The PGA TOUR’s 2026 season is in full swing heading into Super Bowl weekend. With the WM Phoenix Open this week, DraftKings users can play in DraftKings PGA Pick6 contests for all four rounds before the Big Game. If you’re new, Pick6 is a single-user daily fantasy game where you select players to go over or under the totals.
This week, the PGA heads to TPC Scottsdale, where 135+ players will compete on the Tom Weiskopf-designed venue for all four rounds. The venue is one of the standouts on the PGA thanks to its exciting layout, which includes stadium-style holes down the stretch on 16 and 17. Winning scores for this event generally come in around -18 to -20, although last year’s winner, Thomas Detry (who is now playing on LIV), won at -24 thanks to a great putting performance.
I reviewed additional statistics and course dynamics in the WM Phoenix Open PGA Cheat Sheet and included some notes on the course below for Pick6 research.
“One of the main features that makes this such a fun event is the setup of the course. TPC Scottsdale is a traditional par-71, made up of three par-5s, four par-3s, and 11 par-4s. Still, it contains several scoring holes that encourage aggressiveness and reward great shots with chances at birdies and eagles. All of the par 5’s are reachable in two by most players (especially the longer hitters), and these holes are generally three of the easiest to score on. The par 4’s are mostly between 410 and 490 yards in length, usually where the big hitters gain their biggest advantage if they find the fairway off the tee…
…The desert setting of the course gives it a semi-links-like feel. But with tighter fairways and water in play on six of the final nine holes, it really sets up as more of a target golf environment, similar to TPC Sawgrass. The average driving distance here is 10 to 12 yards more than the PGA TOUR average, but we’ve seen shorter hitters compete here regularly (see Webb Simpson and Nick Taylor, who won in 2020 and 2024). Past winners have tended to gain mostly on approach and via the greens with the putter.
Five of the last eight winners at TPC Scottsdale gained +5.0 or more strokes on their approaches over the field. To overcome a disadvantage off the tee, players will need a great week with their irons. Dominant off-the-tee play and putting can carry a player, but for shorter hitters, the key to TPC Scottsdale is great mid-to-long iron play. The 150-175 yards distance is an important basket for proximity stats, with five par 4’s ranging between 450-500 yards.”
As of now, we have Round 1 totals up on the DraftKings Pick6 site for play, so that’s where we’ll be focusing this week. As I mentioned above, timely putting is important at this week’s event, but course history is a huge factor as well.
With that in mind, I’ve focused on a few of my favorite plays for Round 1 below.
Top DraftKings Pick6 Plays for the 2026 WM Phoenix Open
Brooks Koepka Less Than 69.5 Strokes
Koepka couldn’t finish in the top 20 last week, but he didn’t play as poorly as his final position suggests. He struck the ball well and gained 5+ strokes tee to green. He just couldn’t overcome his putting struggles early in the week to make a charge. Fortunately, he improved on the greens as the week went on, and now comes to a course where he’s very comfortable with the flatstick at TPC Scottsdale, having won at this week’s venue twice already.
We may be a month or two away from seeing peak Koepka just yet, but given his experience at this venue, I do think it’s likely he puts in a much stronger showing and posts at least 3 sub-70 rounds this week. After his improvement on the weekend at Torrey Pines, I like taking him for a round of 69 or better right off the hop this week.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout More Than 3.5 Birdies or Better
Bezuidenhout isn’t what we’d call a prolific birdie-maker on the stat sheet, but his putting prowess allows him to outperform in this category from time to time, especially on courses where he feels comfortable. TPC Scottsdale is undoubtedly one of those venues, as he’s come to love playing in the desert, having posted a T$ at this event last season. He’s also finished top five at the nearby TPC Stadium venue in Palm Springs, which features similar, faster greens.
While his ball-striking stats didn’t jump off the page last week, he comes in ranked 4th in SG: Putting and is still showcasing solid form, having made two cuts in a row after a winter season that saw him finish T4 on the DP World Tour in December. Given the low 3.5 total we have and the fact that Scottsdale features three medium-difficulty par 5s and a driveable par 4, the price we’re getting to take Bezuidenhout to nab us 4+ birdies or better feels like a gift in this spot.
Sam Stevens More Than 12.5 Greens In Regulation
Stevens has had a strong start to the season. He finished T6 at the American Express a few weeks ago and secured a solid T30 last week. His ball-striking has improved recently, as he hit over 72% of his GIR at the challenging Torrey Pines, which is above his seasonal and career norms. An excellent sign as we head into TPC Scottsdale, which rewards precision iron play.
Overall, Stevens is a player capable of contending this week, but he will need excellent ball-striking right from the start to succeed on this course. His recent performance at Torrey saw him hitting around 13 greens per round, and with an easier course this time, there’s no reason to be pessimistic about his Round 1 prospects.
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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