We found the winner, and the runner up last week, so let's do it again! This week we head on over to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas for the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge. 132 players tee it up this week to compete for their share of the $9,900,000 purse. will Ben Griffin defend his title or will a new challenger reign supreme?

Don't forget, when looking to build your lineups, make sure to take advantage of our PGA DFS Projections, PGA DFS Ownership, and PGA DFS Lineup Optimizer to get every advantage you can. 

Let’s dive in!

 

THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 2026: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

Hosted at the beautiful Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, the Charles Schwab Challenge has been a mainstay on tour since 1946. While there have been various title sponsors, this event is perhaps more associated with Colonial than any one sponsor. This event is just one of 5 tournaments given invitational status by the PGA Tour, and even includes the “Champion's Choice” tradition where former champions select two young, up-and-coming players, who would otherwise be ineligible to compete. Many notable players, including Jordan Spieth, made their first appearance here through this tradition, including 1967 winner Dave Stockton, who remains the only Champion's Choice player to win this event. This event is also well known for being the event where Annika Sorenstam became this first woman to play in a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias made 3 separate cuts in 1945. 

 

Colonial Country Club: Course Breakdown This Week

Colonial Country Clubs has a long history with the PGA Tour, as it has hosted a yearly event since 1946 and a U.S. Open prior in 1941. Playing as a Par 70 at just under 7,300 yards, most of the course is made up of long par 3s and short par 4s. The par 3s all play between 194 and 248 yards, with the par 4s playing between 385 and 480 yards. Given the general lack of distance on these holes, it should be no surprise that this course rewards ball-striking and positional golf above distance. Even on the Par 5’s, where some distance does come with them playing at 581 and 639 yards, these are some of the easier holes on the course historically. 

While this course is one of the more predictive on tour (15th), it's worth noting that this is not something I'm heavily weighting this week. For example, Davis Riley is the leader in strokes gained per round in the field, but has missed cuts in 2 of the last 4 years (though he won and T4'd in the other two) and previous winners Chris Kirk and Kevin Kisner have missed 3 cuts over the last 5 years here. History can help us here, but recent form trumps it this week. 

Given that distance is not a defense at this venue, it should be no surprise that this is a tighter course. CCC has the third most narrow fairways on tour, averaging just 27 yards wide. Historically speaking, this is the 2nd hardest course on tour when it comes to gaining strokes of the tee, putting a premium on Good Drives Gained this week. We’ve also seen winners here while they’ve lost strokes around the green such as Jason Kokrak, who lost two strokes around the greens in 2021. The short game around the green is not what is going to win you the event this week. That said, the smaller than average greens players will see this week take some of the importance out of three putt avoidance as well. Simply put, if you can putt and have a strong iron game going into this event, you should be set up very well.

This course has been both very scorable, and very difficult to score on in recent years, and that is largely due to the wind combined with the fast and firm conditions that Texas gives us. Over the last 5 years, we’ve seen scores between -8 and -15. At time of writing, given multiple days of projected rain, and windy days, I’m expecting the scoring to be on the lower end of that spectrum. 

Some key stats this week will include SG: Approach, Par 4 scoring average, Proximity from 125-200, SG: Putting, Good Drives Gained, and Double Bogeys Avoided.  

 

Charles Schwab Challenge 2026 Field: Golf DFS

Given the non-signature nature of this event, it should be no surprise that we see a weaker field yet again, though this is stronger than what we saw last week at the CJ Cup. J.J. Spaun leads the way as the sole top 10 player in the field, and is joined by Russell Henley, Ludvig Aberg, Robert Macintyre, Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, and Hideki Matsuyama from the top 20. Griffin is defending his title this week, and is joined by Davis Riley, Emiliano Grillo, Kevin Kisner, and Chris Kirk as previous winners in the field this week. 

 

 

This Week’s PGA DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator

To enhance your daily fantasy golf selections and secure optimal PGA DFS values, it's advisable to utilize our PGA DFS optimizer and lineup generator. This optimizer serves as a valuable resource for daily fantasy golf enthusiasts aiming to develop effective lineups!

