If it’s Super Bowl week, the PGA TOUR is headed to The Valley for “The People’s Open” at TPC Scottsdale. The WM Phoenix Open is a unique tournament with its huge crowds, rowdy atmosphere and all-week hype. DraftKings is getting in on the action with a full slate of DFS fantasy golf contests, including the first million-dollar prize pool of the season. If you’re jumping into any tournament and GPP contests, check out these top three fantasy golf picks for the WM Phoenix Open. This week, I’m backing Cameron Young ($9,800), Matt McCarty ($7,700) and Tom Hoge ($6,700) as my three top GPP options, who I think come in relatively under the radar but have a strong chance to step up and exceed salary-based expectations as strong pivot plays.
Let’s be sure to define what we’re searching for in this post, to be sure we’re all hunting the same flagstick. A fantasy golf pivot play is a golfer with low expected ownership in tournament formats but very high upside. Typically, these selections come with major risk factors compared to more popular options that are available around the same DFS salary. Even though these plays are NOT the safest options in their price range, they have enough potential upside to be worth the extra sweat since they come with lower ownership. These are “grip it and rip it,” boom-or-bust style options that could go off or could flame out. Getting players at low ownership is critical to finding success in GPP tournament-style events with many entries, in which making yours stand out is critical. Be sure to check out my companion post to this one that highlights my picks for cash lineups if you’re looking for safer options that raise the overall floor of your lineup.
Getting players at low ownership is critical to finding success in GPP tournament-style events with many entries, where making yours stand out is critical. Be sure to check out my companion post to this one that highlights my picks for cash lineups if you’re looking for safer options that raise the overall 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 $1M People’s Open Special [$200K to 1st, Eagle Throne Eligible]
Cameron Young ($9,800)
Obviously, Scottie Scheffler ($14,500) is at the top of everyone’s list this week since he has won here before and looked pretty close to unbeatable the last few times he has played a PGA TOUR event. He’s a costly play, though, so unless he wins the tournament, he probably won’t be worth paying up for and cramming in values for the rest of your roster. You probably don’t need another article telling you why Scheffler is a good play (which he is), so let’s instead look at an alternative who will likely have much lower ownership and save almost $5,000.
Young secured his breakthrough win at the Wyndham Championship last season after multiple near misses. The 28-year-old ended the season with eight top-10 finishes and 12 top-25 finishes in 25 official events in the 2025 season. He finished in the top five at the TOUR Championship at the end of the FedExCup Playoffs and added two top 10s in his PGA TOUR appearances after that. He picked up in 2026 with a solid T22 last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished in the top 25 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Strokes Gained: Approach, driving accuracy and GIRs.
His versatile, all-around game translates to almost any setup, but he has been especially sharp in his previous appearances at this venue, making the cut four times in four appearances with a T8 and a T12 in the last two years. He could have finished even higher last year if he hadn’t stumbled to an opening-round 74 before finding his groove and finishing the week 64-66-67.
Over the last 24 rounds, Young ranks second in Total Strokes Gained, fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. He’s getting less attention near the top of the salary structure than Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama ($9,600) and Si Woo Kim ($9,900), but he brings both a high ceiling and a high floor to this week’s event.
Matt McCarty ($7,700)
Whether you go with Scheffler (as most will) or a different direction at the top of the salary structure, lower down the options there are a few more fantasy golf picks for the WM Phoenix Open who make great pivot options. At around $8,000, Pierceson Coody ($8,000), Chris Gotterup ($8,300), Michael Thorbjornsen ($7,800) and Garrick Higgo ($7,400) are some of the most popular plays, but I think McCarty brings excellent upside based on his recent form and the way his game should fit the venue.
McCarty got his first PGA TOUR win in a desert tournament at the Black Desert Championship in just his third PGA TOUR appearance back in 2024. In 2025, he posted 10 top-25 finishes and three top-10 finishes, but he missed out on the FedExCup Playoffs despite a T8 at the Wyndham Championship just before the playoffs started.
He closed the season strong with a T14 at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan and a T3 at the Bank of Utah Championship back in the desert. This season, the 28-year-old lefty also started strong with a T2 at The American Express and a T18 last week at Torrey Pines. He ranks fourth in the field in Total Strokes Gained over the last 30 rounds, 21st in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and 20th in Strokes Gained: Approach.
McCarty is from the Scottsdale area, so he’s playing a home game and will surely get plenty of love if he makes the weekend. He missed the cut last year, but with more momentum, I expect a stronger showing this week. He’s looking to play his way into the Signature Events in the next few weeks as part of the Aon next 5, so a strong finish has extra significance this week.
Tom Hoge ($6,700)
Most Scheffler lineups will need at least one player under $7,000, and there are some solid cheap options to consider. Some popular options like Mac Meissner ($6,800) and Seonghyeon Kim ($6,800) come in with good momentum while there are some name recognition plays as well with Sami Valikami ($6,700) and Akshay Bahtia ($6,900) in this price range. However, my favorite pivot play under $7K this week is Hoge, who is a “swing for the fences” pick with strong upside.
Hoge’s game has some natural volatility to it, but when he’s on point, he can deliver some high finishes during “spike weeks.” For example, in his eight appearances at this event, he has four missed cuts and three top-25 finishes. He’s alternated those top-25 and missed cuts over the last six years and is due for a good week if that trend continues.
He comes back to Scottsdale this week with some strong form after going 3-for-3 making the cut this season, with a T40 in Hawaii, a T70 last week, and an impressive T8 at The American Express, which was also held in desert environs, a little like he’ll face again this week. Hoge can go low in a hrry when he’s on, and he’s worth taking a risk on if you are playing in a GPP lineup and looking for pure upside.
