DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Masters Cash and GPP Strategy

THE MASTERS

Purse: $21M (in 2025)
Winner's Share: $4.2M (in 2025)
FedEx Cup Points: 750 to the Winner 
Location: Augusta, Ga. 
Course: Augusta National Golf Club 
Yardage: 7,565 
Par: 72
2025 champion: Rory McIlroy

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Tournament Preview

Every year, year after agonizing year, one storyline would rise above all others at the Masters: Will Rory McIlroy win?

Well, as you probably know by now, McIlroy did in fact win the Masters last year to end a 17-year quest and become the sixth man to complete the career grand slam. At his victory news conference, McIlroy turned the tables on reporters by beginning not with opening remarks but with a question for them. With a big smile on his face, as if he were waiting a lifetime to say this, he asked: "What are we going to talk about next year?"

It was the perfect line, not to mention a fair question.

Now, it's "next year."

It's the 90th playing of the Masters.

Magnolia Lane. Azaleas. Pimento cheese sandwiches -- you know the drill.

Welcome to the biggest week in golf.

The beauty of the Masters is that there never is a shortage of storylines, even if the eternal McIlroy question has finally been answered. (Not to be overly snarky, but now the conversation shifts to, Can McIlroy repeat?)

McIlroy, along with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, head a field of 91 for the first major of the golf season and always the most compelling. Find out where they all rank in RotoWire's PGA Power Rankings for the 2026 Masters.

All four of these star players enter the week with their own individual storylines, though they're not the only ones.

• McIlroy. He last played at THE PLAYERS a month ago after tweaking his back the week before at Bay Hill and withdrawing. He did not look his best at TPC Sawgrass, though he did complete four rounds with no apparent setbacks. For the record, the last golfer to win the Masters back to back was Tiger Woods in 2001-02.
• Scheffler. He withdrew from last week's Houston Open because of the reported imminent birth of his second child. Like McIlroy, he has not played since THE PLAYERS. His game has not been at Elite Scheffler Level this season, and now it's fair to wonder whether his pre-Masters prep will get the necessary attention. If so, Scheffler absolutely can win his third Masters and fifth career major, which would tie McIlroy (and Brooks Koepka) on the all-time list.
• DeChambeau. The Great LIV Hope. After years of being flummoxed and confounded by the gazillion nuances of Augusta National, DeChambeau began to figure things out two years ago. He tied for sixth in 2024 and for fifth in 2025, though he did close last year with a 75 after actually leading the tournament early on Sunday. Overall, he has been a force in the majors since departing the PGA Tour, winning the 2024 U.S. Open, with two runners-up, two other top-5s and two more top-10s. DeChambeau has two wins in five LIV starts this season.
• Rahm. Unlike DeChambeau, Rahm struggled mightily in majors after leaving for LIV. He finally started to return to form last year, tying for 14th at Augusta along with two other top-10s. But the two-time major winner has not actually contended in any major the past two years. He has one win and three runners-up in five starts this season.
• Collin Morikawa. He had been playing as well as anyone in the early going of 2026. He ended a long winless drought at Pebble Beach, then finished third and seventh in his next two starts, putting him on the short list of those to consider at the Masters this year. But one fateful practice swing at THE PLAYERS Championship injured his back and ended his tournament after one hole, and he has not played since. Morikawa tried to return last week, but he withdrew from the Valero Texas Open on Tuesday. Who knows whether he will even be able to play this week, much less contend.
• Xander Schauffele. Oh yeah, remember him? Not too long ago, he was the No. 2 player in the world. Schauffele actually fell out of the top-12 earlier this season. But in his past four starts, he's gone T7-T24-3-T4 to move No. 6 in the OWGR. He's not the best player on the PGA Tour this season, but over the past two months, he's in the top two or three.

This would be a good time to point out that five of the past six Masters winners -- including Scheffler in 2022 and 2024, Rahm in 2023 and McIlroy last year -- had won multiple times in the calendar year leading up to Augusta. Only one player has done that on the PGA Tour this season, and that's Chris Gotterup, who is prepping for his first Masters. For reference, the last Masters rookie to win a green jacket was Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. DeChambeau's two wins have come in his last two starts.

Not only is it incredibly hard to repeat as Masters champion, it's almost as hard to even finish top-10 the next year. It's been done only three times in the past 19 years: Scheffler after both his wins and Jordan Spieth in 2016.

So how will the four favorites -- DeChambeau, McIlroy, Rahm and Scheffler -- fare? You might get a real indication very early in the tournament. Only three times in the past 21 years has the winner been outside the top-10 after the first round. McIlroy was 27th last year. The two other times, it was Woods.

Augusta National gained 10 yards since last year, now at 7,565. The one change of note came at No. 17, where the tee marker was repositioned. It will now play at 450 yards and it was the fourth hardest hole in 2025.

The longstanding Augusta practice of mowing the fairways against the grain --  "backwards," if you will -- blunts distance to the point that some say the course plays more like 7,900 yards. That would make it the longest course in major professional golf.

