGA TOUR Championship. He showed some signs of life in his last start at the Truist and could be a dark horse to contend with this week.
5. Max Homa ($7,600; best finishes: T8-2023, win-2019): Homa has won this event twice, although his second win in 2022 came at a different venue. Regardless, he’s shown solid upside at these longer championship venues, grabbing wins at Quail, Riviera, and Torrey Pines. After finishing T12 at the Masters, don’t be shocked if we see Homa compete well again this week.
Recent Form
1. Scottie Scheffler ($13,200; win-T8-T4): Scheffler has now finished T8 or better in each of his last four starts. He’s gaining massively on approach again, and a soft course could be the proper ingredient he needs to break through at this major.
2. Rory McIlroy ($12,000; T7-win): McIlroy had a decent lead-in and has two wins and two top 10s in his last four starts. He should be pressure-free and, as noted above, is the king of Quail Hollow.
3. Bryson DeChambeau ($11,500; win-T2): Bryson’s last two LIV starts have yielded a T2 finish and a win. Add in his solid Master’s showing, and he’s looking primed for the PGA.
4. Sepp Straka ($8,100; win-T13): Straka dusted the field last week in Philadelphia, booking his second win of 2025. His iron game is on another level as he’s gained over 3.0 strokes on approach in seven straight PGA starts.
5. Justin Thomas ($9,900; T2-win): Thomas gave it a go on Sunday but couldn’t mow down the leaders. He’s now finished T2 or better in three of his last four PGA starts.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Reed and Straka solid values
I mentioned Patrick Reed ($8,100) above, and the American brings in an appealing blend of course history and current form. On top of being competitive on LIV all season, his 3rd place at the Masters is tough to overlook given the length of that course. Sepp Straka has appeal for much the same reasons as Reed. Despite winning last week, he’s $100 cheaper than Reed at $8,000 and finished T8 at this venue last season. Perhaps it’s a little long for him to get the win, but regardless, the Austrian is striking his irons so consistently good every week that for DFS purposes, you almost need to make him a part of your core lineups. Daniel Berger ($7,900) and Tony Finau ($7,400) both offer good recent form and course history at solid prices this week.
Tournaments: Aberg shouldn’t be ignored
Since finishing T7 at the Masters, an event where he held the lead briefly after 15 holes on Sunday, Aberg has put together two poor starts in a row, so he’ll undoubtedly come in with less fanfare than he would have had he been competitive in Philadelphia or Hilton Head. However, the Swede sets up perfectly for Quail Hollow, where ball speed, power off the tee, and high ball flights are of massive importance. Aberg rates 5th in Apex Height and has plenty of power off the tee, exemplified by the fact that his two best finishes this season came at 7,500 yard + venues in Torrey Pines and Augusta National. He’ll likely be one of the lowest-owned names from the top for DFS in larger field GPPs. From much further down, I also like the setup and potential for both Kurt Kitayama ($6,200) and Davis Riley ($6,100) this week. Riley is coming off a poor start but has a high ball flight (9th Apex Height) and has played well at Copperhead (Valspar Championship) which has a lot of similarities to this week. Kitayama is one of the best OTT players in the game and had a great start in Texas his last time out. Both look like great boom or bust options for DFS this week.
MY PICK: Rory McIlroy ($12,200)
I think the floodgates have likely opened for McIlroy and will stay open for at least one more major. The Northern Irishman had a solid lead-in last week, finishing T7 at the Truist, while gaining over 5.0 strokes putting. After he dusted the field at Augusta in April, a venue and event where the pressure has crushed him in years past, a decent week where he dialed in his putting stroke is likely all he needs to ensure he’s set for the year’s second major.
McIlroy leads the field in strokes gained total stats at Quail Hollow over the past five seasons by a wide margin and led the field in driving distance at last year’s Wells Fargo, en route to his fourth career win at this venue. On top of winning at Quail four times already, he’s also a two-time PGA Championship winner and will certainly benefit from the longer, rain-soaked course, which will only work to make power off the tee (which he has in spades) a bigger advantage.
While he’ll face some stiff competition from Scheffer and DeChambeau, the experience advantage he has over his closest competitors this week is huge, making him the preferred pay-up option for me in DFS. His number is quite short for outright betting this week (+450 DraftKings Sportsbook), but with the gap between him and Bryson closing significantly, it’s hard to see much value in straying from the 2025 Masters winner if you’re betting the top of the board.
MY SLEEPER: Stephan Jaeger ($6,500)
If you’re building stars and scrubs lineups this week, you have to love the price you’re getting on Jaeger. The German came through with a nice final round in Philadelphia to book a T7 at the Truist, gaining over 2.3 strokes OTT and 2.2 ATG. While you may not think of Jaeger as a big hitter, he handles longer golf courses extremely well. On top of winning at the length Memorial Park Course in Houston, he’s also finished T3 at Vidanta Villarta and Torrey Pines already this season, two courses that also measure in well over 7,400 yards (Torrey Pines is well over 7,600 yards).
He’s also got decent length off the tee for his size (51st in Driving Distance) and ranks 18th in Apex Height. Throw in a solid lead-in, a great competitive mindset (6 Korn Ferry Tour wins), and a greasy short game (25th in ATG stats, last 24 rounds), and Jaeger is the sort of player who could hang around the lead if the scoring is tough, much like Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen did at this venue back in 2017.
For DFS, he’s a great upside play for DFS in big field GPPs, and at +500 for a top 20 and +1200 for a top 10, he has a lot of appeal for placement betting on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA $2.75M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st]
