Majors Challenge

The Open Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The Open Championship
• Date: July 16–19, 2026
• Venue: Royal Birkdale Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside, England
• Purse: $17,000,000+ (winner $3.1 million+)
• FedEx Cup Points: 750 to the winner
• Cut Rule: 36-hole cut to the top 70 players and ties
  
• Course Details: This week’s championship returns to one of England’s great links on the northwest coast, a par-70 test stretching to roughly 7,223 yards from the championship tees. The layout in its modern form dates to a 1932 redesign by architect Fred G. Hawtree and five-time Open champion J.H. Taylor, whose signature move was routing the holes through the valleys between the towering dunes rather than over them. That single philosophy is why a course framed by 20-to-40-foot sandhills plays as one of the fairest championship venues in the world — the drama is all around you, but the fairways give you a fighting chance. It’s a natural version of stadium golf, with dunes that double as grandstands for the galleries. Expect a classic two-loop-of-nine routing and one of the most brutal opening stretches in golf; the first three holes are widely considered among the toughest starts anywhere. Firm, undulating fairways and revetted pot bunkers reward precision and the ability to flight the ball low, and the greens tend to play trickier than they look — subtly crowned surfaces that repel anything less than a committed strike.
  
• New in 2026: There’s plenty. Ahead of this Open, the club commissioned its most significant overhaul in decades, with Tom Mackenzie of Mackenzie & Ebert reworking portions of every hole beginning in 2024. The headline change is a brand-new par-3 15th — a genuine brute that can stretch to around 240 yards — which replaced the old par-3 14th (now converted to a short-game practice area). The par-4 5th has been transformed into a drivable hole at roughly 321 yards after a large dune was removed to open up the green, though a pond lurking right punishes the greedy. The par-3 7th was shortened to about 151 yards to add variety among the one-shotters, and bunkers across the property were rebuilt and relocated — many recapturing their rougher, natural 1934 look. In short, players who last competed here in 2017 are walking onto a course that’s been substantially redrawn.
  
• Weather: Southport is in the grip of a UK heatwave this week, with mostly sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures — highs around 82°F Thursday before cooling into the low 70s over the weekend — plus moderate winds of 8–14 mph and gusts near 20 mph. The bigger story for fantasy purposes is the ground: with minimal rain in the forecast, the links is playing firm and fast, so expect big roll-out, plenty of run-out into trouble, and a premium on flighting the ball and controlling spin.

Golf’s oldest championship — first played back in 1860 and still the only major contested outside the United States — returns this week for its 154th edition, and it lands at a venue with serious pedigree: this is the 11th time the historic Southport links has hosted The Open, more than any course on the rota except St Andrews. It’s also the final major of the 2026 PGA TOUR season, which gives the week an extra layer of stakes as the game’s best chase one last piece of major hardware before the FedEx Cup Playoffs. And the field has answered the call. Defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines, bidding to become the first back-to-back Open winner since Padraig Harrington in 2008, alongside two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy — who hasn’t lifted the Claret Jug since 2014 — plus Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, 2024 Open champ Xander Schauffele, and recent U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark. But the storyline that’ll own the galleries is a local one: Southport’s own Tommy Fleetwood, the world No. 9 and reigning FedEx Cup champion, is chasing his first major title on the very links he snuck onto as a kid — and no Englishman has won The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. Add in a nostalgic return for Jordan Spieth, who won the last Open played here in 2017, fellow Englishmen Aaron Rai (this year’s PGA champion) and Matt Fitzpatrick, and a firm, fast, heatwave-baked golf course, and you’ve got the ingredients for a classic.

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Scottie Scheffler (−17)
• 2024 — Xander Schauffele (−9)
• 2023 — Brian Harman, (−13)
• 2022 — Cameron Smith (−20)
• 2021 — Collin Morikawa (−15)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

Links golf is a different animal, and Royal Birkdale is one of its truest tests — a par-70 threaded through 40-foot dunes where the wind decides how a hole plays and a single loose swing can turn a routine par into a double. This isn’t a bomber’s paradise; it rewards the patient, precise ball-striker who can flight the ball low, control spin, and grind out pars while everyone else leaks shots. Add in the forecast — a UK heatwave has the course running firm and fast, with big roll-out and plenty of run-off into trouble — and position off the tee plus a hot putter will matter far more than raw length. There’s real weight to the week, too: it’s the final major of the 2026 season, the last chance at a Claret Jug before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and the galleries will be roaring for a first English champion since 1992. The good news for lineup-builders is that several of the world’s best arrive in genuine form, and a handful own real history on this specific stretch of Merseyside.

