The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $150K Sand Trap Special [$50K to 1st]
The Field
The PGA TOUR continues its run of visiting non-U.S.-based courses this week as it heads to Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship. This is the 19th running of this event, which first took place back in 2007. This is a 132-man field with the highest-ranked players being J.J. Spaun (6th OWGR) and Ben Griffin (12th OWGR).
The event this year will be played at El Cardonal at Diamante for the third year in a row, a Tiger Woods-designed course that is located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. As noted last season, this will be a vastly different test in many regards from what the players have normally been up against at this event, which used to be played on the other coast of Mexico at El Cameleon. We’ll break down the course more below, but realize that with a newer course and the location in Cabo (the West side and southern tip of the peninsula), recent form will be the mainstay of our focus this week.
Making it tougher for DFS and betting will be the lack of elite talent. As mentioned above, we only have a handful of names who currently rank inside the top 50 of the OWGR. On top of Griffin and Spaun, we also have solid pros like Wyndham Clark, Nick Taylor, and recent Utah Bank winner Michael Brennan, who do offer some upside and give this event a little more legitimacy. The cut line will remain as the standard format, with the top 65 players and ties making the weekend after Friday.
The Course
El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
7,452-yard, par-72
This will be the third year this event is played at El Cardonal, a venue that also marks the very first designed course by Tiger Woods and his TGR design firm. Structurally, the venue sets up as a classic par 72 with four par 5s and four par 3s. The par 5s all measure in as shorter holes, and clearly, the venue is emphasizing the need for players to take advantage of these scoring opportunities. At 7,452 yards, there are shorter par 4s in play as well, but expect the par 5s to be where most of the field does their scoring.
From a setup perspective, here are Tiger’s words on the layout.
“I set up the golf strategy to make golfers think and make choices… There are going to be different ways to play every hole. Angles of approach are going to be very important and will dictate the type of shots you should consider. I love this kind of golf.”
The venue is very wide open, and the fairways traverse through plenty of natural hills and mounds with some sand traps lurking that could potentially bring bogey or worse into play. Traversing these bunkers and some of the green side bunkers is likely what Woods was referring to when he made this statement. In some ways, the course does look similar to Riviera in setup, but the fairways at Diamante are far wider, and the course will likely play far firmer as well. There is also just a distinct lack of rough, specifically around the greens, which makes this a much easier test for the pros.
The greens will also play nowhere near as firm as some traditional California courses; they’re pure paspalum, a softer grass usually used on courses in hotter climates. However, the greens here are also massive and can be approached in numerous ways. Players with good approach play who are aggressive with their irons will have better luck navigating the tiered pin placements, and it’s no shock that the first two winners at this venue (Eckroat and van Rooyen) are also traditionally great iron players who often score well in SG: Approach and proximity.
Overall, the open design and wider setup with creative greens and fairways make this feel almost like a modern links venue. That may make it a good spot for veteran players who have more experience managing their way around more creative setups, and can gain more on the field with their irons and putting than power off the tee.
In 2023, that theory played out as we saw the top of the leaderboard littered with veteran players, some well into their 40’s:
1. E. van Rooyen -27
T2. M. Kuchar -25
C. Villegas -25
4. J. Suh -24
T5. R. Palmer -22
The fact we had a top three of Villegas, Kuchar, and van Rooyen that season (who shot 63 in Round 4) showcases the fact that you don’t need to be a power player around this venue to go low. All three men also finished inside the top five in putts per GIR and were 13th in GIR%. In short, they avoided trouble at all costs and allowed their putters to carry them on this easier course, where the strategy is just to play steady and hope your putter finds its groove early.
2025 Weather Update: The weather this year looks hot and mostly calm. Temperatures look set to reach at least the high 80-degree Fahrenheit range most days with no rain expected. The wind has been calm in the first two editions of this event hosted around Cabo, and this year doesn’t look much different. There are a few gusts expected around noon on Thursday, but the morning wave looks relatively calm. Friday looks even better with the afternoon showing almost no wind. As of now, you’d expect little wave splits, but the Thursday a.m./Friday p.m. wave does look like it may get the slightly better draw as of writing.
Last 5 winners
2024 — Austin Eckroat -24 (over Justin Lower and Carson Young -23)
2023 — Eric van Rooyen -27 (over Matt Kuchar and Camilo Villegas -25)
2022 — Russell Henley -23 (over Brian Harman -19)
2021 — Viktor Hovland -23 (over Carlos Ortiz -19)
2020 — Viktor Hovland -20 (over Aaron Wise -19)
*Played at El Cameleon from 2007 to 2022
Winning Trends
- Five of the last six winners had recorded a top-16 finish in one of their previous four starts before winning here.
- Each of the past six winners had played in at least one fall series event prior to winning this event.
Winners Stats and Course Overview
2024 Winner: Austin Eckroat -24
(2023 lead-in: T46 – T46 – T18 – T6 – MC)
- van Rooyen ranked T13 in GIR% in 2023 but was 2nd in putts per GIR. He was quite accurate off the tee, but also made up a lot of strokes by making three eagles on the week.
- Eckroat was similar as he ranked just T13 in GIR%, but outperformed on the greens.
- The need to take advantage of the par 5’s this week is paramount, and both of the second-place finishers in Kuchar and Villegas were leaders in Par 5 scoring and efficiency last year.
