Genesis Invitational PGA DFS picks 2024: Best DraftKings golf lineup

The Genesis Invitational is always one of the best events on the PGA Tour calendar with the test that Riviera Country Club provides. With it being a signature event in the 2024 season, that's even more so -- and is even further increased with Tiger Woods making his official return to the PGA Tour at long last. And this is all a ton of fun, but also challenging when it comes to the PGA DFS contests on DraftKings.

With a limited 70-player field but also a cut that includes the Top 50 and anyone within 10 strokes of the lead after two rounds, the player pool on DraftKings is limited. However, that also creates some value opportunities in PGA DFS markets that we must take advantage of -- and there are plenty of ways to do so when building your lineup.

So who should you be playing? Who should you be fading? We've got the answers as we run down each pricing tier and then build a lineup with our Genesis Invitational PGA DFS picks for DraftKings.

Genesis Invitational DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays

$10K Range: Scottie Scheffler ($11,500) - At some point, you just have to lean into it with Scottie Scheffler. You'll be hard-pressed to find any event where he's not the heavy favorite and most expensive player on the PGA DFS slate. But he should be. His ball-striking numbers are Tiger-esque right now. He has one finish outside the Top 6 in five starts starting with winning the Hero. It's expensive, but there's no denying he's worth the price. Also Consider: Rory McIlroy ($11,200), Xander Schauffele ($10,100)

$9K Range: Ludvig Åberg ($9,200) - I'm in love with the 9K range this week almost top-to-bottom. So picking a Top Play was not easy, but I'm landing on my winner pick for The Genesis, Ludvig Åberg. Truly, the only reason to not like Åberg this week is because he has no course history at Riviera. But his elite driving and popping approach play combined with a recently hot putter all check the right boxes. There will be multiple 9K guys in my lineup, but Ludvig is where I'm starting. Also Consider: Collin Morikawa ($9,500), Justin Thomas ($9,100), Jordan Spieth ($9,000)

$8K Range: Adam Scott ($8,200) - Full disclosure, this was a two-horse race between Adam Scott and Cameron Young with the advantage going to the former simply because he's $300 cheaper on DraftKings. But Scott is worth most prices with how he's playing. He dominates at Riviera, winning twice and finishing inside the Top 11 six times in his last nine trips here. Oh yeah, he's also flushing it right now, gaining 1.7 strokes ball striking and also gaining with the putter over his last 12 measured rounds. This as much of a no-brainer as you'll find. Also Consider: Tony Finau ($8,900), Sahith Theegala ($8,600), Cameron Young ($8,500), Wyndham Clark ($8,300)

$7K Range: Will Zalatoris ($7,900) - Definitely planting my flag with Will Zalatoris, but I love what I'm seeing right now. He's played four times since returning from injury and has improved with each start, most recently finishing Top 15 and gaining strokes in every category at the Farmers. His swing has looked back and the putter has been pretty decent. Now we come to a course where he has three starts and no finishes outside the Top 30 with two Top 15s and a Top 5 last year. I think this is a real welcome-back party for him at The Genesis. Also Consider: Nicolai Hojgaard ($7,900), Hideki Matsuyama ($7,400), Nick Taylor ($7,200), Sepp Straka ($7,100)

$6K Range: Kurt Kitayama ($6,900) - In the limited-field event, there is some decent value in the 6K range but it's hard to look away from Kurt Kitayama. He has finished inside the Top 40 in four starts so far in 2024 and his ball-striking has been on-point, gaining 1.65 strokes tee-to-green. After a T8 last week at Phoenix, I think his game is in form to potentially have a good showing at Riviera. Also Consider: Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($6,700), Tom Hoge ($6,700), Tiger Woods ($6,500), Kevin Yu ($6,300), Grayson Murray ($6,100)

Genesis Invitational DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades

$10K Range: Viktor Hovland ($10,000) - When you look at past performance both at Riviera and overall, it's not hard to love Viktor Hovland. When you look at recent form, however, that becomes harder to justify. Hovland has three starts at The Genesis with two Top 5s and another Top 20. But he's lost 0.7 strokes on approach over his last 12 rounds, which is supposed to be a staple of his game. Maybe the week off after WD'ing at Phoenix will help, but that's too risky of a gamble for my blood.

$9K Range: Patrick Cantlay ($9,300) - Patrick Cantlay very much falls into the Hovland category. We know how good he can be and he's had some good finishes at The Genesis (T3 last year). But we aren't seeing his best game of late. He's lost strokes across the board in his last 12 measured rounds and his T11 at Pebble Beach looks like an outlier after finishing outside the Top 50 the two weeks prior at Farmers and AmEx. Until I see sustained high-level play, I'm out on Cantlay.

$8K Range: Sungjae Im ($8,000) - The theme of this week's fades might as well be the "Show Me Somethings". Much like the others, Sungjae Im has been a stud for a while, but not recently. He hasn't finished inside the Top 60 in any of his last three starts and, most concerning, he's bleeding strokes on approach over his last 12 measured rounds. It's not good form right now for how Sungjae looks when he's contending, so he's an easy fade at a course he also hasn't had too much success at with only one Top 40 in his last four starts at Riviera.

$7K Range: Rickie Fowler ($7,400) - We're still fading Rickie Fowler because the game just isn't there right now. We did so last week at Phoenix and he missed the cut by a mile. His driving and putting have been legitimate disasters, losing more than a stroke in each category over the last 12 measured rounds and losing on approach, though less so, too. Whatever juice he found in 2023 has gone away right now and there's no way you should trust him in your lineup.

Genesis Invitational 2024: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup

We're skipping the 10K range entirely, which could be risky, but I love the mid-tiers way too much. That gets us Åberg, Scott, Zalatoris and Kitayama all in this lineup, which fits the bill for our top plays at The Genesis.

Beyond that, Justin Thomas feels simply underpriced at $9,100. His T12 last week was his worst finish since the Wyndham at the end of last season and he's doing it in the way that JT wins, with ball-striking and some crafty short game. He's finished T6 and T20 here the past two years, so I love for him to show up in this form and thrive.

That leaves us with Cameron Young, another guy who is trending. Young has gained 1.6 strokes ball striking over the last 12 measured rounds but the putter is also heating a bit. He's finished T20 and as a runner-up at Riviera in two starts, and it makes sense given his driving and strengths as a player, so I'm marrying the recent form, DNA and history here as an easy play.