Therefore, long hitters have a definite edge. But other considerations are also important for the golfers, maybe more so. They better also bring their short game, as things get very dicey on and around the greens. There are only 44 bunkers on the entire course and the rough is minimal at under 1 1/2 inches. But the bentgrass greens and surrounding areas are dastardly. The greens are above average in size (averaging close to 6,500 square feet) and lightning fast at almost 14 on the Stimpmeter. Throw in all the undulations and run-offs, and it's enough to frustrate anyone, but especially poor putters and Augusta first-timers (and second- and third-timers).

The hardest holes tend to be the long par-4s, notably the 495-yard 5th, 520-yard 11th and 465-yard 18th. There is water on five holes, all on the back nine. Those include the 155-yard 12th, which is smack in the middle of Amen Corner, plus the par-5s at 13 and 15, and the par-3 16th.

One course characteristic that TV does not do justice is the frequent and severe elevation changes from hole to hole -- and sometimes from shot to shot. Rarely do the golfers take a swing with a completely flat and balanced stance. It all makes for one of the most grueling walks in golf.

The 1933 Bobby Jones/Alister MacKenzie design -- MacKenzie died in January 1934, months before the first Masters -- almost always ranks among the 10 most difficult courses on the PGA Tour, and last year was no different: It ranked as the seventh hardest. McIlroy won at 11-under, after a playoff with Justin Rose. Scheffler also won at 11-under the year before, but he was four ahead of Ludvig Aberg and seven clear of third place. So in 2024, only two golfers were able to beat 4-under.

This year, the field of 91 is four fewer than last year. It includes 11 LIV golfers, down from 12 last year, 13 two years ago and 18 from 2023. There are six amateurs and five "legacy" champions, older winners no longer competing on the regular tour. Notably, the field does not include Woods or Phil Mickelson for the first time since 1994.

While it's surely possible that some of those 11 amateurs/legacy champs could make the cut, we're basically looking at 80 golfers to be among the top 50 and ties come Friday night.

So how should you construct your lineup? Let's start with trying to find the winner. He usually comes from way up high. For years, he almost always was ranked top-12 in the world. That's no longer an exact science with LIV guys not getting OWGR points until recently.  But still, look at the recent winners: McIlroy, Scheffler, Rahm, Scheffler, Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson (at the 2020 November Masters). Greens in regulation and scrambling have been vital over the years, scrambling maybe more than any other metric. While no first-timer has won since 1979, today's young golfers emerge from college ready to compete. Will Zalatoris came close five years ago as the runner-up to Matsuyama and Aberg was second to Scheffler two years ago.

There are 22 first-timers this year, including the six amateurs. As always, some pretty big names are priced in the $8,000s and even $7,000s. There definitely is value deep down the DraftKings board. This would allow you to take a $10,000+ guy, plus maybe even a $9,000+ guy and still fill out your lineup with quality, Masters-proven golfers. After all, more than 60 percent of the aforementioned 80 golfers will make the cut. That means lots of $6,000s also will survive for the weekend. If you go with Scheffler at $14,000, it still is possible to field a quality lineup, but the margin for error will be extremely thin.

As for the weather, it's looking quite favorable. Highs around 80 all four days with little chance of rain and minimal wind.

Masters champion factoid: There have been only three repeat champions in the past six decades -- Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66, Nick Faldo in 1989-90 and Woods in 2001-02.

Key Stats to Winning at Augusta National

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

• Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained: Around the Green/Scrambling 
• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance 
• Strokes Gained: Putting/Three-Putt Avoidance 
• Par-5 Scoring 
• Bogey Avoidance

Past Champions

2025 - Rory McIlroy
2024 - Scottie Scheffler
2023 - Jon Rahm
2022 - Scottie Scheffler
2021 - Hideki Matsuyama
2020 - Dustin Johnson
2019 - Tiger Woods
2018 - Patrick Reed
2017 - Sergio Garcia
2016 - Danny Willett

Champion's Profile

For years, the vast majority of the time the winner has come from the top 12 of the OWGR. With LIV golfers not accruing world ranking points until recently, that's thrown a wrinkle in that plan. But how many of them could/would be in the top-12 right now? Just Rahm and DeChambeau. The only top-12 outliers in the past decade were Matsuyama ranked 25th and Reed ranked 24th -- and they had been in the top-10 at some point in their careers before winning.

In the past 10 Masters, every winner but one has finished top-7 in the field in greens in regulation (Reed, 21st).

Some weaker putters have won this tournament, but it's almost impossible if they are bad scramblers or have trouble around the greens. It's perhaps more important to avoid three-putting on the speedy greens than to make birdies.

You can really make up ground on the par-5s. McIlroy and Rose went to a playoff at 11-under last year. McIlroy was 7-under on the par-5s -- with two double bogeys! -- and Rose was 9-under. Scheffler also won at 11-under in 2024 and was 9-under on the par-5s. Runner-up Aberg got 6-under of his 7-under total on the par-5s. Three years ago, Rahm won at 12-under and was 10-under on the par-5s. Koepka, who shared runner-up with Mickelson, was actually 11-under on the par-5s -- and 3-over everywhere else.