Here are the names worth building around, plus a few familiar faces whose warning signs are worth respecting before you spend up on them.

The Headliners

• Scottie Scheffler — The defending champion, world No. 1, and the obvious anchor. He’s chasing back-to-back Claret Jugs (no one’s done it since Harrington in 2008) and his elite iron play travels to any course. One small asterisk: he arrives off a rare missed cut, his first in nearly four years, so he’s not quite the automatic he’s been all season — but you’re still fading him at your own risk.
  
• Rory McIlroy — The 2026 Masters champ has narrowed his whole season around the majors, and Birkdale suits him: he finished T-4 here in 2017 and comes in off a T-7 at the Scottish Open. His lone Open title is now a dozen years old (2014), which only adds motivation on a links he clearly likes.
  
• Matt Fitzpatrick — Quietly having the best season of his career with three TOUR wins and a spot at world No. 3. The Englishman’s precision game is an ideal fit for a positional golf course, and he’ll have home crowds behind him.
  
• Xander Schauffele — The 2024 Open champion knows how to win this event and rarely beats himself in a major. A classic set-and-forget play in a links test.

The Hometown Story

• Tommy Fleetwood — The emotional centerpiece of the week. The Southport native, world No. 9 and reigning FedEx Cup champion, is chasing his first major on the course he snuck onto as a kid — and no Englishman has won The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. Beyond the narrative, the form is real: he hasn’t finished worse than 14th in his last five worldwide starts. A legitimate contender, not just a sentimental one.

Champion Pedigree 

• Jordan Spieth — Won the last Open played here in 2017, so the course clearly agrees with him. The caveat is form: he’s been openly frustrated with his results and hasn’t contended consistently, so he’s more of a nostalgic dart than a core pick.
  
• Collin Morikawa — The 2021 Open champion is one of the purest ball-strikers in the game, and if Birkdale plays as the accuracy-and-approach test many expect, he’s very live. Consistency has been his 2026 issue, but the ceiling is a third major.

Potential Fades:

• Bryson DeChambeau — A huge name and a fun watch, but links golf has never been his comfort zone and his major season has been underwhelming. Birkdale is flatter than most rota courses, which helps, but you’re betting on a bounce-back rather than form.
  
• Brooks Koepka — The five-time major winner still carries name recognition, but a recent hand injury forced a withdrawal from the Canadian Open and he’s missed the cut in his last two starts (U.S. Open and Scottish). Hard to trust right now.
  
• Jon Rahm — This one stings to list, because the talent is undeniable and the underlying stats remain strong. But he’s been a non-factor in the majors that matter to his legacy this year, and until he shows up on a Sunday leaderboard again, he’s a risky place to spend big.
  
• Justin Thomas — A two-time major champion and former world No. 1, so he’ll be a popular name — but The Open has always been his weakest major, and the numbers are stark: making his 10th Open start this week, Thomas has never recorded a single top-10 finish in the event, and links golf simply doesn’t flatter his game. The 2026 form adds to the caution — he’s managed just one top-five all season while working back from offseason back surgery, and he limped to a T-50 at last week’s Scottish Open with a three-over final round. Elite talent, wrong week to trust it.

🧐 Did You Know?

The winner doesn’t actually keep the Claret Jug. Since 1928, the original trophy has lived permanently on display at St Andrews. Each champion gets to hold it for just one year, then must hand it back during the week of their title defense — receiving a full-size replica to keep for good. Even quirkier: the on-site engraver etches the winner’s name into the silver within minutes of the final putt (about eight seconds per letter), and he refuses to start until the R&A physically hands him a slip with the confirmed name — a lesson learned in 1999 after Jean van de Velde’s infamous 18th-hole collapse.

The Open has a first-timer streak going that’s unlike anything in golf. Every Open champion since 2013 has won the Claret Jug for the very first time — the longest run of first-time major-less-turned-major winners in the tournament’s history. In other words, this event has a knack for minting brand-new champions, which is worth remembering before you write off a longshot.

