It’s time to see who claims the crown in King of the Course! You asked for it, we answered. DraftKings Sportsbook is running back the King of the Course promotion this week at THE PLAYERS Championship.
This Thursday and Friday, $500,000 in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opt in and place an outright winner bet on the golfer who ultimately leads the first two rounds in birdies or better!
How to Play King of the Course
- Opt in to receive your King of the Course token in the Promotions page
- Make an outright winner bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- If the golfer you wagered on with your token applied records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of the tournament, win a share of $500,000 in bonus bets
For more information on this promo, click here!
In this post, we’re going to look at a pair of picks that are longer shots, but they could end up being great options if they contend for King of the Course honors. Since they will have fewer tokens on them, they will likely provide larger payouts if they emerge with the crown. It is important not to reach too far, though, since the bet itself is also for them to win the tournament, so that needs to be a realistic possibility.
Min Woo Lee (+4400)
Lee has been sniffing around a big win throughout the early part of the season, and his aggressive approach could help him get off to a fast start at TPC Sawgrass. He finished in the top 20 each of the last two years, with a strong T6 in 2023.
Since that high finish, Lee has claimed his first PGA TOUR win, triumphing at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. He had a great finish to 2025 as well with a T10 at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan and three top-15 finishes on the DP World Tour, highlighted by a T5 at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in his home country.
He carried that momentum into 2026 and has made the cut in each of his five events this season and posted three straight top-12 finishes in the three Signature Events in the last four weeks. Furthermore, he came close to a huge win at the AT&T Pebble Beach, where he finished T2 behind Collin Morikawa.
When he’s in form, Lee can stack up birdies in a hurry. Last week, he finished T3 in Total Birdies or Better. He was T15 in Birdies or Better at The Genesis Invitational and fourth at Pebble Beach.
Lee has made Birdie or Better on 28.3% of his holes this season, which ranks him in the top 10 of the PGA TOUR in Birdie or Better percentage.
Jacob Bridgeman (+6800)
Bridgeman has gotten off to a great start to the season and got his breakthrough win at The Genesis Invitational. He ranks third in the field in Total Strokes Gained and seventh in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last 24 rounds, and his style of play should translate well to TPC Sawgrass.
He did make the cut in his PLAYERS debut last year but comes back in much better form this year. Bridgeman ranks third on the PGA TOUR in Birdie or Better Percentage this season, behind only Scottie and Rory. He led the field with 24 birdies or better in his win at The Genesis and finished in the top 25 in Birdies or Better at Bay Hill last week.
Bridgeman is a longer shot without quite as much course history as Lee, but he will likely have fewer tokens as well.
He’s a longshot play who bested a strong field at Riviera Country Club just a few weeks ago, and he finished in the top 20 last week in his first event after that win. He’s a longshot play but has the potential to be in the mix again this week.
Austin Smotherman (+33000)
Let’s get really wild for our final pick. Smotherman had a memorable start to the Cognizant Classic a few weeks ago, going extremely low with nine birdies or better in Round 1 and five more in Round 2.
Ultimately, he faded a little bit over the weekend and finished T2 with four rounds under 70. He made the cut at least week’s API before withdrawing with a back injury, but he’s back in the mix this week.
While PGA National isn’t TPC Sawgrass, there are some similarities and parallels. If Smotherman can carry over his momentum, he could rack up enough birdies to be in the mix for King of the Course this week, which he would have challenged for just a few weeks ago in Palm Beach Gardens.
He made six straight birdies at one point in his Round 1 blitz, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he has another run like that in him this week at these extremely long odds. While the 31-year-old hasn’t won on the PGA TOUR, he did snag two wins last year on the Korn Ferry Tour to regain his full-time membership this year.
