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.
This Thursday and Friday, $1 million 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 $1 million 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.
Justin Rose (+3500)
Although he ended up losing in a playoff last year to Rory McIlroy, Rose ended up leading the tournament with the most Birdies or Better with 24 par-breakers on the week. Rose started the week with three straight birdies and five in his first nine holes, posing eight birdies in Round 1 and four birdies in Round 2.
Rose has a great history at Augusta National, making the cut in 17 of his 20 career appearances with three runner-up finishes and 15 top-25 finishes. He finished in the top 25 in four of the six Masters since 2020 but missed the cut in his other to appearances.
His results this season have also been a little uneven, but he has still showcased a very high ceiling. He dominated on his way to winning the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and finished T13 at THE PLAYERS Championship in the last month. He did miss the cut in three of his six events, but he’s a “swing for the fences” pick that has enough history to be a longshot play for the King of the Course this week.
Akshay Bhatia (+5100)
Bhatia has even longer odds and will likely have fewer tokens on him than Rose. He got his big win this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he made 24 Birdies or better in his four rounds to ultimately catch and pass Daniel Berger to claim the win. He has only played one event since that win, and he made 20 more birdies on his way to a T13 finish at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
Bhatia is fourth on the PGA TOUR this season in Birdie or Better% behind Scottie Scheffler, Min Woo Lee, and Jacob Bridgeman (more below). Bhatia ranks fourth in the field in Total Strokes Gained over his last 20 rounds and third in Strokes Gained: Approach. He’s set himself up for plenty of par breakers and has often been able to convert them.
This will be the lefty’s third appearance at Augusta National, which is known for giving lefty hitters a boost due to routing and angles. He made the cut in both 2024 (T35) and 2025 (T42), and if he can continue his recent form, he could be right in the mix on Sunday. He could also start the week with a birdie barrage and climb the King of the Course standings as well.
Jacob Bridgeman (+8400)
Bridgeman is making his debut at Augusta this week, which, as everyone knows (and will hear a lot this week), makes it very unlikely that he’ll get the win. Since the inaugural Masters, only one first-time player as claimed the victory–Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. Even though he’s a long shot to claim the green jacket, Bridgeman can be a good longshot play for King of the Course honors.
He ranks third on the PGA TOUR this season in Birdie or Better % with 163 Birdies in his 576 holes overall. He got his big breakthrough win earlier this season by dominating at The Riviera Country Club, which has similarities in both difficulty and layout to Augusta National.
Bridgeman has placed T18 or higher in each of his eight events this season with 21+ birdies in five of those tournaments. He has shown the ability to go low on tough tracks, so even though we don’t know exactly what to expect at Augusta, he is worth consideration as a longshot, especially since there won’t by many tokens on him for King of the Course.