Royal Birkdale once produced the best Open finish by an Asian player in nearly half a century — twice over. When Haotong Li closed with a stunning 63 to grab solo third here in 2017, it was the best result for an Asian golfer at The Open since Lu Liang-Huan (“Mr. Lu”) finished runner-up in 1971 — also at Royal Birkdale. The same links, the same distinction, 46 years apart.

Royal Birkdale’s clubhouse was designed to look like an ocean liner. Unlike the stately Victorian clubhouses found at other Open venues, Birkdale’s stark white, Art Deco structure was built in the “Streamline Moderne” style by local architect George Tonge, who won a 1930s design competition with a building deliberately modeled after a ship at sea — all clean horizontal lines meant to evoke, in his words, the perfect balance of a liner. Nearly a century later, it still looks like someone parked the upper deck of a steamship in the dunes, and it remains one of golf’s most photographed backdrops.

Seve Ballesteros announced himself to the golf world at Royal Birkdale — without winning. In 1976, a 19-year-old, largely unknown Spaniard trailed Johnny Miller heading to the 72nd hole, then threaded an audacious running chip through an impossibly narrow gap between two greenside bunkers to save par and secure a tie for second alongside Jack Nicklaus. He didn’t lift the Claret Jug that week, but the shot became the stuff of legend and launched one of the most beloved careers in the game’s history — proof that Birkdale has a habit of producing unforgettable theater.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Birkdale is a positional golf course, and the historical data backs that up: at recent Opens, strokes-gained putting and approach play have correlated far more strongly with contending than raw driving distance — this is a week to prioritize precision ball-strikers and hot putters over bombers. With the course running firm and fast in the heatwave, the ability to flight the ball low, control spin into firm greens, and scramble for par when the wind kicks up will separate the field, and avoiding the big number matters more than making a flurry of birdies. Two other angles worth leaning on: form from last week’s Scottish Open is often a useful tell, since it gives players fresh links reps in similar conditions, and The Open has a well-documented habit of rewarding longshots and minting first-time champions — which makes this a great event to get differentiated with a sleeper or two rather than loading up only on the obvious names.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Haotong Li — The most Birkdale-specific dart you can throw. Li shot a closing 63 to finish solo third here in 2017, and he backed it up with a T-4 at last year’s Open at Portrush, so this is clearly a stage and a style of golf that suits him. He rarely matches ownership of the marquee names, which makes his upside all the more valuable this week.
  
• Harris English — Quietly one of the best links values in the field. English finished runner-up at the 2025 Open — the only player within four shots of Scheffler — yet he still flies under the radar. His steady, low-mistake game is exactly the profile that travels to a firm, positional test like this one.
  
• Robert MacIntyre — A genuine links horse who grew up playing this style of golf in Scotland. He was inside the top 10 at last year’s Open and thrives in wind and weather that frustrates others. If conditions get nasty, his experience and shot-shaping become a real edge.
  
• Min Woo Lee — Comes in red-hot after a runner-up finish at last week’s Scottish Open, so the links form and the confidence are both there. He has the shot-making creativity and firepower to go low in a good wave, and he’s the kind of exciting, streaky player who can put up a number when the course gives anything back.
  
• Corey Conners — One of the most accurate ball-strikers on TOUR, which is precisely the skill this positional course demands. Conners doesn’t get the hype of the bigger names, but his ability to hit fairways and control his irons keeps him out of the trouble that wrecks other players’ cards at Birkdale — a sneaky-safe floor with real top-20 upside.

Longshots:

• Joe Dean — The ultimate underdog dart. The 32-year-old Englishman only got into the field on Monday, winning the inaugural Last-Chance Qualifier by a single shot with a clutch eagle — with his fiancée Emily on the bag, three days before the two of them are due to get married. Just a couple of years ago Dean was delivering groceries for a supermarket during COVID and grinding on mini-tours; now he’s a DP World Tour pro in form (two top-10s in his last three starts) teeing it up in a major two hours from where he grew up. Here’s the fantasy kicker: he’s made the cut in both of his previous Open appearances, including his debut on this very course in 2017. A pure boom-or-bust flier, but the story writes itself if he catches a wave.

