Breaking down our Charles Schwab Challenge DraftKings picks for the PGA DFS slate this week with top plays, fades and building a lineup.
Don’t get caught up in the narrative that there’s a letdown after the major championship. We’re heading to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth this week for the Charles Schwab Challenge and the field is surprisingly loaded this week. And there are also a ton of opportunities to take advantage of that with your DraftKings picks and PGA DFS lineup for this week.
We cashed last week with our PGA Championship best lineup in tournament play, though it wasn’t a big payday. Still, profit is profit and we’ll take that, especially when majors can be a bit difficult to tackle in this circle with the way pricing shakes out.
Now it’s time to look at this juicy slate for the Charles Schwab Challenge as we look at our top plays from each pricing tier in addition to our top fades and then use our DraftKings picks to build a winning PGA DFS lineup this week.
DraftKings picks for Charles Schwab Challenge PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays
$10,000: Viktor Hovland ($10,000) – For me, this decision came down to Hovland and Spieth. Not only does Spieth have a phenomenal course history at Colonial but he’s striking the heck out of the ball right now. I love him too, but the upside with Hovland is too good to pass up. His ball-striking and control fit this course beautifully, as does the less-than-penal areas around the green. He seems primed to pop up for a win or something close this week and we’re riding it. Oh yeah, he’s also one of BetSided’s Iain MacMillan’s picks to win this week. Also Consider: Scottie Scheffler ($11,200), Jordan Spieth ($10,400)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ene_Zn2vTjs?feature=oembed
$9,000: Max Homa ($9,400) – Over the last 40 rounds, only five players in the field have been gaining over 0.8 strokes per round on approach. Hovland, Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Max Homa. He ranks third among that group in that category but is also the most accurate driver of that group as well. He thrives on courses when there isn’t an emphasis on short game and in which you need to be accurate off the tee and on approach. That’s this place and he’s proving himself to be an elite player week in and week out. Also Consider: Sungjae Im ($9,200), Daniel Berger ($9,000)
$8,000: Davis Riley ($8,400) – Riley is one of the many rookies on the PGA Tour showing a lot of signs that he’s ready to win. He has been in the Top 10 in three of his last four starts and the Top 15 in all of the last four outings. His short game has proven to be top-notch all season but his ball-striking has come around, gaining around 1.5 strokes per round off the tee plus approach in his last 12 rounds. He’s my pick to win this week and I love the value here. Also Consider: Talor Gooch ($8,900), Tommy Fleetwood ($8,800), Kevin Na ($8,100)
$7,000: Chris Kirk ($7,900) – After a couple of missed cuts leading in, Chris Kirk recaptured the ball-striking form he was displaying earlier in the season with a T5 at the PGA Championship. He’s been in form most of the year and found it again last week while also putting well. I love for him to keep that up on a course where he’s had plenty of past success. Also Consider: Brian Harman ($7,800), Harold Varner III ($7,800) Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($7,600), Rickie Fowler ($7,400), Joel Dahmen ($7,200), J.J. Spaun ($7,100)
$6,000: Austin Smotherman ($6,300) – While I love Doug Ghim as well, the price on Smotherman just doesn’t make sense and you should be willing to take advantage of that. He loses strokes with his short game routinely but he’s been T25 in his last two tournaments in addition to making four straight cuts. At a course where short game won’t be all that important, he’s a great addition to add tremendous flexibility to your lineup. Also Consider: Peter Malnati ($6,800), Doug Ghim ($6,700), Mark Hubbard ($6,400), Tyler Duncan ($6,300), Adam Schenk ($6,000)
DraftKings picks for Charles Schwab Challenge PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades
$10,000: Will Zalatoris ($10,100) – A pretty tried and true strategy is to fade guys who were in contention at a major championship the week prior to a tournament like the Charles Schwab. Zalatoris playing 75 holes last week certainly qualifies for that. I think, even with his ball-striking prowess, he struggles this week, especially considering that he ranks outside of the Top 175 on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy this season.
$9,000: Tony Finau ($9,100) – For starters, Finau has never been a particularly accurate drive of the ball, which doesn’t suit what Colonial asks of players to begin with. When you then factor in his short game, an aspect that has been awful as of late, and that the rest of his ball-striking hasn’t been much to write home about either, it’s hard to justify paying this price for him in your DraftKings lineup.
$8,000: Mito Pereira ($8,600) – Pereira is a great ball-striker who, frankly, should’ve won the PGA Championship. The manner in which he lost, however, makes him a fade for me. Sure, he handled it extremely well after the round, but that’s so emotionally and even physically taxing to be playing in contention and then blow it. I don’t love him in this spot after that, especially in an $8K range that has some real studs.
$7,000: Patrick Reed ($7,400) – Reed is an auto-fade at this point, even at this price. He hasn’t finished inside the Top 25 since the first tournament of 2022 at the Sentry and has several missed cuts along the way. His ball-striking is awful right now and even his trademark short game hasn’t been up to his standards. It’s a tough scene, but avoid the trouble in your lineup.
Charles Schwab Challenge: Best DraftKings golf lineup
- Viktor Hovland ($10,000)
- Max Homa ($9,400)
- Davis Riley ($8,400)
- Chris Kirk ($7,900)
- Brian Harman ($7,800)
- Austin Smotherman ($6,300)
This lineup leaves $200 on the table, which is good if there’s somewhere you want to pivot a bit because you have the flexibility. We’re also fitting in our top plays from each pricing range, so you know why I love all of these guys this week.
The lone outsider from that group is Brian Harman, a player who led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach in the final round of the PGA Championship and has the perfect combination of accuracy and ball-striking to compete at Colonial. This lineup feels like an easy cash this week.