The PGA Tour will travel to McKinney, Texas (just North of Dallas) this week for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. This is a tough spot for the CJ Cup to sit on the schedule. The PGA Tour has two Signature Events (Cadillac Championship and Truist Championship), followed by the second major of the season (PGA Championship). The field is not as deep as what we had the last three weeks, but it should still be a fun week for a DFS Contest in Texas.
COURSE BREAKDOWN
TPC Craig Ranch is a Tom Weiskopf designed course which plays as a par 71 and 7,385 yards in length. The course was renovated following the tournament last year. The scores were often -20 or better, so the PGA Tour wanted to make the TPC Craig Ranch tougher. Did they do it?
I still expect TPC Craig Ranch to be one of the easiest courses on the tour. The PGA Tour reshaped the greens and made them faster. They also strategically added bunkers to make tee-shots and approach shots more difficult. The fairways are still wide open, with Zoysia grass that props the ball up like it is on a tee. The course is not long, so driving distance and driving accuracy will not be very important this week. The layout of the fairways should require more long approach shots into the greens. The CJ Cup turned into a putting contest last year and I expect the same this week. The golfers who rank highly in Shots Gained Putting will be in many of my lineups.
Click here to see the course: TPC Craig Ranch
KEY STATS FOR CJ CUP
– Shots Gained Total (Combines off-the-tee, approach, putting and scrambling)
– Shots Gained Approach
– Strokes Gained Putting (Bent Grass)
– Birdie or Better % (We need golfers who can score this week)
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History & Form
TOP 30 GOLFERS
CORE GOLFERS FOR CJ CUP
CJ CUP STRATEGY
Scottie Scheffler has a significant price increase this week as he should. $14,800 is a lot of salary for one player. It leaves you with an average of $7K per golfer for the rest of your lineup. I think the ownership for Scheffler is going to be low in large tournament contests because he is almost unplayable in 20+ entry tournaments. Playing Scheffler means you will have to fill your core with golfers from the lower $7K and $6K price ranges. This will not lead to many lineups that can win. Scheffler is playable if you are playing a Single-Entry Tournament Contest. He should still be lower-owned in this contests, and it is possible to build one good lineup with the best player in the world. My strategy for my Multi-Entry Contests this week is to build balanced lineups with golfers from the $9K and $8K price ranges. This should give us the best chance to get 6/6 golfers through the cut on Friday.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
SI WOO KIM ($9,900): If you are not paying up for Scottie Scheffler, you should start your Cash Contest lineup with the next best golfer in the field. Si Woo Kim lives in Dallas and TPC Craig Ranch is him home course. Si Woo Kim finished 2nd, 13th and 15th the last three times he tee’d it up in the CJ Cup. He has the best chance to compete with Scheffler for the win Sunday.
BROOKS KOEPKA ($9,600): Could this be the week when Koepka gets another win on the PGA Tour? He has been elite from tee-to-green. Kopeka gained an incredible 9 shots on the field from tee-to-green in Myrtle Beach and 4 shots on the field last week at the PGA Championship. His weakness has been his putter. The greens at TPC Craig Ranch are some of the easiest on the PGA Tour. If Koepka putts well this week, he is going to be tough to beat.
ERIC COLE ($8,100): Cole is coming in hot into one of his best tournaments on the PGA Tour Schedule. Cole finished 6th at Myrtle Beach, 6th at the Zurisch Classic and 14th in Texas at the Valero. He also finished 5th in this tournament last year and 23rd in 2023. Cole ranks No. 19 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 7 in SG Approach, No. 3 in SG Putting, No. 1 in Scrambling and No. 2 overall in the Key Stats. Cole is a good pick for all types of contests this week.
STEPHAN JAEGER ($7,700): Jaeger looked really good last week at the PGA Championship where he finished 18th. I expect his game to travel to Texas and Jaeger should be a good pick in this weak field. He has played the CJ Cup four times and has never missed the cut. Jaeger ranks No. 12 in the Key Stats this week. He is a safe pick for your Cash Contest lineup in Texas.
AUSTIN ECKROAT ($7,500): How can you fade Austin in Texas? He finished 2nd in this tournament in 2023. He also finished 19th at Myrtle Beach, 6th at the Zurisch Classic and10th in Texas at the Valero, so his form is good. Eckroat ranks No. 11 in SG tee-to-green, No. 6 in SG Approach and No. 11 overall in the Key Stats. Eckroat is a solid pick for the CJ Cup this week.
