This week on the PGA Tour, we get the single largest purse of the season. The Players Championship takes place this week at TPC Sawgrass on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. 144 players will compete in one of the most important non-major events of the season. Will back-to-back winner Scottie Scheffler find his form and complete the three-peat? Will a different previous winner take the title from him, or will a younger, new champion emerge? As always, when looking at 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 PLAYERS Championship 2026: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

TPC Sawgrass has been the home for many memorable moments. Since becoming the course for this tournament in 1982, we've seen many highlights. From Jerry Pate winning here in it's first season and throwing Pete Dye and Deane Beman into the water, to Scottie Scheffler coming back from a 5 shot deficit on Sunday to be come the first ever back-to-back winner in tournament history, many a historic moment have happened on this course. This year projects to be no different! Things have changed since the event switched from May to March, but just how much does that matter?

 

 

TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course: Course Breakdown This Week

As many Pete Dye courses are, TPC Sawgrass’s Stadium Course is a tough test. With its fair share of water hazards, green-side bunkers, undulating greens, and designed landing spots, players must be on top of all aspects of their game to compete here. While it’s tough, it certainly can be scored on. The lowest winning score in the last 10 years was Si Woo Kim’s win in 2016-17, where -10 was enough to get it done, but as we saw in 2024 with Scottie, -20 is in the cards here as well. 

As with all Florida courses, weather is something we need to watch. As the winds pick up throughout the day, the course plays tougher the later you tee off. Over the weekend, players going off early tend to have the best chance to climb the leaderboard. Wind is not the only factor we have to worry about, though we do have multiple days over gusts over 20 mph. Last year, Rory and J.J. Spaun had to wait until Monday to get to their playoff holes, which ultimately saw Rory taking home the title. This year, we have rain projected on Thursday, as well as Sunday.

While TPC Sawgrass has seen multiple repeat winners and top finishers here, this course is far less predictive than most. In 2024, for example, Scottie Scheffler was the only player in the top 5 who had a finish better than T19th, with 3 of the 5 having missed cuts in the two years prior. As we go further down the leaderboard, we see even more of this: only three players who finished T16th through T26th (12 total players) had made the cut the previous year. This can be any player's course during any year if their game is on point.


Breaking down the holes, we see our standard 4/10/4 array that is common on all par 72 courses. The Par 3s, save for the iconic 17th hole’s island green, which plays 141 yards, will play between 180 and 236 yards. The Par 4s all fall between 365 and 485 yards, with our 4 Par 5s playing between 535 and 601 yards, respectively. As we’ve commonly seen in the Florida swing, the course features Bermuda grass throughout but we do see some differences. This course is overseeded with Rye in the fairways and Poa Trivialis on the greens. 


When looking at courses that play similarly to TPC Sawgrass, it’s no surprise that many of the other shorter Pete Dye courses play very similarly. Harbour Town, The Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, and TPC River Highlands are the most similar courses. They possess many of the same features, and their leaderboards often overlap with players who are strong ball strikers, who can keep it in play off the tee and scramble well around the greens. As a result, some of the key statistics that will be in this play this week will be SG: Ball-striking, Total Driving, SG: Around-the-Green and Scrambling, Par-5 scoring, and Comp Course History.

 

 

THE PLAYERS Championship 2026 Field: Golf DFS

This week at TPC Sawgrass, we will see 123 players teeing it up for a chance at the title. 2025 Champion Rory McIlroy will be looking to join Scottie Scheffler as just the 2nd back-to-back winner of this event, but these two are not the only champions in the field. Justin Thomas, Si Woo Kim, Jason Day, and Rickie Fowler are previous winners who are in the field as well. 19 of the top 20 players in the world will be in the field this week, as we see both the strongest and deepest field of the season. Given the nature of this event, any player in the field is capable of winning if their game is in the right spot.