• Marco Penge — A compelling comeback play making his Open Championship debut. The big-hitting Englishman was the breakout star of 2025, winning three DP World Tour titles and finishing runner-up in the Race to Dubai to only Rory McIlroy, earning both a PGA Tour card and Seve Ballesteros Award honors. Then a viral infection at last November’s Tour Championship in Dubai spiraled into months of ear, neck, and nervous-system problems that cost him half a season and forced a U.S. Open withdrawal. He’s fought his way back to health and form — a T9 at the BMW International Open, plus a T2 at last year’s Scottish Open showing his links game travels. He’s long and straight off the tee with strong long-iron play, exactly the profile that can flourish at Birkdale if the wind blows, and the world ranking slide from his layoff means he’ll come at a longshot’s price.

⭐️ Pro Tip: In firm, fast links conditions, prioritize precise iron players and strong putters over long hitters — at Birkdale, keeping the ball in position and avoiding the big number wins far more fantasy points than chasing distance.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Open Championship purse has not been officially announced, but last year’s total purse was $17,000,000, with $3,100,000 going to the winner. That likely means it will be behind the FedEx Playoff events, but it’s also the last big-purse event with a cut, where there can be more meaningful separation between a win and a poor performance. You are going to want to employ a top option, subject only to also playing the ownership game depending on your place in the standings.

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR
➔ View Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee rankings on PGA TOUR

This week we’re back to prioritizing strokes gained: approach — we end up saying that a lot, but last week was a different kind of test, and Birkdale brings us right back to it. For your one-and-done pick, target a proven links performer with an elite, repeatable ball-striking profile rather than a bomber — history here rewards players who can flight the ball low, control their trajectory in the wind, and hit greens in regulation, not those who rely on overpowering the course. Strokes gained: approach is the category that matters most, because on a firm, fast, positional layout where the fairways sit in the valleys between the dunes, the ability to attack pins and hold greens with precise, spin-controlled iron shots is what separates contenders from the pack — and it’s historically correlated far more strongly with winning at Birkdale than driving distance. A strong putter is the tiebreaker, since firm links greens and awkward pace can quietly wreck an otherwise clean card. In practical terms, that points you toward a disciplined, accuracy-first name in form and comfortable in the wind — ideally someone with a track record of contending in majors or recent links reps — rather than a high-variance power player who could just as easily leak shots into the dunes as go low. Save your very best bombers for a course that actually rewards them; this week, precision is the edge.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

The Scottish Open

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The Scottish Open
• Date: July 9 – July 12, 2026
• Venue: The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland
• Purse: $9,000,000 (winner $1.58 million)
• FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the winner
• Cut Rule: Top 65 players and ties after 36 holes
  
• Course Details: This week’s stop is a links-inspired par-70 stretching just under 7,300 yards, designed by American architect Tom Doak and opened in 2008 on 300 acres along the Firth of Forth. Doak was tasked with building a championship-caliber course from scratch on land that had been a Forestry Commission pine plantation since World War II — over 8,000 tons of wood were cleared to create it. It’s a newer breed of “Americanized” links: heavily undulating ground, cambered fairways, and elevated greens that make chasing the ball up onto putting surfaces trickier than a typical seaside course, with thick rough hugging the fairways instead of the wispy graduated cuts you’d see at a true links venue. The layout carries five par-3s and only three par-5s, and scoring swings entirely on the wind — when it’s calm, low numbers are very much in play (five players have carded a 9-under 61 here since 2019).
  
• New in 2026: the course has been rerouted for the first time, aimed squarely at building a more dramatic finish. The long-time par-3 6th — previously the marquee “Stadium” hole and now rebranded — shifts back to play as the 15th, ringed by grandstands and bunkers. A drivable par-4 now sits at 14, setting up a stretch run of a short, tough par-3 at 15, a long par-4 16, another difficult par-3 at 17 (203 yards), and a closing 483-yard par-4 that often plays into the wind. The goal is to push the hole with the most spectator drama and risk-reward appeal much later into contention, rather than have it come and go early in the round.
  
• Weather: Tournament week looks mild and mostly dry, with highs sliding from the low-70s early on down to the low-60s by the weekend and only a modest 10-20% chance of rain each day. With calm, fair conditions expected rather than a typical Scottish blow, scoring could trend low — the wind, not the rain, will be the bigger swing factor for how the course plays.

