DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Presidents Cup Cash and GPP Strategy

This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.

PRESIDENTS CUP

Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Course: Royal Montreal Golf Club (Blue Course)
Yardage: 7,279
Par: 70
2022 champion: United States

Tournament Preview

With the United States holding a 12-1-1 record all-time over the International team in the Presidents Cup, it doesn't look like it's been much of a fight. But just like objects in our sideview mirror, things are closer than they appear.

Heading into the 15th edition of the biennial competition at Royal Montreal Golf Club, it's worth noting that the last time the Internationals were the home team, the winning U.S. margin was two points, and the time before that it was only one. The margin was five when the Cup was last contested at Royal Montreal back in 2007. This year's captains, Jim Furyk and Mike Weir, played in the competition back then.

The U.S. side has always had the better golfers -- and does again this time around -- so the Internationals could use all the benefits of a home game, notably the majority of the fans and the preferred course setup.

The Americans are not as strong 1 through 12 as in past years, but they do have by far the two best golfers in the world over the past year in Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. Throw in Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala, and Furyk should avoid becoming only the second U.S. captain to lose both a Ryder and Presidents Cup. (But if he did, he'd be in good company alongside Jack Nicklaus.)

Furyk has five of the top-10 players in the world rankings and nine of the top-20. Weir has one top-10 in Hideki Matsuyama and after that there's a precipitous drop. He has a second top-20 in Adam Scott, who will be making his 11th straight Cup appearance going back to 2003, plus Sungjae Im and Tom Kim. Weir also stacked his team with three fellow Canadians in Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes, each of whom should keep the home crowd energized all week.

Royal Montreal holds the distinction of being the oldest golf club in North America dating to 1873. That's club, not course, because the club has moved twice through the years, most recently to its present location in 1959.

It is on a 45-hole property and the Blue Course will be in play this week, as it was for the 2007 Presidents Cup and five Canadian Opens, most recently in 2014 (when Furyk blew a 54-hole lead to South African and former International team member Tim Clark).

The Dick Wilson design underwent significant modifications by Rees Jones leading to the 2007 Cup. There has been no recent tournament of consequence to offer insight how the course will play. It's not exactly short as a nearly 7,300-yard par-70 with just two par-5s, but flyover footage also illustrates the importance of putting the ball in the narrow, tree-lined fairways that average 25-30 yards wide. There are 71 bunkers, either strategically placed at fairway landing spots or guarding the smallish but multi-level bentgrass/poa greens that average 5,000 square feet. The front-nine gives a parkland vibe while all the water on the course is on six holes on the back, including the final five.

The rough is Kentucky bluegrass, though the length interestingly was listed as TBD on the official Golf Course Superintendents fact sheet. The GCSAA sheet also said there was 10 inches of rain in August, forcing the club to close for a few days and making it difficult to mow the rough. 

This is the second time DraftKings has had games for the Presidents Cup.

They play five "rounds" from Thursday through Sunday encompassing 30 total points. They'll begin with five foursomes (alternate shot) on Thursday and continue with five four-balls (best ball) on Friday, four foursomes on Saturday morning, four four-balls on Saturday afternoon and end with 12 singles matches on Sunday.

Every golfer's price is listed below. However, we don't know the pairings yet, and won't until Wednesday.

All lineups must be set up in Captain Mode, same as is done for the Ryder Cup. While there will be the traditional six-man lineups with a $50,000 salary cap, we must pick a team "captain." It is far from a ceremonial decision. Your lineup captain will accrue 1 1/2 times the points he would have under ordinary circumstances, but here's the catch -- and you knew there would be -- he will cost 1 1/2 times his designated price. For example, Scheffler is the top guy at $11,600 but would cost you a whopping $17,400 as your captain, almost 35 percent of your budget.

Since there are only 24 guys in the competition, we will list them all right here, with the regular salary price and Captain price.

As you can see, the prices are heavily weighted toward the Americans, which is understandable considering their collective higher world rankings. The top three guys and seven of the top 10 on the DK board are American, while the bottom three are Internationals. (At the DK Sportsbook, the top SIX guys to finish with most points for the week are all Americans.)

It should go without saying that you should not lock in a lineup until seeing who the two-man teams are on Thursday and who will be playing against whom. Don't forget that only 10 golfers on each side will play on Thursday.

While we don't know the pairings as of this writing, we might have some indications as to who might be playing with whom.

On Monday, Finau, Clark, Schauffele and Cantlay practiced together, as did Burns, Scheffler, Henley and Bradley, and also, Harman, Homa, Morikawa and Theegala. That tracks with past pairings of Cantlay-Schauffele, Burns-Scheffler and Harman-Homa.

For the Internationals, the Monday practice foursomes were the three Canadians -- Conners, Hughes and Pendrith -- with the South African Bezuidenhout; and the South Korean trio of Im and both Kims with Australia's Lee. An, Day, Matsuyama and Scott reportedly did not practice on Monday. Other than Matsuyama and Scott playing together in 2022, those groupings were unfamiliar, at least in part because of the player turnover from two years ago (and the lack of success). 

DK scoring will break down like this: +3 points for holes won, +0.75 for holes halved, -0.75 points for holes lost, +1.6 points for holes not played, +5 points for matches won and +2 points for matches halved. Also: +5 points for a streak of three consecutive holes won in a match (maximum one per round) and a +7.5-point bonus for no holes lost in a match.