 

 

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 THE PLAYERS Championship (6-11 Overall, +4.86 Units)

  • Justin Thomas: Miss Cut (+150)
  • Jake Knapp: Top 20 (+220) 
  • THE PLAYERS One-and-Done Picks: 
    • High End
      • Rory McIlroy
      • Collin Morikawa
    • Low End
      • Si Woo Kim
      • Adam Scott

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier


Rory McIlroy ($12,800 FanDuel/$11,700 DraftKings)

I know Rory just withdrew last week with a back injury, but given that this appeared to be back spasms rather than a strained muscle, I'm willing to bet Rory is just fine this week. Rory dominates this course, is an elite ball-striker, scores as well as anyone and has avoided big numbers at an elite rate. Given the struggles we've seen from Scottie of late, I much prefer Rory at this price to Scottie at his still inflated price. 

Hideki Matusyama ($11,200 FanDuel/$9,500 DraftKings)

While Scottie or Rory is the favorite in most people’s minds, Hideki is my favorite to win this week. Hideki's profile hasn't changed. He can struggle off the tee, but the rest of his game can spike to levels that almost can't be matched, especially around the green. Given his success at this type of venue historically, I can't fade Hideki this week, as much as I may love to finally have an event off from rostering him. 

Collin Morikawa ($11,100 FanDuel/$10,500 DraftKings)

Collin finally got the monkey of being unable to win off his back, and should be a great option this week as well. He's bested only by Si Woo Kim this year as a ball-striker, and he's scoring at one of the highest rates in recent memory. He fits the exact mold of player we're looking for this week, as his iron play and positional success can elevate him to near elite status this week.

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID-TIER

Russell Henley ($10,700 FanDuel/$9,000 DraftKings)

Henley remains the same player he always has been, even as his irons have struggled over the last few weeks. His overall game is so strong that even when he falters with the irons, he can record multiple top 20 finishes. I'm going to bet on the bounce back of his irons this week, and that going with his great game off the tee and around the green, he should be a great option in this range.

Matt Fitzpatrick ($10,800 FanDuel/$8,900 DraftKings)

Fitzpatrick hurt me a bit last week, but I'm going back to the well. He's still a top 20 player off the tee and with the irons. He's scoring and avoiding bogeys at the same rate. He plays positional courses well, and his putter is as good as anyone on these greens. He may hurt me again, but I'm ready to be hurt. 

Kurt Kitayama ($9,400 FanDuel/$7,500 DraftKings)

Keep the putter out of this mans hands and honestly, you could think he's the best player on the planet. He's top 10 in the field in ball-striking, total driving, bogey avoidance, scrambling, and par 4 scoring. He's seriously that good with most clubs. As long as the putter slightly cooperates this week, it would be no surprise for me to see him high up the leaderboard, and in contention come the weekend.

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Ricky Castillo ($8,400 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings)

Coming off a win in Puerto Rico, it should be no surprise to see Castillo sitting here. His iron play has picked up to the point he's in the top half of the field, but he's also strong off the tee, ranking in the top 3rd. He's a top 20 bogey avoider, top 3 scorer, and has great numbers at similar Pete Dye courses overall. Factor in the spike putting weeks he can have, and the great par 5 numbers, and he's got what it takes to work here.

Haotong Li ($7,800 FanDuel/$6,400 DraftKings)

Yet another player where we just want the putter out of his hands (especially if he's in a bunker). Li is a top 15 ball-striker this year, with top 10 numbers off the tee. He creates a ton of scoring chances, but he hasn't been able to convert on them this year. If he can take some of these opportunities and convert them at an average rate, he's a sneaky upside play at this price.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju ($7,100 FanDuel/$6,000 DraftKings)

He's one of the lowest ranked players in this field, but I'm not counting him out here. He's gotten multiple top 20's this year at the Sony Open and Cognizant Classic. He's got strong numbers throughout the bag, and as long as he remains in the short grass, he's got the game to shine at this venue. He also presents a great opportunity to stack a few higher end plays with an upside swing in the 6k range. 

 

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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