WM Phoenix Open DraftKings golf picks 2023: Best PGA DFS lineup

WM Phoenix Open DraftKings golf picks for the elevated event at TPC Scottsdale with top plays and fades from each price tier and our best PGA DFS lineup.

There’s no party like a bunch of golf fans watching the sport in the middle of the desert, and such is the thesis for this week’s WM Phoenix Open. TPC Scottsdale will once again host the PGA Tour’s most raucous crowd, this year doing so as an elevated event with eight of the Top 10-ranked players in the world. And that makes the DraftKings golf slate all the more enticing with a host of big names available to play in PGA DFS contests.

Last week was a disaster at Pebble Beach for our DraftKings golf picks. A heavy reliance on Matthew Fitzpatrick prior to news of his injury and then also on Ben Griffin, who missed the cut, really gave us no shot to cash our PGA DFS lineup. Here’s to hoping that the WM Phoenix Open is a bit kinder to us this week.

So let’s dive into it and find the ones who will get the crowd at the (in)famous 16th hole to reach a fever pitch. We’ll be going through our top players (along with other considerations) for each price range and one player to fade from each range above the $6K guys before constructing our lineup. These are our WM Phoenix Open DraftKings golf picks for the week.

DraftKings picks for WM Phoenix Open PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10,000: Xander Schauffele ($10,000) – This really goes back to one of my proven strategies in a loaded field like this. If you think there is a guy who can win at the bottom of the price range, you should go after him. Schauffele is my outright pick to win this week, so I obviously believe that. He has a T2 and T3 here in the last two years and his all-around polished profile suits what you need to win here as a ball-striker who can get hot putting. Also Consider: Jon Rahm ($11,000), Rory McIlroy ($10,800), Scottie Scheffler ($10,300)

$9,000: Tom Kim ($9,100) – Yes, you have to drive the ball well at TPC Scottsdale. Tom Kim does, he just doesn’t drive it far. The truth of the matter is that the 20-year-old has proven he doesn’t need the length to succeed and his iron play is immaculate. I love what he should be able to do on approach this week at this tournament and think he finishes extremely well. Also Consider: Max Homa ($9,900), Justin Thomas ($9,800), Collin Morikawa ($9,700), Viktor Hovland ($9,300)

$8,000: Rickie Fowler ($8,000) – Has Rickie Fowler been lost in the wilderness? Absolutely. Are there now signs, though, that he’s climbing out of that and finding his way into form and is now heading to a place where he’s a past champion and has traditionally played well? Also absolutely. Fowler already has three Top 11 finishes in six starts since September and was T11 at the Farmers in his last start. He’s also gaining more than a stroke per round tee-to-green in his last 16, so I love the potential value of playing him here. Also Consider: Cameron Young ($8,900), Sahith Theegala ($8,500), Taylor Montgomery ($8,300), Shane Lowry ($8,200)

$7,000: Chris Kirk ($7,300) – Whenever Chris Kirk is firing with his irons, you have to play him. So seeing that he’s gaining 0.54 strokes per round on approach over his last 20, I have to do it. It also helps that Kirk finished T11 here a year ago and T14 as well back in 2018. This is a course that suits him when he’s in form and it certainly seems as if that’s the case coming into this tournament. Also Consider: Jason Day ($7,900), Billy Horschel ($7,800), Alex Noren ($7,600), Seamus Power ($7,600), Keith Mitchell ($7,400), J.T. Poston ($7,300), Adam Hadwin ($7,100), Taylor Moore ($7,000)

$6,000: Sam Ryder ($6,800) – He of acing the 16th hole last year fame, Sam Ryder flirted with a win a couple of weeks ago at the Farmers. He came up short, but he’s been playing quite nicely. Ryder has gained 0.91 strokes on approach per round over his last 20 and finished inside the Top 25 here last year. I think he continues to display good form and, even if he doesn’t notch another hole-in-one, comes out with a nice finish. Also Consider: Russell Knox ($6,900), Martin Laird ($6,700), Matt Wallace ($6,600), Scott Piercy ($6,500)

DraftKings golf picks for WM Phoenix Open PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10,000: Tony Finau ($10,100) – Based purely on the numbers, the WM Phoenix Open should be a great tournament for Tony Finau and he does, in fact, have a playoff loss at TPC Scottsdale. But for me, this comes down to the rest of his history, which is three missed cuts in four starts over the last five years. For whatever reason, he just hasn’t played well consistently here, so he’s ruled out based on the strength of the rest of the $10K range.

$9,000: Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,000) – This isn’t a vindictive fade after what happened last week at Pebble Beach, but it is related. Frankly, it just doesn’t appear that Fitzpatrick is 100% healthy right now. While his game should be suited to play well at TPC Scottsdale, the truth of the matter is that the players around him are too talented for me to think I’m not taking them over the reigning U.S. Open champion.

$8,000: Sam Burns ($8,600) – I know that Sam Bruns has proven he has win equity on the PGA Tour, but I don’t see it here. His four starts at the WM Phoenix Open have resulted in three missed cuts and a T22. Moreover, over his last 20 rounds, he’s losing more than a half-stroke per round on approach, which will get you behind the 8-ball in this tournament. I prefer quite a bit more of the $8K range — almost all of it — to Burns this week.

$7,000: Taylor Pendrith ($7,400) – Fading Pendrith burned me quite a bit last week as he ended up finishing T7. But when you look at it, so much of that was based on a hot putter, which I never will trust week-to-week. His approach numbers have been bad over his recent starts and, if he isn’t putting the daylights out of the ball, I don’t see how he comes up with any kind of good finish in this field.

WM Phoenix Open: Best DraftKings golf lineup

• Rory McIlroy ($10,800)
• Xander Schauffele ($10,000)
• Rickie Fowler ($8,000)
• Chris Kirk ($7,300)
• Adam Hadwin ($7,100)
• Sam Ryder ($6,800)

Skipping this completely loaded $9K range does feel a little dirty, but the win equity between Rory and Xander for me is too great to pass up. I’ve already touched on Fowler, Kirk and Ryder, but Hadwin is a sneaky good play as well, gaining 0.66 strokes on approach per round over his last 20 rounds, notching two Top 20s in his last three starts, and finishing T26 here last year.

He rounds out this stars and scrubs approach nicely with upside in all of the value plays, but also a decently high floor.

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