The Genesis Scottish Open has long served as Scotland’s national open and the traditional final tune-up before The Open Championship, a tradition dating back to 1972 and cemented since 2019 by its home at this East Lothian venue (recently extended through 2030). This year’s edition carries extra intrigue: it’s co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with a full-field mix of 75 players from each tour, and for the first time it welcomes LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton into a PGA Tour-run event, alongside Brooks Koepka playing on a sponsor exemption. The field quality is elite even by Scottish Open standards — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines alongside Masters champion Rory McIlroy, defending champion Chris Gotterup (fresh off winning last week’s John Deere Classic), 2024 champion and local favorite Robert MacIntyre, plus major winners Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas, and Justin Rose. With Royal Birkdale looming next week, expect this stacked leaderboard to double as an early form guide for the year’s final major.

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Chris Gotterup (-15)
• 2024 — Robert McIntyre (-18)
• 2023 — Rory McIlroy (-15)
• 2022 — Xander Schauffele (-7)
• 2021 — Min Woo Lee (-18) 

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

The road to Royal Birkdale runs straight through North Berwick this week, and with virtually every marquee name in the game teeing it up, the leaderboard here should double as a preview of next week’s Open contenders. This isn’t just about who’s playing — it’s about who’s built for this specific test of power, patience, and wind management. A handful of players have already cracked the code at this course, and their names are worth circling before you set your lineup.

Trending Golfers:

• Rory McIlroy — The 2023 champion remains the cleanest fit in the field: elite driving distance, strong par-5 scoring, and a proven ability to flight the ball through crosswinds at this course.
  
• Ludvig Åberg — Owns the field’s second-best scoring average at this venue behind only McIlroy; his flatter ball flight and efficient power translate well whether the wind is up or down.
  
• Xander Schauffele — The 2022 champion has gained more strokes here than anyone else in the field over the years and hasn’t finished worse than 8th in any start at this course.
  
• Chris Gotterup — The defending champion arrives red-hot, having just won last week’s John Deere Classic with a final-round 62; his aggressive driving distance is exactly what this course rewards.
  
• Tyrrell Hatton — Quietly one of the field’s best course fits, with finishes of T14-T18-T24-T6 in four prior starts here and a 62 on his card at the venue.
  
• Justin Thomas — On a six-tournament top-20 streak and gaining strokes across the board; he already showed course comfort with a T22 here last year.

Potential Fades:

• Jon Rahm — Making his first PGA Tour-run start since joining LIV, and his only prior visit to this course ended in a 5-over finish outside the top 50; rust plus a shaky course history is a tough combination.
  
• Wyndham Clark — Despite being one of the hottest players on tour, his history at this specific course has been merely solid rather than special (finishes of T16-T25-T10-T11), so tempered expectations may be wise even amid his strong 2026 form.
  
• Brooks Koepka — Playing on a sponsor exemption in his first Scottish Open start since 2015, Koepka arrives banged up: he’s dealt with a recurring hand/nerve issue that forced a withdrawal at the Canadian Open and contributed to a missed cut at the U.S. Open, and he’s collected just one top-10 finish on tour all season. Health and rust are real questions here.

🧐 Did You Know?

The host course looks like it has been around for a century but only opened in 2008? It was carved out of a Forestry Commission pine plantation, with more than 8,000 tons of timber cleared so architect Tom Doak could build a links-style layout from scratch — and the club even swapped land with neighboring Muirfield, which used the parcel to lengthen a hole ahead of the 2013 Open Championship.

Wales’ Ian Woosnam holds the record for most Scottish Open titles with three wins, and his 1987 victory came by a lopsided 7 strokes over Australia’s Peter Senior.

The Scottish Open loves a longshot. Brandon Stone won in 2018 as a 999-to-1 outsider, and Bernd Wiesberger (2019) and Min Woo Lee (2021) also came in at massive triple-digit odds — proof this event rewards bold fantasy picks.

