The PGA TOUR’s 2026 season kicks off this week with its first elevated event at Pebble Beach, where 80 golfers will tee off at the famous West Coast venue. DraftKings users can play in DraftKings PGA Pick6 contests for all four rounds. 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 Pebble Beach for the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where players will compete in a pro-am-style event across two courses. Each player will have one round on each course on Thursday and Friday: Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. The venues are both shorter Par 72s under, making them relatively easy for the players, if the weather cooperates and the wind stays down. Winning scores for this event can vary greatly. Last year, nicer weather allowed the winner Rory McIlroy to get to -21, but poor weather can keep scoring much higher.
I reviewed additional statistics and course dynamics in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am PGA Cheat Sheet and included some notes on the course below for Pick6 research.
As far as layout goes, the host course (Pebble Beach) is a traditional par 72 with four par 5s and four par 3s. Three of the four par 5s often play under 550 yards in length, and only one par 3 is over 200 yards. Even though there are some longer par 4s, length off the tee isn’t all that essential this week, and the average driving distance for the field is generally 10-15 yards lower this week than the average PGA TOUR event. Many of the holes force players to club down off the tee (either due to doglegs or shorter fairways), and it’s worth noting that three of the past seven winners of this event have lost strokes off the tee for the week, including 2023 winner Justin Rose (-0.4 OTT in 2023).
Despite this being a less-than-driver course, there is still plenty of trouble lurking around Pebble Beach, and players can get in trouble both off the tee and around the green. As a result, a solid approach game and iron play are a must. Six of the top 10 finishers at this event in 2023 gained 2.0 strokes or more on approach.
Around the green, the area can also be vital at Pebble, especially when the wind is bad and causes more missed greens. Six of the top seven players in 2020 gained +1.2 strokes or more around the greens, and winners Justin Rose and Wyndham Clark have gained 2.6 strokes and 1.4 strokes ATG.
Last year, Rory McIlroy relied more on ball-striking as he gained 5.9+ strokes off the tee alone and over 3.3 strokes on approach.
This is also our second event in three weeks where bumpy, Poa Annua greens will be in play. The wet weather allowed players to sink a ton of birdies at Pebble the last couple of seasons, with Clark shooting a 60 in Round 3 in 2024 and winning at -17 (in just three rounds). However, hot and dry weather in California means we may see the greens play much firmer at some point, so fast green surfaces could still make this more of a US Open-style test. Regardless, good West Coast form and experience playing on Poa is a solid plus this week.”
As of now, we have Round 1 totals up on the Pick6 site for play, so that’s where we’ll be focusing this week. It’s important to know what course your player is playing in Round 1, as Pebble Beach tends to play the easiest if the wind is down. The weather looks OK for Round 1 with just a little cooler temperatures in the forecast, so expect decent scoring again this season.
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
Matthew Fitzpatrick Less Than 69.5 strokes
Fitzpatrick came alive last week, opening his tournament with a 66 and finishing in solo 9th place in Phoenix. The Englishman struck the ball for the most part and just needs to find his range with the putter now, a club that is generally a huge strength for him. While he hasn’t had success recently at this event, Fitzpatrick did finish T6 at this venue a couple of years ago and has performed well at other coastal settings at the Scottish Open. He’s also a former winner at Hilton Head, another short seaside venue with smaller greens.
I’m very bullish on Fitzpatrick’s chances this week overall and think he’ll be in great shape to get off to a fast start, given the form he showed us last week. For Round 1, look for him to shoot a lower round and consider including him in some Pick6 lineups.
Ludvig Aberg More Than 4.5 birdies or better
I’m eager to buy the dip on Aberg this week, particularly in Pick6 format. When comparing most top players in this field, they tend to have higher totals than Aberg in many categories, as his recent dip in form has lowered his ranking in these fantasy formats. Nonetheless, Aberg remains an elite player, and I expect him to bounce back quickly this week.
He performed very well at this event in 2024, finishing T2 behind Wyndham Clark, and he should be motivated to start his season after withdrawing and missing the cut. With a smaller total and a venue featuring four par 5s, I’m all for taking advantage of the dip in round one and aiming for him to record more than 4.5 birdies or better.
Michael Kim More Than 4.5 birdies or better
Kim played well last week. The American finished T18 in Scottsdale and T13 in total birdies for the week, with 18. Overall, his putter has been in great form of late, and this week he’ll be playing Pebble Beach, where he has had plenty of success. Kim attended college on the West Coast and has played Pebble numerous times, posting a T4 in 2019 and top-15 finishes against strong fields in 2023 and 2024.
This week he’ll start his tournament at Pebble Beach, which is generally rated as slightly easier, especially when the wind is down. This should be a great chance for him to start strong, and with his birdie total at 4.5 and four par 5s in play, I like playing the bullish angle on a player who is carrying good form from last fall into 2026.
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