The PGA TOUR moves from Houston to San Antonio to complete its two-week stay in Texas before heading to Augusta National to get the first major of the season underway next week. Before we get even more hyped for the Masters, though, theValero Texas Open will take place at TPC San Antonio’s The Oaks Course. It sets up to be another great week of golf with a solid field taking on a difficult track in potentially windy conditions. DraftKings is ready to tee it up again this week with a wide variety of contests formats, including some big GPP contests with large top prizes. My top three pivot plays for this week’s GPP contests are Robert MacIntyre ($9,900), Andrew Novak ($7,300) and Beau Hossler ($6,800).
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]
Robert MacIntyre ($9,900)
Before the tournament gets underway, but after salaries were released, the PGA TOUR had another big name withdraw this week. Last week, it was Scottie Scheffler, and this week, Collin Morikawa (back) took his name off the board along with Nicolai Hojgaard. Both Morikawa and Hojgaard had salaries over $9,000, and their absence is driving ownership to other players with similar salaries like Si Woo Kim ($9,600), Jordan Spieth ($9,500), Sepp Straka ($9,200) and Maverick McNealy ($9,000). At the very top of the salary structure, Tommy Fleetwood ($10,500) and Ludvig Aberg ($10,100) are also getting some extra attention, but Robert MacIntyre ($9,900) is still getting a little overlooked compared to the upside he brings.
The lefty from Scotland should be very comfortable playing in windy conditions and has proven he can wind in tougher setups. Bobby Mac won the RBC Canadian Open and the Genesis Scottish Open in 2024 on the PGA TOUR and added the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour in October of last year.
All those wins have come since he made his debut at this event with a T35 in 2022. He hasn’t played this event since then but his game should fit the course well, especially if it gets windy and difficult.
After his win in Scotland last October, Bobby Mac has gotten off to a strong start to 2026, producing four top-25 finishes in six events and not missing a cut. He finished in fourth place at THE PLAYERS in his most recent event, which was his best finish of the year.
He ranks second in the field over the last three months in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. While he has plenty of distance, he also has good accuracy with his driver, which is even more important this week based on the course setup. He also ranks fifth in the field in Total Strokes Gained per round over the last three months and third in that stretch in Strokes Gained: Putting.
He has the skillset to succeed at TPC San Antonio, and he also could have an advantage from being a lefty. While there are not many lefties on the PGA TOUR, each of the last two winners–Akshay Bhatia and Brian Harman–of this event has been a lefty. Whether that gives MacIntyre a boost this week or not, he has the upside to be a great pivot play at the top of the salary structure this week as a strong pay-up pivot.
Andrew Novak ($7,300)
Sliding all the way past the midrange, le’ts take a couple of deeper sleepers to round out this week’s top GPP pivot plays. In the $7,000s, Tony Finau ($7,400), Stephan Jaeger ($7,400), Marco Penge ($7,800) and Thorbjorn Olesen ($7,800) are getting plenty of deserved attention, but Andrew Novak ($7,300) comes in under the radar.
Novak is the prototypical “boom or bust” style of player that makes sense for GPP lineups. Even though sometimes he can look a little lost, when he gets in the groove, he can post a very high finish. His putter is the main cause of his inconcsistency, and can be very streaky from week to week.
If you catch Novak on the right week, though, he has the upside to win the tournament. Last year, he won two team events at the Zurich Classic and the unofficial Grant Thornton Invitational, and he also posted an impressive six top-10 top finishes.
One of those top-10 finishes came at TPC San Antonio, where he ended up T3 behind Brian Harman. Novak gained over one stroke per round on approach that week and also gained 0.77 strokes per round on the greens.
He finished 2025 with some strong finishes and had a T7 at the Farmers Insurance Open early this year before some quieter finishes over the last few weeks. His driving and approach game were both very sharp at the Valspar in his most recent start, but his putter held him back. With the rest of his game looking good, Novak could find success this week as a great pivot play if he turns his putter around. He’s also been one of the better options in windy conditions over the past few seasons.
He’s high risk, but his history at TPC San Antonio is strong enough to make him very viable this week. He made the cut in four straight trips to the Valero with a T9 in 2023 and that third-place finish last year.
Beau Hossler ($6,800)
On the bargain side of things, Austin Smothermon ($7,000) and Andrew Putman ($6,800) are getting most of the attention around $7,000, but Beau Hossler ($6,800) is a nice pivot who could sneak up on some people.
The 31-year-old former Texas Longhorn started the season slowly with three straight missed cuts, but he found some rhythm once the PGA TOUR shifted to Florida. He posted a T23 at the Cognizant Classic, a T37 in Puerto Rico, and a T21 last week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, around a missed cut at the Valspar.
Over the last 20 rounds, he ranks in the top 10 in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and Strokes Gained: Around the Green. His short game is usually his strength, but his iron play can sometimes be a little shaky.
While Strokes Gained: Approach is usually a key indicator of success in general (and specifically on this course), Hossler has found a way to post solid results throughout his career in San Antonio. Hossler has made the cut in each of his last seven tournaments at The Oaks Course, highlighted by a top-5 finish in 2022. Last year, he seemed to be headed to a top-25 finish but struggled in the Final Round.
Last week in Houston, Hossler showed positive trends, gaining strokes everywhere but off the tee. He was under par in every round in Houston and ranked fourth in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting If he can clean up his driving accuracy a little bit and keep his short game sharp, he should be able to continue his success in San Antonio and be a great GPP pivot option this week.