Some final lineup/scoring notes: In foursomes and fourball, both golfers on the same team will receive the same score, no matter who is making birdies, bogeys, etc. And you ARE allowed to pick both partners among your six guys, which might be a very sound strategy if you think they will do well and play a lot. But, if you want to pick just one guy from an expected two-man team, PICK THE CHEAPER GUY. You can even pick six Americans (or Internationals) if you can fit them into the salary cap. Lastly, remember that some guys may play all five sessions and others maybe three.

Something to watch for: Historically, the U.S. has dominated in foursomes but the Internationals have gone toe-to-toe in four-ball and the singles have been pretty close. Here's the all-time points breakdown:

• Foursomes:  91.5-52.5
• Four-ball: 71-71
• Singles: 90-78

Presidents Cup factoids: Weir and Furyk were involved in likely the two biggest takeaways from the 2007 Cup. Even though the Internationals lost, Weir memorably defeated Tiger Woods 1-up in Sunday singles. And Furyk was playing foursomes with partner Woody Austin when Austin hit into the water on 14. It did not end well for Austin, resulting in a new nickname: Aquaman. 

Key Stats to Winning at Royal Montreal

The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
• Ball Striking/Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
• Approaches from 150-175 and 175-200 yards
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Par 4 Efficiency 450-500 yards (eight holes) 

Past Champions

2022 - United States, 17 1/2-12 1/2 (Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, N.C.)
2019 - United States, 16-14 (Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia)
2017 - United States, 19-11 (Liberty National Golf Club, New Jersey)
2015 - United States, 15 1/2-14 1/2 (Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, South Korea)
2013 - United States, 18 1/2-15 1/2 (Muirfield Village, Ohio)
2011 - United States, 19-15 (Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia)
2009 - United States, 19 1/2-14 1/2 (Harding Park Golf Club, San Francisco)
2007 - United States, 19 1/2-14 1/2 (Royal Montreal Golf Club, Canada)
2005 - United States, 18 1/2-15 1/2 (Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, Virginia)
2003 - Tied, 17-17 (Fancourt Hotel and Country Club, South Africa)
2000 - United States, 21 1/2-10 1/2 (The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.)

Champion's Profile

Let's start out by saying the obvious: This isn't a normal week, so many other things matter. Like pressure. Plus a lot of these guys have been idle for weeks.

Royal Montreal appears to require a blend of length and accuracy off the tee, with a lean toward getting the ball in the fairway. That will leave a lot of approach shots in the 150-200-yard range, so long iron play will be important. And in any team competition or match play, putting takes on added importance. They'll have to make birdies.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

Scottie Scheffler - $11,600/$17,400 (Odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook to be the Top Point Scorer: +600)
Should we be concerned that in 2022, Scheffler went 0-3-1 and lost in singles to, of all people, Sebastian Munoz? Would he be listed here if we were? His pairing with Burns at the Ryder last year also did not go well. Burns should have more experience and was playing great down the stretch.

Xander Schauffele - $10,800/$16,200 (+700)
Schauffele, along with partner Cantlay, came out for the first match of the 2022 Cup and stomped the Internationals' top tandem of Matsuyama-Scott, 6-5. Schauffele went 3-1 for the week and beat Conners in singles. You may want to go with Cantlay at a slightly cheaper price, but we like Schauffele's chances in singles more.

Hideki Matsuyama - $9,400/$14,100 (+1600)
That wasn't exactly the best lead-in to support a Matsuyama pick -- a 6-5 drubbing -- was it? He did not have a good 2022 Cup, but that was when he was hindered by his longstanding neck/back problems. Matsuyama played far better in 2024, and was better in the 2019 Cup. Even paired with C.T. Pan, Matsuyama won two matches.

Sungjae Im - $8,800/$13,200 (+1600)
Still only 26, Im has been perhaps the best International player over the past two Cups, going 2-2-1 in 2022 and 3-1-1 in 2019. Im's two losses in 2022 were alongside Conners, who was brutal his entire winless week. Im won his singles matches both years.

Sam Burns - $8,400/$12,600 (+1100)
Burns had a bad Ryder Cup last year and a similarly bad Presidents Cup in 2022. But he's +1100 on the DK Sportsbook for a reason: He's a far better player now (and, yeah, because he'll also probably play a lot with Scheffler). Burns is one of the best putters in the competition, a perfect complement to Scheffler. He halved with Matsuyama in singles in 2022.

Adam Scott - $7,000/$10,500 (+1800)
Scott, the playing leader of the Internationals, has played in more Cup matches (49) than the entire U.S. team combined (47). He notched two points in 2022 and 2.5 in 2019, while losing both his singles matches (to Cantlay and Schauffele). In other words, he's a good guy in the team portion, and has won in both foursomes and fourballs each of the past two Cups. 

Si Woo Kim - $6,000/$9,000 (+2200)
Kim went 3-1 in 2022, notably beating Justin Thomas in the lead Sunday singles match. He also won in both foursomes and fourball -- with different partners. Successful common denominators are gold in Cup play.

Keegan Bradley - $4,600/$6,900 (+4000)
Bradley came on very strong at the end of the year. He's a terrific long iron player. Being the upcoming Ryder Cup captain, he might have some extra pressure this week. He has not played a team competition in a decade, since the 2014 Ryder Cup. He also was on the 2013 Presidents Cup team, famously tag-teaming with Phil Mickelson.

Min Woo Lee - $4,400/$6,600 (+2800)
This is purely an upside pick. Lee is a very aggressive player and this format calls for aggression. It doesn't ensure success, of course. But the oddsmakers like him a lot more than the DFS price-setters. This will be Aussie's debut in international team competition. As we like to say, this pick is not for the faint of heart. 

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