The host course is one of the most exclusive private clubs in the UK — with only a few hundred members and no public tee sheet, the only way to play it (outside tournament week) is to know someone on the inside, and membership fees reportedly run into the tens of thousands of pounds.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

The winning formula at this venue is specific: distance off the tee is the biggest edge (the course is forgiving off the tee and rewards the biggest hitters), but you also need trajectory control and a reliable putter to handle the large, undulating greens. The wild card is the wind — when it’s calm, the course gives up ridiculously low numbers (winning scores have ranged from -22 in benign conditions down to -7 in a gale), so keep an eye on the forecast and any tee-time wave advantage before you lock lineups. This is also a proven longshot event: Chris Gotterup and Robert MacIntyre both won as +4000 outsiders, and Min Woo Lee stunned the field from as high as +10000, so there’s real value in digging below the top of the board.

With the chalk already covered, here are five under-the-radar names whose profiles fit the course and who can quietly post a big week.

Sleepers to Consider:

•  Nicolai Højgaard — Arguably the cleanest sleeper fit in the field. He finished 4th here in 2024, has landed inside the top six in two of his last three starts at this course, and ranks among the field’s longest hitters — exactly the profile this venue rewards. He also arrives in form off a T14 at the Travelers, where he closed with an 8-under 62.
  
• Aaron Rai — The steady-Eddie profile. The 2020 Scottish Open champion carded a T4 here in 2024 and ranks near the top of the field in driving accuracy, giving him a high floor if the wind kicks up and precision starts to matter more than raw power. A safe bet to make the weekend.
  
• Thomas Detry — His short game gives him multiple ways to survive a tough coastal setup, and he’s got history here — he was one of the three players in the 2021 playoff (finishing runner-up). A strong option in cut-and-finish formats where patience beats aggression.
  
• Kurt Kitayama — Easy to overlook, but he finished 2nd at this course in 2022, the year strong winds made it a genuine grind. If the forecast turns nasty, his ability to score in adverse conditions makes him a sneaky-strong play at a friendly price.

⭐️ Pro Tip: Prioritize distance off the tee, but don’t ignore the forecast — if the wind kicks up, pivot toward accurate ball-strikers and strong putters who can grind out pars while the bombers stall.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Genesis Scottish Open carries a $9,000,000 purse, with $1,575,000 going to the winner. That puts it in the same tier as recent events like the Byron Nelson and Charles Schwab Challenge — a meaningful step down from the $20,000,000 Signature Events and majors. With The Open Championship immediately following and the FedEx Cup Playoffs still ahead, save logic applies for some entries, though with only seven events remaining in most pools, the urgency to deploy is increasing across the board, and if you have multiple good options remaining, you may want to get to one here.

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR
➔ View Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee rankings on PGA TOUR

For a one-and-done pool this week, you’re looking for a long, aggressive driver who can attack this course’s generous landing areas while still flighting the ball down when the coastal wind picks up — the profile that has repeatedly shown up on the leaderboard here, from Rory McIlroy to Chris Gotterup to the power-heavy 2021 playoff trio. The single most important statistical category is strokes gained: off-the-tee (driving distance), because the course is unusually forgiving off the tee and features two reachable par-5s, a drivable par-4, and seven par-4s over 450 yards, meaning the biggest hitters gain a decisive scoring edge — in each of the last three years, at least 10 of the top 15 finishers ranked above average in driving distance for the week. Pair that length with a hot putter (the large, undulating greens make putting a strong secondary key), and if you’re deciding whether to burn an elite name here versus saving one for The Open next week, remember that the ideal one-and-done pick this week is a bomber in form who fits the course cleanly rather than a short, hyper-accurate positional player who will be hitting longer clubs into exposed greens than the field’s power players.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

The Travelers

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The Travelers
• Date: June 25–28, 2026
• Venue: TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut 
• Purse: $20,000,000 (winner $3.6 million)
• FedEx Cup Points: 700 to the winner
• Cut Rule: No cut
  
• Course Details: Don’t let the scorecard fool you. This week’s host is one of the shortest stops on Tour at just 6,841 yards as a par 70 — a Pete Dye redesign later refined and modernized by Bobby Weed. Cromwell does not need length to create fear. The identity here is short par 4s: 10 holes measure under 450 yards, funneling a steady diet of mid-irons from the 125-175 range and almost nothing from beyond 200. That puts a premium on wedge precision and a hot putter over raw power, and the rough stands out as the course’s best defense. It’s a birdie-maker’s paradise — this is where Jim Furyk fired a 58 and Cameron Young went 59 — but the drama lives in the closing stretch. The drivable 296-yard par-4 15th, with water surrounding left and a giant hill right, tempts everyone, while 16 (par 3 over water) and 17 keep the swings coming right up to the stadium-lined 18th. 
  
