The PGA TOUR continues the buildup to the FedExCup Playoffs, which are just two weeks away. While the Wyndham Championship next week is the last chance for players to move into the postseason, this week’s Rocket Classic is also extremely important for positioning, and as a result, it has drawn the best field in the history of the event, which dates back to 2019. DraftKings is ready to tee it up this week as well with some strong GPP contests. As you build your rosters for this week, check out my top three fantasy golf picks to use as pivot plays for tournament play this week. These three players will likely have lower ownership but still bring high upside. My favorite GPP picks for this week are Si Woo Kim ($9,600), J.J. Spaun ($8,700) and Nico Echavarria ($6,900).
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 $750K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Top Pivot Picks for the 2026 Rocket Classic
Si Woo Kim ($9,600)
Kim is one of the bigger names in the field this week, but since he’s priced with so many big-name winners from this season, he’s a strong pivot play to consider. Kim hasn’t won since the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii when he claimed his fourth PGA TOUR title. Many of the other names near the top of the salary structure have won this year (some even multiple times), but Kim has been very consistent all season, even though he hasn’t broken through into the winner’s circle.
In his 20 events this season, Kim has made 19 cuts with 10 top-10 finishes, including two third-place and two second-place finishes. He finished runner-up at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson at the end of May and T10 at the Memorial before missing the cut at the U.S. Open and a disappointing T44 at the Travelers. He found his groove again, though with a T9 at the Genesis Scottish Open and a T6 at The Open Championship in his two most recent events.
Kim ranks second in the field in Total Strokes Gained, Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and Strokes Gained: Approach over the last six months and is also in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. His only real letdown has been his putting, which has been volatile from week-to-week.
He has good familiarity with the Detroit Golf Club since this will be his sixth appearance at the event. He made the cut in each of the last four times he has played this track, highlighted by a T14 in 2022.
While he hasn’t ever won or contended down the stretch at this week’s venue, he has been in strong enough form to be a top play. Since all of the other names around him are a little flashier, he also could end up as an excellent leverage option with low ownership.
J.J. Spaun ($8,700)
Spaun is a great option in the midrange that is getting a little passed over as well since Jake Knapp ($8,700), Akshay Bhatia ($8,400) and Brooks Koepka ($8,000) offer a little more sizzle, but Spaun has been very consistent and productive this year and also has a good history at this week’s course.
In his last 10 events in the United States, Spaun racked up seven top-25 finishes, including a win at the Valero Texas Open. He made the cut in both of his two events in the U.K. as well, finishing T44 and T40.
Over both the last three months and the last six months, the 35-year-old tops the entire field in Strokes Gained: Approach. Over the last three months, he also ranks second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and fifth in Total Strokes Gained. Like Si Woo, his putter can be volatile, but when he’s dialed in, he can go low in a hurry and put up good scores.
Before not playing in Detroit last year, Spaun had played the Rocket Classic in six straight seasons. He finished in the top 35 in every one of his six appearances with three top-13 finishes, highlighted by a personal-best T8 in 2022. Even after the renovations, his wedge play and approach work give him both an elite ceiling and a high floor.
He hasn’t missed a cut at a non-major since April, and he brings good upside with the potential to contend this week in the Motor City.
Nico Echavarria ($6,900)
Like Spaun, Echavarria is looking to claim his second PGA TOUR win of the season. The 31-year-old from Colombia emerged with the win after Shane Lowry’s collapse at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches at the beginning of March.
After that win, he had a quiet stretch with a few missed cuts, but he has made the cut in each of his last six events with a T6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge as his best finish during that stretch. He can be a boom-or-bust play at times, but he has shown the potential to contend and win when he’s at his best, which is why he makes sense as a GPP pivot play.
He ranks in the top 25 in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green in the last 30 days and the top 35 in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last three months.
Echavarria has made the cut in each of the last two years at Detroit Golf Club, posting a T63 in 2024 and a solid T6 last year. If he can build on his solid recent form in his return, he could be in contention again on Sunday, and he has a strong chance to at least make the cut, making him a nice sleeper play under $7,000 this week.
