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.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $400K Summer Sand Trap [$100K to 1st]
The Field
The 45th Ryder Cup takes place this week at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York. The Americans will be looking to bounce back from an ugly 16 1/12 – 11 1/12 loss in Italy two years ago, while the Europeans will look to avoid another thrashing like the 19-9 loss that took place in Wisconsin back in 2021. Each team will field 12 players, and matches will take place over three days, with 28 matches being played over 18 holes.
Day: 1 (Friday) Four fourball matches and four foursomes matches. Four matches in AM and four in PM.
Day 2: (Saturday) Four fourball matches and four foursomes matches. Four matches in AM and four in PM.
Day 3: (Sunday): 12 singles matches (all players play in one match).
For DraftKings purposes, there are classic lineup tournaments available for entry in “Showdown format” where you will choose a Captain who will receive 1.5x the number of points as the other players on your roster. These tournaments run over the entire three-day event, and players can only receive points when they play in an actual match. Picking players who get involved on all three days and max out the number of matches they play (5 maximum, one minimum) will be crucial.
Ryder Cup DFS Scoring
Since this is match play and not traditional stroke play, your golfer gains your fantasy points by winning holes and matchups. Here is a full list of how your player can gain (and lose) DFS points this week.
| Per Hole Scoring | |
| Holes Won | +3 Pts |
| Holes Tied | +0.75 Pts |
| Holes Lost | -0.75 Pts |
| Holes Not Played | +1.6 Pts |
| Matches Won | +5 Pts |
| Matches Tied | +2 Pts |
Additionally, there are bonuses players can get for winning in dominant fashion (a shutout) or winning three consecutive holes in a row.
| Streak of 3 Consecutive Holes Won in Match {Max 1 Per Round} | +5 Pts |
| No Holes Lost in Match Bonus | +7.5 Pts |
With the scoring rewarding only those players who actually compete in matches, half the battle for DFS lineups this week is simply to field a roster of players who will be playing in the maximum number of matches available (four team starts and one singles start). Taking a player who sees the course twice this week isn’t likely to produce great returns, so before you get too bullish on a player down the ranks, make sure there is a good chance he’ll be out there for 60% or more of the matches.
The Course
Bethpage Black • Long Island, NY
Par 70, 7,352 yards
Bethpage Black is an A.W. Tillinghast-designed venue that will play as a longer Par 70 this week as it plays host to the Ryder Cup for the first time in its history. The venue is no stranger to hosting important competitions as it has hosted the U.S. Open twice (2002 and 2009) and the PGA Championship (2019), along with a smattering of other PGA events.
While Bethpage is noted for its length and some natural flora in the fairway and around the green, which can be tough to hit out of, there isn’t a ton of trouble to get into on the course. There are 76 bunkers on the course (many of which are naturally occurring), so the venue does feature a lot of sand. However, there is only one water hazard in play, in front of the green at the par-3 8th, where players hit from an elevated tee.
Thick rough is often in play to penalize players who are weak off the tee or miss the fairway, but the Americans are expected to keep the rough lower to emphasize their strength off the tee and allow them to be more aggressive in spots, such as the par-4 first hole, which may even play as a driveable par-4 some days. Greens are of the larger variety, although not as large as some of the behemoth greens we saw at Oakmont in June. Still, the USA is also expected to keep the green speeds up, so in that respect, putting and around the green play is likely to be very tough and mimic what we see at major championships most years.
Overall, even if the USA does dial back the rough a little to make things a little more scoreable, I’d still expect this to play up to a higher standard of toughness than we see at a regular PGA Stop. The bigness of the venue, both off the tee and green sizes, should give bigger hitters a prime advantage while also allowing wizard putters and those adept at scrambling around fast greens a good chance to flourish as well.
2025 Outlook: The forecast has a little bit of rain in it on Thursday, with the potential for a little light rain on Friday as well, which could soften the course and make it better for longer hitters and poor scramblers. However, Saturday through Sunday looks to be sunny with highs in the 75°F range, so the course should get tougher as the event progresses.
Last Five Winners
2023: Europe 16 1/2 – USA 11 1/2
2021: USA 19 – Europe 9
2018: Europe 17 1/2 – USA 10 1/2
2016: USA 17 – Europe 11
2014: Europe 16 1/2 – USA 11 1/2
Winning Trends
- Europe is 7-3 over the last 10 Ryder Cups
- In the last five Ryder Cups played in the USA, Europe is 2-3
- The last five Ryder Cups have been decided by five points or more
DFS Ryder Cup Lineup Strategy
American Domination Build (5 USA – 1 Euro): We have seen a ton of blowouts in this event over the past decade, so having one side dominate the scoring would not be shocking. In any case, if we get a repeat of 2021 in Wisconsin, where the Americans won by more than a TD, their players would be dominating the fantasy scoring as well. In that scenario, USA players who played 3-4 matches could even be higher scorers than some of the top European players, so stacking a Scheffler or DeChambeau Captain lineup with 4 USA value plays could be the build needed.