So, you get the picture: Score on the par-5s, tread water on the other 14 holes.

If we're talking about who can win, we're almost surely talking about a longer hitter. But that doesn't mean a shorter hitter cannot contend or contribute to a solid DFS lineup.

As always at Augusta, there is one thing no statistical data can measure: the pressure a golfer feels on Sunday. 

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

$10,000 and up

Scottie Scheffler - $14,000 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +440)
We just can't quit Scheffler. No, he hasn't been playing great by his standards. But by everyone else's, he has. This price makes it very hard to field a representative six-man lineup, but it's not impossible. It's on the edge of impossible. You could probably roster a couple of high $7,000s or maybe one low $8,000 guy.  

Bryson DeChambeau - $10,200 (+1075)
Distance alone is not enough at Augusta National. DeChambeau struggled for years. It was only after he figured out the other stuff, the short game, that he has contended, finishing top-6 the past two years. DeChambeau did kind of wilt last year opposite McIlroy, and you can be sure he has been champing at the bit for another chance at Augusta National.

$9,000-$9,900

Xander Schauffele - $9,600 (+1800)
It was just two years ago that Schauffele won not one major but two in a span of three months. They weren't the Masters, but he has come very close there. Schauffele was top-10 at Augusta the past three years and previously was runner-up and finished third. He's finished top-5 in his past two starts on the PGA Tour and his Strokes Gained metrics are outstanding.

Cameron Young - $9,200 (+2400)
It's been only in the past eight months that Young has elevated himself into the upper echelon of golfers, winning the Wyndham last August and then THE PLAYERS Championship last month. But even before that, as he kept getting closer and closer to his first tour victory, he was showing an affinity for Augusta. Young tied for seventh in 2023 and for ninth in 2024. And now he has a game far more complete than even a year ago, especially on the greens.

$8,000-$8,900

Matt Fitzpatrick - $8,700 (+2600)
Fitzpatrick has already won a major (2022, U.S. Open), so we know he can do it. But his performance began to slip in 2024, to the point that he tumbled into the 80s in the OWGR. Now, he's ranked fifth, after winning the DP World Tour Championship last fall and the Valspar last month a week after being runner-up at the PLAYERS. Notably, Fitzpatrick's SG: Approach ranking went from outside the top 100 two years to currently seventh. He's also top-25 in SG: Around-the-Green.

Jordan Spieth - $8,400 (+4300)
Spieth has been on the periphery of playing great this season, the periphery of contending. At No. 35 in the FedExCup Standings, he'd be on the periphery of qualifying for the TOUR Championship if it started today. Everywhere but off the tee, Spieth's game is perhaps the strongest it's been in years: 32nd in SG: Approach, 42nd Around-the-Green, 22nd Putting. He's also ranked top-40 in bogey avoidance, though "The Full Spieth Experience" is never too far away. He is not the slam-dunk contender he used to be at Augusta, but he has had two top-5s in the past five years and tied for 14th last year. There would be no bigger story this week than a Spieth victory.

$7,000-$7,900

Russell Henley - $7,900 (+4800)
Henley is a pretty boring player, which is a big compliment, especially this week. He's ranked fifth in driving accuracy and third in bogey avoidance. Just hit the ball straight, get from Point A to Point B as efficiently as possible and go to the next hole. Henley may not be able to win that way (or he might!), but at $7,900, a high finish would pay off and then some. He tied for fourth three years ago and has three other top-25s through the years.

Min Woo Lee - $7,700 (+3900)
Even though Lee won the Houston Open last year, he has taken his career to the next level this year. Now 27, he is a far more balanced player, one who is still aggressive but knows when to take his foot off the gas. He is ranked 52nd or better in every Strokes Gained metric and, equally important, he's now top-50 in driving accuracy. Lee already has finished second, third, sixth and 12th this season. He's finished 14th and 22nd in four trips to the Masters.

$6,000-$6,900

Sam Stevens - $6,400 (+20000)
Down here among the long shots, we're looking for guys who can make the cut, get to the weekend and hope for the best. Even though this is Stevens' first Masters, he's 5-for-5 in making major cuts, including a top-25 at last year's U.S. Open. He's also 8-of-9 this season on the PGA Tour. Stevens has two top-6 cashes this season plus a T16 at Riviera, a course that has been a good predictor of success at Augusta.

Charl Schwartzel - $6,300 (+57500)
Students of the game will recall that Schwartzel was the biggest benefactor of McIlroy's implosion at the 2011 Masters. While McIlroy shot 80 to plummet from the lead, Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to wrest the title. He is now 41 and with LIV, but he has continued to play well at the Masters, as many older former champions do. Schwartzel tied for 36th last year and has made the cut in five of the past six years. He's been so-so on LIV this season, with three top-25s, but he's also ranked seventh in greens in regulation and 11th in scrambling. 

Making DraftKings lineups for the Masters? See how they look in RotoWire's PGA DFS Lineup Optimizer.