DraftKings preview: Presidents Cup

We have reached one of the most exciting weeks in the world of professional golf, as the Presidents Cup takes place in Montreal, Canada. For those unfamiliar, this is not a standard PGA TOUR event. Instead, we have a team event, where the U.S. Team will take on the International Team. The Royal Montreal Golf Club will be the host course this week, and measures as a 7,413-yard par 70 with Bentgrass greens.

Each team consists of 12 golfers, and the event will take place over four days. Thursday will feature five Foursomes (alternate shot) matches, while Friday will feature five Four-ball (best ball) matches. Saturday there will be four Foursomes matches in the morning and four Four-ball matches in the afternoon. Finally, Sunday will feature 12 Singles matches, where all 24 golfers in the event will play.

Being that this is not a standard stroke-play event, DraftKings has a Showdown format in place. Each roster will consist of six golfers, one of which will be your captain's pick, who will accrue 1.5x fantasy points. The scoring will also be different this week, as golfers will not accrue fantasy points for birdies, pars etc., but rather for holes and matches won. The full scoring format is listed here:

Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to first]

Xander Schauffele ($16,200)

It's obviously quite difficult to pass on Scottie Scheffler as your captain this week, but Schauffele is the next best option and comes at a $1,200 discount, which actually matters on this slate. Much like Scheffler, it's hard to envision the No. 2 player in the world not playing all five sessions this week, which is basically all we are looking for when putting rosters together. The more matches you play, the more chances you have to accrue fantasy points, it's that simple.

Schauffele played all five sessions in the 2022 Presidents Cup and then played four out of five at last year's Ryder Cup. This of course was before he went on to win two majors this past season, which basically all but assures he'll be out there for all five sessions again this week.

Schauffele will likely be teaming up with good friend and Zurich Classic of New Orleans playing partner, Patrick Cantlay, for most of (if not all) his matches this week. The two have real chemistry together, which will be especially helpful in alternate shot, and also makes it that much more likely Schauffele wins the majority of matches he plays.

You could, of course, make the case that Cantlay is a great captain's pick this week as well because if he teams with Schauffele for all four team matches, they both receive the same amount of points for both holes and matches won. However, I am not quite as confident that Cantlay plays all four team sessions with Schauffele, so I much prefer to pay up for the safety of Schauffele as captain.

Tom Kim ($8,000)

Dollar for dollar, Kim is my favorite play on the International Team this week at $8,000. He is another golfer very likely to play all five sessions, which is exactly what he did in the 2022 Presidents Cup as a 20-year-old rookie.

Kim was largely hit-or-miss this year in terms of his consistency, but he did finish runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship, before finishing T8 at the Olympics in July. He also posted a T4 at the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, which strikes a strong resemblance to Royal Montreal, as both are shorter par 70's with Bentgrass greens.

Statistically, Kim can go toe-to-toe with anyone in this field over the past 24 rounds, as he ranks No. 1 in SG: Approach and No. 2 in SG: Ball-Striking in that stretch. When you combine his price, five-match projection and recent rolling numbers, Kim is one of the best plays on the slate this week.

Russell Henley ($5,000)

This price immediately stuck out as being incorrect, as Henley had too good of a season to be priced this low, even when you factor in how strong the U.S. Team is. The 35-year-old closed the 2024 campaign with a T7 at the U.S. Open, solo-fifth at The Open Championship and T4 at the TOUR Championship. He posted seven top-10 finishes on the year, overall, and missed only one cut in 19 starts.

Royal Montreal also sets up really nicely for Henley, as it will require precise short-iron play and keeping your ball in the fairway, both of which he excels at. He projects to play at least two of the four team sessions, which is more than enough for his salary. Among the golfers in this price range, Henley stands out like a sore thumb.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Sand Trap [$100K to first]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.