The PGA TOUR’s fall schedule rolls on, and as with any PGA TOUR event, comes the ability to play in DraftKings Pick6 contests, a single-user daily fantasy game where users choose players to go for more or less than the totals.
This week, the PGA is headed to Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship, where the players will be taking on El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a 7,400+ yards Par 72 venue with Paspalum greens and a wide open resort course design. This will be the third season that the event is played on El Cardonal, and the Tiger Woods-designed course allowed a ton of birdies last season, with the winner, Austin Eckroat, getting to 24-under par. The weather for 2025 looks great again, so expect lots of low scoring.
I went over more stats and course dynamics in the WWT Championship PGA Cheat Sheet, and included some notes on the course below.
“Overall, the open design and wider setup with creative greens and fairways make this feel almost like a modern links venue. That may make it a good spot for veteran players who have more experience managing their way around more creative setups, and can gain more on the field with their irons and putting than power off the tee.
In 2023, that theory played out as we saw the top of the leaderboard littered with veteran players, some well into their 40’s:
- E van Rooyen -27
- M. Kuchar -25
- C. Villegas -25
- J. Suh -24
- R. Palmer -22
The fact we had a top three of Villegas, Kuchar, and van Rooyen that season (who shot 63 in Round 4) showcases the fact that you don’t need to be a power player around this venue to go low. All three men also finished inside the top five in putts per GIR and were 13th in GIR%. In short, they avoided trouble at all costs and allowed their putters to carry them on this easier course, where the strategy is just to play steady and hope your putter finds its groove early.”
As of now, we have Round 1 total up on the Pick6 site for play, so that’s where we’ll be focusing this week. As mentioned above, the weather looks solid, so I’m expecting low scores again and will be focusing on birdie or better and strokes categories mainly, where I think players can outperform. Last year’s winner, Austin Eckroat, gained strokes almost everywhere, but gained most of his strokes on approach and also massively outperformed on the greens.
With that in mind, I’ve focused on a few of my favorite plays for Round 1 below.
Top DraftKings Pick6 Plays for World Wide Technology Championship
Brandt Snedeker Less Than 69.5 Strokes
Snekeder may not be a player you’ve heard about much lately, but he comes in having finished T19 and T9 in two of his last three starts, each of which was made on the PGA this fall. A fantastic putter who won’t be as disadvantaged off the tee this week because of the wide-open design, Snedeker also falls directly into that veteran golfer category that we mentioned at the top that tends to excel on these easier venues.
He’s got sneaky upside this week, and for Round 1, his Pick6 round total is also a full stroke lower than most of the other players available in that market, making him a nice value option. I like taking a bullish outlook on him for the week and playing for him to shoot us a round of 3-under or better on Thursday to kick off our lineups.
Eric Cole Less Than 68.5 Strokes
Cole comes in having made all three of his last cuts on the PGA TOUR. He also finished T9 at the Sanderson Farms last month. While he does tend to struggle off the tee, he has also been gaining big on approach of late. He gained over 6.1 strokes on approach in Japan, and gained strokes putting, only struggling there off the tee on the tight, tree-lined fairways.
El Cardonal is essentially treeless and offers big targets off the tee, making off-the-tee stats less vital this week, a big advantage for Cole. He should thrive in this environment and is also typically a player who thrives in the early going, making him a solid Round 1 target. Overall, I think we’ll see the veteran thrive at this venue and like being bullish on him shooting a solid number in Round 1.
Ben Griffin Less Than 1.5 Bogeys or Worse
Griffin is the top player in this field in betting odds and also one of only two top 20 players in the OWGR in this field. The winner of the Charles Schwab Classic in June, Griffin is typically just a great all-around player who should thrive on a setup like El Cardonal, given that he doesn’t have a ton of length off the tee, but is one of the best iron/wedge players in the world.
As Griffin thrives on approach and on and around the greens, he’s also just very unlikely to make many mistakes this week on a softer, resort-style course. Given the overall ease of scoring this week, Griffin may not make more than a handful of bogies all tournament, so I am all for attacking this total for Round 1 lineups and taking the less than on 1.5 bogies or worse.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
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