- You don’t want to deemphasize ball-striking too much, as Justin Suh and Chesson Hadley both had great ball-striking weeks (leaders in GIR and Good Drives), but neither ranked quite as high in putting metrics (and Hadley had zero Eagles).
- This week will be a bit of a lottery, but players with good recent form who have high birdie/eagle conversion rates will be in a good spot to go low on this setup.
Finding Values on DraftKings Sportsbook
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Pierceson Coody +3500 and $8,600
Comparables:
- Keith Mitchell +3500 and $8,700
- Nick Taylor +3500 and $8,800
Jesper Svensson +4000 and $8,000
Comparables:
- Jacob Bridgeman +4000 and $8,300
- Emiliano Grillo +4000 and $8,400
- Matt Wallace +4500 and $8,100
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
Recent Form
1. Rico Hoey ($10,000; T2-T3): Had a really nice outing in Japan last time out, where he closed with a 63, and followed that up with a T2 in Utah. Looks ready to break through any week.
2. Michael Thorbjornsen ($9,500; T37/T3/T29): Slumped a little in Utah but is still outperforming with his ball-striking. If his putter gets hot, could easily break through this week, and his price for DFS has gone down a bit, making him a better value proposition.
3. Kevin Yu ($9,100; T15/T20/T11): Playing very solid again after a rougher patch, with three top-20’s in a row. Elite ball-striker so if his putter stays/gets hot, could easily find himself competing for the win on Sunday this week.
4. Garrick Higgo ($9,300; T4/T2/T7): Higgo has come extremely close to winning a couple of times already this fall. The South African loves these off-mainland events and has thrived when scoring is easier as well. After a week off, he should be ready to hit the ground running at an event where he finished top 10 last season.
5. Sam Ryder ($7,400; T51/T20): Ryder drifted off poorly in the final round in Utah, but was in the top 10 before teh final day. Overall, he’s made three cuts in a row and is striking it well. A dark horse who could contend this week if he can find his range on the greens.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Big Field GPP Strategy: Si Woo Kim = legit upside
Despite the fact that he’s gone winless for a couple of seasons, there is a pretty solid argument that Si Woo Kim may, in fact, be the most talented player in this field. He also comes in just a couple of starts removed from a T6 he achieved over in England at the very competitive BMW PGA and finished T20 in his last PGA start in Japan. Overall, I don’t expect him to be super popular in larger fields, making him a nice higher-end pivot. Jesper Svensson ($8,000) is another name with good upside in this field and comes at a cheaper price. German Matthias Schmid ($7,500) is also capable of going low on a course like El Cardonal and has had some big weeks in these off-mainland events like Corales and Bermuda. Some other names further down the list that could be used as GPP punt options include David Lipsky ($6,800 – see below), David Ford ($6,700), Joel Dahmen ($6,600), and Adam Schenk ($6,600). If you need even cheaper, Hayden Buckley ($6,300) has had some decent starts in tropical climates and is coming off a T27 in Utah.
MY PICK: Thorbjorn Olesen ($9,200)
Olesen comes into this week riding a solid fall heater. The 35-year-old has finished T14 and T3 in his last two PGA fall starts and also added a T9 finish over in Spain a few weeks back. He’s currently gaining big on approach (over +2.0 strokes on Approach in each of his last two starts), which is a great sign for him as his ball-striking can often be somewhat scattered.
Whatever the case, this wide-open venue where low scoring is needed is ideal for the Dane who has multiple wins in Europe on similar layouts, including St. Andrews, the home course for the Alfred Dunhill Links, and is coming off a T3 at the equally wide-open Black Desert venue in Utah. While he’ll be playing El Cardonal for the first time this season, he’s played all over the world at this point in his career and has a putter that has performed on a variety of different surfaces of late, including Utah, where he gained over 6.9 strokes putting for the week.
With no heavy favorite and a wide open course where outperforming on the greens will be important, Olesen looks like the perfect target for GPPs this week. He’s also a player I wouldn’t hesitate to add in the outright market for betting on DraftKings Sportsbook, where he’s currently as big as +3000 to win this week.
MY SLEEPER: David Lipsky ($6,800)
This feels like a good spot to look back to an old friend in Lipsky. The American tore off a big week for us back at the John Deere Classic when he entered the final hole tied for the lead but ended up missing out on the playoff by a stroke. He’s regressed a bit since posting back-to-back 3rd place finishes in July, but is riding a two-event made cut streak and really only struggled on the greens in Japan.
Overall, these sorts of wide open courses, where the scoring is easier and the greens are slow, have been Lipsky’s bread and butter. He finished T6 at the Mexico Open back in 2022 (also played on Paspalum greens) and has a T4 at the Sony Open, which features slower Bermuda and is also played in tropical climates. Lipsky has also welcomed the course change from Mayakoba to El Cardonal, as he finished a strong T6 at this venue last season, shooting three rounds of 67 or better to finish the event.
While he’s coming off a poor putting week, these greens should be more to his liking and, overall, he’s gained over 3.0 strokes putting in three of his last six events, so if he turns things around, the upside for a monster week is certainly there on a wide-open course like Cardonal. He’s a solid addition to GPP player pools this week at just $6,800.
