Breaking down our The Masters DraftKings picks with plays and fades at each pricing tier and building a PGA DFS golf lineup.
What better week for some PGA DFS than a trip to Augusta National Golf Club for the first major championship of the year. That’s right, it’s time for The Masters and, subsequently, our Masters DraftKings picks.
Last week at the Valero Texas Open, we took a page out of Rory McIlroy’s book by just tuning up for Augusta and not performing well. My picks and lineup just didn’t have it and we left too much meat on the bone. That’s okay, though — it happens. We’re back on the horse for a major PGA DFS slate, which means soft pricing, great value and a tough task to make the right picks.
As always, we’re going through every pricing tier with our top plays, our top fades and then building a lineup with what we have. These are the Masters DraftKings picks for this week at Augusta.
DraftKings picks for The Masters PGA DFS lineup: Top Plays
$10,000: Justin Thomas ($10,300) – Thomas is my pick to win The Masters, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He’s been trending towards a win all year but just hasn’t gotten one. He’s also played Augusta well throughout his career, including a fourth-place finish in 2020. His ball-striking is elite right now and I love for him to break through at a major and win the second of his career. So to get him near the bottom of this range is too good to pass up. Also Consider: Jon Rahm ($10,800), Dustin Johnson ($10,500), Viktor Hovland ($10,100)
$9,000: Will Zalatoris ($9,200) – Remember last year when Will Zalatoris threatened to win and finished second in his debut? Me too. His ball-striking is perfect for what you need to succeed at Augusta National Golf Club. The putter is always a worry but it didn’t hinder him last year. I love for him to show up and do that and his pricing is favorable enough to make him my top play in the $9K range. Also consider: Cameron Smith ($9,900), Xander Schauffele ($9,600), Brooks Koepka ($9,400)
$8,000: Tyrrell Hatton ($8,000) – It’s time to give Hatton his flowers for how well he’s playing right now. He has five Top 10 finishes in his last six worldwide starts and hasn’t finished worse than T21 in any of those outings. While his history at Augusta isn’t great, he did finish T18 here last year. I like for him to build on that in his current form and the value for that at this price is outstanding. Also consider: Louis Oosthuizen ($8,900), Shane Lowry ($8,800), Talor Gooch ($8,700), Adam Scott ($8,300), Joaquin Niemann ($8,200)
$7,000: Matt Fitzpatrick ($7,700) – Fitzpatrick has been playing as well as anyone in the world this year, he just doesn’t have the wins to show for it. His Masters showings in the past haven’t been anything to write home about but he’s also never been playing as well as he is right now. He’s one of BetSided’s Iain MacMillan’s winner picks, he’s one of my place finish picks and I love him at this low price. Also consider: Sergio Garcia ($7,800), Corey Conners ($7,600), Marc Leishman ($7,300), Seamus Power ($7,200), Max Homa ($7,100), Robert Macintyre ($7,000)
$6,000: Gary Woodland ($6,900) – This pricing wouldn’t have you believe it, but we’re starting to see the good Gary Woodland emerge again. In three of his last five starts, he’s finished T8 or better and had a T21 in there as well. He’s driving the ball well, his irons are returning to form and he’s got a game to play Augusta well. At this price, I love him as an option to help give more lineup flexibility. Also Consider: Brian Harman ($6,800), J.J. Spaun ($6,700), Bernhard Langer ($6,100)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh-nxEP0Wgo?feature=oembed
DraftKings picks for The Masters PGA DFS lineup: Top Fades
$10,000: Scottie Scheffler ($11,000) – Fading Scheffler this weekend has absolutely nothing to do with his form. Not only has he won three of his last five starts, but he’s finished Top 20 in his two starts at Augusta. This is all about price and lineup construction. The fact that he’s the most expensive player on the slate in a field with soft pricing leads me to look elsewhere in this range to take advantage of loaded $7K and $8K ranges more effectively.
$9,000: Jordan Spieth ($9,800) – Look, I have Spieth as my Top 20 pick but that should tell you why I’m not in on him for your DraftKings lineup. In his current form, I think his feels and knowledge at The Masters gives him Top 20 upside but nothing more. So many other guys in this range have winning upside, which means I’m just not going to have him in any lineup. Fading Hideki Matsuyama with his injury in addition to Bryson DeChambeau with the way he’s playing are more bits of advice for this range as well, something Iain MacMillan on BetSided co-signs (in addition to Spieth).
$8,000: Tony Finau ($8,100) – Last week in Texas, we saw the first signs of real life from Tony Finau in quite a while with a Top 30 finish. Now he comes to a place at Augusta where he’s enjoyed plenty of success in his career. With that said, the trend lines are not in his favor with three missed cuts in his last five starts. There are better options around him and I’m again fading him this week.
$7,000: Webb Simpson ($7,500) – Another player who has a great history at The Masters, Simpson has been all out of sorts in his sporadic starts due to injury this year, only playing twice since mid-January with a missed cut and a T48 to his name. He doesn’t seem healthy and I just can’t buy into him when there is so much value in the $7K range with that kind of uncertainty.
The Masters: Best DraftKings golf lineup
- Justin Thomas ($10,300)
- Viktor Hovland ($10,100)
- Tyrrell Hatton ($8,000)
- Matt Fitzpatrick ($7,700)
- Robert Macintyre ($7,000)
- Gary Woodland ($6,900)
This lineup actually makes me slightly uncomfortable as I’m skipping the entire $9K range and most of the $8K range, but that actually makes me like it a bit more. So often for majors with soft pricing, you look at your lineup and feel great — but so does everyone. You have to take some swings and pivots that others might not.
I feel I’m doing that by rolling out my two favorites in the $10K range in Thomas and Hovland and then finding some high-upside value in the lower ranges. We already talked about Hatton, Fitzpatrick and Woodland but I love Macintyre. He’s playing pretty well this year with three Top 15 finishes worldwide in his last four starts and a T35 last week in San Antonio. After finishing T12 here a year ago, he’s a great way to round out this lineup.