MARK HUBBARD ($7,200): Hubbard nearly won his last time out at Myrtle Beach. He was the leader after 54 holes, but lost by one shot. He should continue to roll at TPC Craig Ranch. Hubbard has played this tournament four times and has never missed the cut. That includes a 2nd-place finish last year. His tee-to-green game is solid. Hubbard just needs to putt this week and he should be a threat for a top-10 finish.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ($14,800): I have many lineups in the Multi-Entry attachment with golfers from the $9K and $8K price ranges. I am going to take a chance with Scheffler in this Single-Entry Tournament Contest lineup. I am not going to bore you with the stats for Scheffler and the fact that he won this tournament last year. Just know that we need him to do his thing and the rest of the golfers to make the cut.
ADRIEN DUMOUNT DE CHASSART ($7,400): ADDC (I am not typing out that name many times J) is in great form. He has made every cut since the beginning of February. That includes a 12th-place finish in Texas at the Houston Open and a 49th-place finish in Texas at the Valero. He ranks No. 10 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 30 in SG Approach, No. 2 in Scrambling, No. 4 in SG Putting and No. 5 overall in the Key Stats. ADDC is a good golfer to pair with Scottie Scheffler this week.
JOHN PARRY ($7,300): I need golfers who can make the cut, with some upside to finish in the top-10. Few golfers in the field check that box as well as Parry. He has made 14/14 cuts this year. His last missed cut on the PGA Tour was over a year ago at the PGA Championship. Parry finished 14th in his last tournament in Texas (the Valero). He is a safe pick to make the cut and he has a good chance to finish in the top-10 Sunday.
TONY FINAU ($7,200): You can play it safe and use Mark Hubbard in this spot or you can take a chance with Finau. I already wrote up Hubbard in the Cash Contest lineup, so I will play Finau in this Tournament Contest lineup. Finau used to be one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour. Can he find his game in this weak field? He is typically good in the tournaments with a lot of scoring. Finau has enough upside to be a good pick this week.
PONTUS NYHOLM ($6,800): I doubt many people know who Nyholm is and I doubt they will play him in their lineups. Nyholm has shown some upside this year. He finished 13th at the Cognizant Classic, 16th in Puerto Rico, 14th in Texas at the Houston Open and 31st in Myrtle Beach. He ranks No. 7 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 25 in SG Approach, No. 9 in Ball-Striking and No. 9 overall in the Key Stats. That is not bad for $6,800 this week.
PAUL PETERSON ($6,500): I typically do not like to play Korn Ferry Tour golfers in my lineups, but I will take a chance with Peterson. He is one of the elite short game players on the Korn Ferry Tour and he could get hot if this turns into a putting contest. Peterson finished 5th in Puerto Rico and 11th at Myrtle Beach this year. He has a decent chance to finish in the top-25 in Texas.
Here is my Multi-Entry Tournament Contests Lineups: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the eighth tournament in Segment 2. We still another Signature Event (The Memorial) in this Segment, so use your allocations wisely.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: JORDAN SPIETH (CJ CUP)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Bryson DeChambeau (MC), Cameron Young (10TH), Scottie Scheffler (2ND), Matthew Fitzpatrick (WIN), Jon Rahm (38th), Keith Mitchell (M/C), Brooks Koepka (M/C), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Tommy Fleetwood (7th), Russell Henley (12th), Si Woo Kim (3rd), Jason Day (38th), Ben Griffin (24TH), Hideki Matsuyama (13th)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: ERIC COLE (CJ CUP)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Xander Schauffele (7th), Rory McIlory (19th), Scottie Scheffler (2nd), Sahith Theegala (24TH), Patrick Cantlay (8TH), Bryson DeChambeau (M/C), Jordan Spieth (63RD), Min Woo Lee (3RD), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa(W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Hideki Matsuyama (28th), Justin Rose (37th), Cameron Young (41st), Maverick McNealy (10th), Si Woo Kim (6TH), Russell Henley (19th), Michael Thorbjornsen (7th), Nico Echavarria (46TH), Garrett Higgo (15th), Alex Noren (23rd), Davis Thompson (21st)
BEST BETS FOR THE CJ CUP
The odds are too short to bet Scottie Scheffler this week. You either have to bet the “Winner Without Scheffler” or sit this one out. It is too dangerous to bet against the World’s No. 1 Golfer in such a weak field. Here are my “Winner Without Scheffler” bets this week….
JORDAN SPIETH 12-1
BROOKS KOEPKA 18-1
STEPHAN JAEGER 47-1
ERIC COLE 55-1
AUSTIN ECKROAT 62-1
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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