Europe Prevails (4 Euro – 2 USA): I would venture that, based on the current odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook, where the Europeans are +160 underdogs, any European win this week would see a close score. In that case, you’d still want to use a European Captain and go with a majority of Euro players, but a slightly more balanced approach with two higher volume players from the USA would likely be preferred. Europe’s bottom half of their lineup isn’t as strong as the USA’s, so there is a chance a couple of players may only play in a match or two max. Europe-centric lineups will likely be contrarian, but ensure you don’t go too heavy in these sorts of builds on the underdogs.
Balanced (3 USA – 3 Euro): This is more of what you’d call the picker’s lineup build, as you’re not only anticipating a very close Ryder Cup, but also would need to nail the highest volume players on both sides. The nice thing with a build like this is that it does give you the potential to go with a slight contrarian captain, as you’re likely expecting a couple of shorter-priced players to have big weeks on both sides.
Captain’s Targets
Scottie Scheffler (CP: $17,100; 11,400): You’re not going to fool anyone starting lineups with Scheffler this week, but any sort of American victory by a large margin will likely see Scheffler push to be the top in points. Outside of the world number one, you have DeChambeau (who doesn’t have the greatest Ryder Cup history), and then a group of players like Cantlay, Schauffele, and Thomas, who all seem likely to rotate in and out as the matches progress. It’s not easy to build balanced lineups with Scheffler, but American domination builds do have the luxury of filling out lineups from quality USA players under 6k who could all feature.
Patrick Cantlay (CP: $12,300; 8,400): Cantlay is the one American player I could see, other than Scheffler, getting marched out for all 5 matches if things start well. He’s got a 5-2-1 Ryder Cup record, was the Americans’ top scorer in Italy in 2023, and ended his season strong with a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship. It would be a contrarian move to play him in the CPT’s spot, but if you’re looking for ways to get creative and make American heavy lineups that give you leverage over the Scheffler CPT’s lineups, he’d be my pick to play in that top spot.
Jon Rahm (CP: $14,700; 9,800): I’m not sure anyone is looking forward to this week more than Jon Rahm. While he had his moments at the majors, he came short of chasing down Scottie Scheffler at the PGA and had to settle for a Top 10 at Oakmont, where he never fully figured out the tricky greens. Now he gets one more shot to go head-to-head with the PGA TOUR’s elite American players and test his mettle. Rahm’s also one of the few European players who should set up well for this week’s venue at Bethpage, where strength off the tee will matter. With a U.S. Open-style course in play, I’d look for him to lead the Europeans and potentially improve on his 6–3–3 Ryder Cup record.
Boom or Bust Targets
Justin Rose ($4,800): Don’t be shocked if Justin Rose plays a major part in the outcome this week. The veteran has shown he’s still very capable of high-level golf with his runner-up at Augusta and playoff victory in Memphis. A hero of Ryder Cups of years past, he also boasts a 7-2-1 record in foursomes and will almost certainly be a large part of the plan for the opening team matches for Europe.
J.J. Spaun ($5,200): Spaun is one of four Ryder Cup rookies in play this week and also happens to have the lowest salary on DraftKings of the four as well. Despite being so cheap, he comes in with great form, having finished 2nd to Justin Rose at the first playoff event in August and T6 in his final warmup at the Procore two weeks ago. I wouldn’t anticipate him playing more than 3 matches, but if things go well, he’s a player who could certainly thrive in the U.S. Open-New York setting and maximize his opportunities for DFS purposes.
Robert MacIntyre ($6,000): MacIntyre has some great qualities you want to see from a potential Ryder Cup’er. The Scotsman is a great spike putter, strong off the tee, and doesn’t mind a tougher setup, as evidenced by his charge on the final day at Oakmont in June, where he came up just short of catching eventual U.S. Open winner, J.J. Spaun. He enters this week in solid form, having finished 2nd to Scottie Scheffler back in August at the BMW Championship and won 2.5 of a possible 3.0 points in his Ryder Cup debut.
Harris English ($4,600): I wouldn’t get too hung up on English’s recent form or the fact he’s one of the least talked about players on the USA side coming in. He’s typically flashed great upside on these tougher U.S. Open and PGA Championship setups, landing a runner up finish at Quail Hollow in May of this season and top five finishes at the U.S. Open in 2021 (Torrey Pines) and 2020 (Winged Foot). He’s one of the best fast green putters in the world, and if the USA chooses to pair him early with one of their top players, he could play in 3-4 matches and be one of the shock values you need in DFS this week.
