The PGA TOUR is back from its two-week stay in the United Kingdom and is headed to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for this week’s 3M Open. The annual stop in Minnesota has been a summer staple since 2019 and has been at TPC Twin Cities every year since it began. With three weeks before the playoffs, players are looking to climb into the top 70 and claim a spot in the postseason. As you build your DraftKings rosters for this week, be sure to check out my top three fantasy golf picks as pivot plays for GPP contests. These players will likely have lower ownership but still bring high upside. My favorite GPP picks for this week are Pierceson Coody ($9,100), Casey Jarvis ($7,300) and Chandler Phillips ($6,700).
Let’s define what we’re searching for in this post, to be sure we’re all aiming for the same target. 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 floor.
Let’s break down why I like each of my top three pivot plays this week!
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA $700K Sand Trap [$1M to 1st]
Top Pivot Picks for the 2026 3M Open
Pierceson Coody ($9,100)
The big name in the field this week is Scottie Scheffler ($14,900), but he’s extremely expensive. If you pass on Scheffler, Pierceson Coody is a great option at just over $9,000 who can anchor your lineup and also differentiate a bit — most attention is on the bigger names above him or Jackson Suber ($8,900) just below him after his big week at The Open.
Coody’s game is a great fit for TPC Twin Cities and the 26-year-old has seemed on the verge of a potential breakthrough win for most of the season. Last year, he spent most of his time on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he has put up 10 top-25 finishes and two top-10 finishes in his 21 events this season. His best finish was a runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines early in the season, and he has found a good groove with five made cuts in his last seven events, including a T28 last week at The Open Championship.
Over the last six months, Coody ranks 11th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 10th in Total Strokes Gained. With water in play of half of the tees and plenty of distance, this course demands both accuracy and distance off the tee. Coody had gained strokes off the tee in 11 straight events until losing strokes in that category last week at The Open. His short game and putting were excellent, though, which helped him get through the cut.
Last year, the 26-year-old finished T3 at the 3M Open, and his course fit gives him lots of upside at this price this week.
Casey Jarvis ($7,300)
While Jarvis may be a little unknown to American fans, the 22-year-old South African has had a good year so far on the DP World Tour. He earned his way into the field in Minnesota with a top-10 last week at The Open Championship. He’s currently fourth in the Race to Dubai Rankings, and if he stays in the top 10 not already exempt, he could earn a full-time PGA TOUR membership for next year.
Last week at Royal Birkdale, Jarvis posted a 73 in Round 1, but then got rolling with a 67-68-66 to climb all the way to a T6. He earned his way to the Open with back-to-back weeks on the DP World Tour earlier this season, claiming the Magical Kenya Open and the Investec South African Open Championship.
Since then, he tacked on six top-25 finishes, with a T20 at the Zurich Classic and a T38 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in his two visits to the PGA Tour. He also played in the Masters (MC) and the PGA Championship (T65) before posting a T21 at the Scottish Open and a T6 at The Open Championship.
While he’ll be making his tournament debut, he has the kind of strong game off the tee and on approach based on his stats. Last week, he gained strokes across all major categories. If he can carry over that momentum from Royal Birkdale, he could be right in the mix at TPC Twin Cities.
He’s a high-risk play at this price point but brings lots of sneaky upside. He’s an international rising star to keep an eye on and get in on early before he has his breakthrough.
Chandler Phillips ($6,700)
Phillips is teeing it up for the third straight year at the 3M Open, and he’s still in search of his first made cut at the event. However, despite his lack of course success, he comes in with red-hot form and makes sense as a flier play with upside.
The 29-year-old from Texas A&M has posted five top-25 finishes this season, including each of his last three non-majors. He has been at exactly T15 finishes in each of those tournaments at the RBC Canadian Open, the John Deere Classic, and the ISCO Championship. In those three events, he has posted 12 straight rounds under 70.
He isn’t a long hitter off the tee like Coody and Jarvis, but he relies heavily on Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green and Strokes Gained: Putting to turn in good results in his last three events. The way that he has proven he can pile up birdies and go low should help him get to the weekend this year, and if he does at this price point, he saves a lot of salary to spend elsewhere in your GPP roster builds.
