It’s time to set those alarm clocks early and wake up to PGA TOUR action from the United Kingdom. While The Open Championship is still a week away, the Genesis Scottish Open is a great warmup to links-style golf for the players, and it can also be a great way to get your sleep patterns ready to follow your DFS fantasy golf teams for the next two weeks. For each week’s tournament, DraftKings has a wide range of contests available, including some excellent cash game opportunities. In this post, I’ll focus on three solid cash game plays for conservative lineups that are designed to help your lineup finish in the top half of cash game contests. My three top fantasy golf cash plays to consider this week are Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,900), Justin Thomas ($8,600) and Aaron Rai ($7,800).
Make sure to also check out my top-three pivot plays for tournament lineups for the Travelers Championship if you’re looking for some less popular, under-the-radar picks. Pivot plays for tournament lineups are usually more aggressive, while fantasy golf cash game picks are safer with higher floors and lower risk. The picks in this post generally have higher ownership than my pivot plays, but they are good selections for contests where the uniqueness of your lineup is less important. Think of cash game picks as lying back and playing a par 5 as it was designed, taking three shots before reaching the green, searching for a solid birdie. Tournament picks are like going driver off the deck to try to reach the green in two — more reward if it works, but much more risk, as well.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR Single Entry $25 Double Up
Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,900)
The PGA TOUR and DP World Tour combine forces to put together a great field for this week, with plenty of big stars to consider. Scottie Scheffler ($14,000), Rory McIlroy ($12,000) ,and Jon Rahm ($11,5000) are all in the field this week but cost a lot more to build around than going with Fitzpatrick, which can help you create a more balanced lineup across the board.
Fitz comes in with plenty of career success on both circuits. He has nine career DP World Tour victories to go with his five PGA TOUR wins. Three of those five wins have been this year. He returned to the winner’s circle with a triumph at the Valspar Championship, teamed up with his brother to claim the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and then outlasted Scheffler in a playoff to win the RBC Heritage. Those three wins were each huge for their own reasons, but they show how on point he is across all the clubs in his bag.
Not only has Fitzpatrick been winning tournaments, but he also has been posting high finishes even when he doesn’t win. He has 12 top-25 finishes in his 16 PGA TOUR events this year, including six top-five finishes. He finished runner-up at the RBC Canadian Open a few weeks ago, before placing 22nd at the U.S. Open and fourth at the Travelers Championship.
In the last six months, Fitzpatrick has led the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and ranks second in Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He has been especially accurate off the tee and around the green, which should serve him well as he returns to The Renaissance Club.
In his career, Fitzpatrick has made the cut in six of seven appearances at the Scottish Open, including a T6 in 2022 and a T4 last year. Before it was part of the official PGA TOUR, he had a T2 in 2021 as well, so he knows the layout well and is a solid pay-up anchor for your cash game picks this week.
Justin Thomas ($8,600)
Another proven option to lean on this week is Justin Thomas. Thomas has found strong form after his delayed start to the season, following a microdiscectomy. While he hasn’t been in contention for a win since he returned, he has shown good form.
In his last seven events, Thomas has posted seven straight top-25 finishes, which is exactly the kind of consistency to target for cash game picks. His best finish was a T4 at the PGA Championship, and he also had a T17 at the U.S. Open, which was on a course that was similar to this week’s in several key ways. Two weeks ago, he also finished T14 at the Travelers Championship with four consistent rounds of 68 or better.
Over the last 20 rounds, Thomas ranks fourth in the field in Total Strokes Gained and ninth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. His short game has been especially strong in his last few events, which should help him find success in the next two weeks in the U.K.
Like Fitzpatrick, Thomas has been coming to The Renaissance Club since before the Scottish Open was officially a PGA TOUR. He finished in the top 10 in 2019 and 2021 before missing the cut in 2022. He returned with a T22 last year, gaining strokes across all major categories.
With his course history and consistency, Thomas is another cornerstone to consider this week.
Aaron Rai ($7,800)
Getting Aaron Rai under $8,000 is a great way to get upside and value to add to your balanced roster. Before he won his first major championship earlier this year or even his first PGA TOUR event at the 2024 Wyndham Championship, Rai got his fifth professional win at the Scottish Open in 2020. He defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff that year for his first DP World Tour title.
Rai has made the cut in three of his five return trips to The Renaissance Club with a T4 in 2024 as his best finish since his win. Last year, he also made the cut and finished T47.
The PGA Championship winner comes back to Scotland with good momentum after putting up five top-25 finishes in his last seven events. Over the last three months, he ranks 11th in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Approach.
He followed up his big victory with top-12 finishes at the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open, proving his victory wasn’t a complete outlier.
Given his current form and course history, Rai is a great option to build around this week as part of your cash game picks.
