The fall swing begins this week with the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville. This brand-new tournament will be played at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove (par 71, 7,249 yards, Bentgrass/POA greens) in Arden, North Carolina, which is also making its PGA TOUR debut this week. There will be 132 players competing and a top-65 and ties cut following the first two rounds.
The Cliffs is a mountainside Jack Nicklaus-designed course that features narrow fairways, thick rough, small greens, 75 bunkers and water in play on seven holes. This track is an untraditional par 71 that presents nine par fours, five par threes and four par fives.
The Cliffs is a shorter par 71 where accuracy will be more important than being long. With the putting surfaces tiny at this venue, we need to be seeking out players who are in strong form with their irons. Also, all four of the par fives appear to be very scorable and targeting efficient par five players is a wise move at this course that should yield low scoring.
Let’s dive into three of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Biltmore Championship Asheville, all costing less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $200K Sand Trap [$50K to 1st]
Top DraftKings PGA TOUR DFS Bargain Plays for the Biltmore Championship Asheville
Chandler Phillips ($7,100) – Phillips had a great summer on the PGA TOUR. In his seven starts from June to August, the 29-year-old carded five top-25 finishes while notably shooting under par in 21-of-24 rounds during this span. Most impressively, Phillips finished T-3 at the 3M Open in July, which is the second-best PGA TOUR finish of his career.
Phillips ranks eighth in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he is vastly underpriced for his terrific form. Phillips has top-15 upside in this weak field and is a no-brainer at only $7,100.
Patrick Fishburn ($7,100) – Following a rough start to his season, Fishburn has been playing quality golf, missing only one cut in his last 10 starts. The veteran finished inside the top-30 three times during this run and he has gained strokes on approach in four of his last five starts entering this week.
Fishburn looks ready to break out with a high finish soon and the Cliffs is a perfect course for it to happen. Fishburn finished solo third at the 2024 Barracuda Championship, which is very notable, as this event was played at another mountainside Nicklaus-designed par 71 in the Tahoe Mountain Club. That week, Fishburn shot 65 or lower in 3-of-4 rounds.
Austin Smotherman ($6,700) – Smotherman has advanced through the cut in eight of his past 12 solo starts with two top-25 finishes during this stretch. Smotherman has been dialed with his irons this season, ranking eighth in SG APP and his best finish of the season is a runner-up at the Cognizant Classic in March, which is another Nicklaus-designed venue.
Smotherman ranks fifth in this field in strokes gained per round at Nicklaus courses and he should perform well in his first attempt at the Cliffs, possibly with a top-20 finish.
