The PGA TOUR has reached the conclusion of the FedExCup Playoffs this week, with the elite 30-player field set up for the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Without starting strokes or standings to worry about, this week sets up as a straight 30-player race to claim the $10 million top prize in this week’s $40 million purse. DraftKings is ready to roll for another big playoff week with some strong GPP contests available in the DFS fantasy golf lobby. 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 Tommy Fleetwood ($9,000), Russell Henley ($7,500) and Alex Smalley ($6,300).
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 TOUR Championship
Tommy Fleetwood ($9,000)
Looking for pivot plays with low ownership in a 30-player field is a little tough since most of the players have high ownership, as a result of each six-man roster containing 17% of the field. The top players are all getting plenty of attention, as usual, but Fleetwood is getting a little overlooked at only $9,000, mostly ue to a disappointing finish last week. He faded to a T47 at the BMW Championship with a 74-70 over the weekend, so he doesn’t come back to East Lake with great short-term momentum for his title defense.
However, Fleetwood’s lower ownership could make him worth the risk as a pivot play since the public will be focused elsewhere in this salary range.
After many near misses, Fleetwood broke through for his first PGA TOUR win at last year’s TOUR Championship. He didn’t get back to the winner’s circle this season but did post seven straight top-15 finishes before last week’s fade. He finished the season with 13 top-25 finishes in 18 events, including a T4 at The Open Championship and a T7 to start the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude.
Over the last three months, Fleetwood actually leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and ranks fourth in Total Strokes Gained. His accuracy off the tee and short game fit the latest renovations at East Lake perfectly last year, and he could contend again this year based on his form before last week’s letdown.
Fleetwood’s bad weekend will keep his ownership low, but if he bounces back, he could be right back in contention with a chance to make it back-to-back wins for him at the TOUR Championship.
Russell Henley ($7,500)
Henley finished second behind Fleetwood last year, and the 37-year-old actually has been more consistent than Fleetwood over time at this week’s venue. He has three top-five finishes in the last four years at the TOUR Championship, but he still comes in without much hype since he also didn’t have a huge finish recently.
While he hasn’t been right at the top of leaderboards contending for titles lately, he has put together a very consistent season. He did get a win at the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May and posted five top-25 finishes in his seven events since then. Overall this season, he racked up 13 top-25 finishes, including five top-10 finishes, in 19 tournaments.
Recently, he finished in the top 10 at The Open Championship and ended up T12 last week. Like Fleetwood, he had a quiet weekend, but his 70-70 finish still earned him another top-15 finish. Over the last three months, Henley has been cooking with his flat stick, and he ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and 12th in Total Strokes Gained over that span. He also leads the field in Driving Accuracy during that timeframe, and he hits it far enough to still get good angles and birdie chances from the fairway.
The Georgia native has proven his game fits the course, and he should bring a good amount of leverage from this mid-range salary if he stays off the radar.
Alex Smalley ($6,300)
Smalley made it all the way to the playoff finale without getting a win this season, and the 29-year-old will be one of the six players making their debut at East Lake this week. He is a bargain play that isn’t getting much hype, but he has proven he can get extremely hot and contend even in the toughest fields.
The biggest result in his solid season was his runner-up finish at the PGA Championship behind Aaron Rai, who finished No. 39 in the FedExCup Standings and is not playing this week. Smalley finished at No. 23 in the standings by adding a T2 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans just before the PGA Championship, and a T3 at the Charles Schwab Challenge just behind Henley.
Smalley disappeared for June and July, playing sporadically and not posting any high finishes, but he re-emerged as a fantasy force at the Wyndham Championship, where he finished T7. In the playoffs, he finished T24 in Memphis and T16 in St. Louis, continuing his momentum.
He has three straight top-25 finishes over the last 30 days, and during that span he ranks third in this extremely strong field in Strokes Gained: Approach and fourth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He could have had even better finishes if he weren’t struggling on the green, but if he can flip his putter this week, Smalley could surprise people and post a high finish.
At such a bargain, he could be a great salary-saving option since he isn’t getting much attention and will be a better value play than almost every player he finishes ahead of. Even just a finish in the middle of the field would be a great return at this salary, so I like Smalley as a great play this week, with his salary barely over the minimum.
