The PGA TOUR heads to Houston this week for the first of two tournaments in Texas in the final run-up to the Masters. The Texas Children’s Houston Open has been in this spot in the schedule for the last two years after moving from the fall, and it draws a strong field of players looking to improve their status and form heading into the first major of the year. DraftKings is teeing it up again this week with a wide variety of formats, including some big GPP contests with large top prizes. My top three pivot plays for this week’s GPP contests are Brooks Koepka ($9,600), Tony Finau ($7,600) and Mackenzie Hughes ($7,100).
Let’s be sure to define what we’re searching for in this post to be sure we’re all aiming at the same flagstick. A fantasy golf pivot play is a golfer with low expected ownership in tournament formats but high upside. These picks go against the grain and typically come with more risk compared to popular options with similar salaries. In large-field tournaments, it’s important to differentiate your lineup with low-ownership plays like these, even though they are NOT the safest options.
These are “grip it and rip it,” boom-or-bust style options that could go off or flame out. Getting players at low ownership is critical for success in GPP tournament-style events with many entries, so 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 $750K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Brooks Koepka ($9,600)
The big shakeup to the DFS field this week was Scottie Scheffler’s withdrawal on Tuesday. His $14,800 salary set the bar extremely high, and his withdrawal leaves no players with a salary over $9,900. Defending champ Min Woo Lee ($9,900) and two-time winner on the PGA TOUR this season Chris Gotterup ($9,800) are at the top of the salary structure, while Sam Burns ($9,700) and Jake Knapp ($9,500) are also getting plenty of attention. One of the lower ownerships in the top group is expected to be from Koepka, even though he brings plenty of momentum rolling into Houston.
Even though he hasn’t played this event since 2021, he should know the track very well since he was the player consultant on the latest major renovation of Memorial Park Golf Course in 2019–2020. He played the course twice after the renovation, although both were in the fall. He finished T5 in 2020 but missed the cut in 2021.
After playing with LIV Golf, Koepka returned to the PGA TOUR at the start of the season. He made plenty of waves with his return, but his on-course performance wasn’t that exciting with a T56 and a missed cut in February. After the PGA TOUR shifted to Florida, the 35-year-old put up three top-20 finishes with a T9 at PGA National, a T13 at TPC Sawgrass, and a T18 last week at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook.
Over the last 20 rounds, Koepka leads the entire field in Strokes Gained: Approach and is second in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Memorial Park Golf Course is tough tee-to-green, but that’s typically the skill set that stands out, along with driving distance. Koepka checks those boxes this week and could be a huge story coming to Augusta with a win this week.
Since he is playing this event for the first time in a while, he isn’t the lowest-risk play at the top of the salary structure, but for GPP lineups, he brings enough win equity to be a great pay-up pivot.
Tony Finau ($7,600)
Below the top options, Pierceson Coody ($8,000), Michael Thorbjornsen ($8,600), Taylor Pendrith ($7,900 and Aaron Rai ($7,700) are some of the most popular options, but Tony Finau ($7,600) is also a great play to consider. It’s been a minute since Finau was in serious contention, but he has been trending upwards and is coming back to a track where he has played well in the past.
Finau won this event in the fall of 2022 and was runner-up in the spring of 2024 in his title defense. Last year, he had a down year overall but still managed four rounds of 70 or better at this venue to finish T32.
This year, Finau continued his quiet stretch with a pair of missed cuts, but then he burst back onto the DFS scene with a T11 at the Farmers Insurance Open and another top-20 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the West Coast Swing. In Florida, Finau continued to build momentum, making the cut at THE PLAYERS and posting another top-20 finish last week with a 69–69–71–71 to finish T18 at the Valspar Championship.
Over the last 20 rounds, Finau ranks seventh in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and has been solid everywhere but off the tee. While driving distance is important this week, accuracy is less important since the rough is not that penalizing. The fairways are also wider this week, which could help Finau overcome his issues off the tee and post another strong finish at this event.
Mackenzie Hughes ($7,100)
Without a gigantic salary at the top like Scheffler’s, you may not have to go extremely cheap at the value end of things. On the lower end of things, though, Hao-Tong Li ($7,300), Ryan Fox ($7,400) and Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju ($7,200) are getting lots of attention. Under $7,000, Chandler Blanchet ($6,800) is popular as well. While all of those are strong plays, another Canadian, Mackenzie Hughes is a great pivot as a value sleeper with lower expected ownership.
In his career, the 35-year-old Hughes has two PGA TOUR victories, and he has always played well at this course in Houston. In each of his five events at Memorial Park Golf Course, Hughes has made the cut and finished T29 or better. His best finish was a T7 in the fall of 2020, but he posted finishes of T14 and T10 in the last two years after the event moved to the spring. He has been under par in seven of his last eight rounds at Memorial Park and closed out last year with three straight rounds of 66.
He’s been steady to start the season with five made cuts in seven events and three top-35 finishes. He missed the cut at THE PLAYERS but made the cut with a T55 last week at the Valspar.
His history at this track and decent form make him a nice value option this week, especially since many other players are getting more attention in this price range.