It provides projections, updates on player injuries, and a range of analytical insights to facilitate the lineup-building process. Essentially, it functions as a strategic advantage for participants in daily fantasy golf and makes their own PGA DFS picks!

PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (15-22 Overall, +1.68 Units)

  • Andrew Putnam Top 20 (+270)
  • Justin Thomas Top 5 (+610)
  • One and Done Picks
    • Alex Smalley
    • Jackson Suber
 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Ludvig Aberg ($10,500 DraftKings/$12,600 FanDuel)

It feels like Ludvig has done everything but win this year. He's recorded 3 straight top 10's, and 8 straight top 21 or better finishes on tour this year after a rough start to the season. He also leads the field in Strokes Gained over his last 16 rounds, Strokes Gained: Ball-striking, and is 2nd in Birdie or Better Percentage and 5th in Bogey Avoidance over his last 24 rounds. He's the favorite on paper this week, and for good reason.

Rickie Fowler ($9,600 DraftKings/$11,400 FanDuel)

Fowler has arguably the most underrated profile in my model. He's field average or above in every metric in the model this week, and has multiple top 20 finishes at this venue. He struggled at the PGA, but rattled off 3 straight top 10 finishes prior to that week. His recent form is strong, and really only struggled with his putter at the PGA and the bentgrass greens we have this week play right into his strengths. 

Alex Smalley ($9,100 DraftKings/$10,400 FanDuel)

Smalley has 6 straight top 21 or better finishes, was runner up at the PGA, and is playing some incredibly solid all around golf lately. His biggest weakness this year has been his play around the greens, which we've already pointed out is of nearly zero importance this week. He's got the 2nd most strokes gained in the field over his last 16 rounds, and ranks above field average across the board here. He's going to likely be my most rostered player this week.

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Gary Woodland ($8,400 DraftKings/$10,100 FanDuel)

Given distance not mattering as much this week, I bet it's a bit of a surprise for you to see Woodland here. I'd agree with you, but we can't deny his place here. He's 3rd in Ball-Striking over the last 24 rounds in this field, is top 5 in GIR percentage, top 10 in GIR percentage from the rough and in terms of birdies or better, and is top 15 in Good Drives Gained. This profile SCREAMS this week.

Pierceson Coody ($8,600 DraftKings/$10,300 FanDuel)

Coody has unquestionably cooled off from his hot start to the season, but he still projects as a high upside play this week. His biggest weapon is his driver, but he's shown elite ball-striking upside as well. He's also got strong history here, with back to back top 16 finishes at this venue. He's also the strongest bentgrass putter in this field, and that alone is enough for me to take a swing on him again this week. 

Ryo Hisatsune ($8,500 DraftKings/$10,000 FanDuel)

Much like Coody, Hisatsune has cooled off, but he's showing signs of what made him so profitable early this year. His ball-striking, driving, and scoring are trending in the right direction, and he recorded a top 6 finish at this venue just last year. As long as the putter doesn't fail him this week, he's a high upside swing here in a range that ultimately falls a bit flat for me this week. 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Austin Eckroat ($7,500 DraftKings/$9,000 FanDuel)

Eckroat is 5th in the field in SG: Approach over his last 24 rounds. That'll play. He's finished as the runner up at this event before, and has rattled off 3 straight top 20 finishes on tour, including 2 top 10's. His recent form is strong, his history is good, and I'm seeing no legitimate reasons to not be interested here.

Hayden Springer ($6,600 DraftKings/$7,700 FanDuel)

I tried this last week and he missed the cut but given how rarely 5 under par misses the cut, I'm going to try this again. Springer's profile remains much of the same from last week. He can mash it off the tee, is strong on approach, and has great scoring numbers all around. He's above field average across all stats this week, and even his weakest stats are well above a comfortable range for me. 

Jackson Suber ($6,600 DraftKings/$7,800 FanDuel)

Suber leads my model this week, but even I'm taking that with a grain of salt. I recognize that his performances have been buoyed a bit by recent starts, but I still can't ignore what I'm seeing. He's 12th over his last 16 rounds in Strokes Gained: Total. He's top 10 in ball-striking, 2nd in GIR both overall and from the rough, and he's 12th in Good Drives Gained. That'll play.

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