• Weather: Expect warm, mostly summery conditions in the low 80s for the tournament, with Thursday and Sunday looking the driest and sunniest. Scattered showers are possible Friday and Saturday — both carry around a 35% chance of rain, with Saturday also running cooler in the low 70s.

For the 74th time, the PGA TOUR makes its lone New England stop this week for the Travelers Championship, an event with roots stretching back to 1952 as the Insurance City Open in Hartford before Travelers took over as title sponsor in 2007 and the tournament settled into its longtime home at TPC River Highlands. Beyond the history and one of the largest crowds on Tour each season — second only to the WM Phoenix Open, this week carries real weight: it’s the final Signature Event of the year, the last big-money, elevated-points payday before the FedExCup Playoffs begin in August. The field reflects it. All the top-ranked players on Tour are here with the exception of Rory McIlroy, headlined by world No. 1 and betting favorite Scottie Scheffler, fresh U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark chasing his third win in five starts, and defending champ Keegan Bradley. Add Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Thomas, and 2017 winner Jordan Spieth, and you’ve got one last loaded leaderboard before the season’s stretch run.

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Keegan Bradley (−15)
• 2024 — Scottie Scheffler (−22)
• 2023 — Keegan Bradley (−23)
• 2022 — Xander Schauffele (−19)
• 2021 — Harris English (−13)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

The week after a U.S. Open grind, the players pivot to one of the most birdie-friendly stops on Tour, and the contrast couldn’t be sharper. Where Shinnecock demanded patience and survival, TPC River Highlands rewards aggression from the opening tee shot — a short, scoreable par 70 where winning scores routinely reach the high teens or low twenties under par. That makes shot-making, sharp wedges, and a hot putter far more valuable than raw length, and it’s why the same names tend to resurface on this leaderboard year after year. Course history matters here as much as anywhere on the schedule, so the players with strong track records around Cromwell deserve a long look. Just as important is the calendar: arriving on the heels of a major makes this a classic letdown trap, where emotionally and physically drained stars can quietly coast through four rounds.

With that balance in mind — proven horses for the course versus familiar names worth a second thought — here’s who to target and who to approach with caution.

Familiar Names:

• Scottie Scheffler — The world No. 1 and clear betting favorite is the obvious anchor. He won here in 2024 at 22-under and finished T6 in 2025, and leads the entire PGA Tour in 2026 scoring average with eight top-10s in 13 starts. Elite course fit plus the best form in the field.
  
• Tommy Fleetwood — Runner-up here in 2025, falling one short to Bradley, and a precision ball-striker whose game fits the course beautifully. He’s been excellent in 2026 with six top-10s in 13 starts.
  
• Patrick Cantlay — One of the best course-history plays in the field: he has eight consecutive finishes of T15 or better at the Travelers, and famously shot a 60 at TPC River Highlands as an amateur in 2011. No win yet, but an elite floor.
  
  Justin Thomas — A genuine horse for this course, with three straight top-10 finishes in Connecticut (T-9, T-5, T-9). He’s also rounding into form, having finished fourth at the PGA Championship and T17 at the U.S. Open. 
  
  Russell Henley — He nearly broke through here last year with a runner-up finish and has added four other top-20 finishes at the Travelers. The premium on accuracy and wedge play fits his profile as well as anyone’s.
  
• Brian Harman — The ultimate course specialist this week: the 2024 runner-up has finished inside the top 10 five straight times at TPC River Highlands. Easy to overlook, hard to leave out. 

Potential Fades:

• Wyndham Clark — He’s the hottest player in golf after his second U.S. Open title, and he’s actually played well here (a T9 in 2024). But this is a textbook post-major letdown spot, and several analysts are fading him this week on the theory that grinding is the last thing on his mind. High risk despite the form. 
  
• Keegan Bradley — The heart says yes — he’s the defending champ and a two-time winner here — but the form says pump the brakes. His best finish this season is a T12, and he sits No. 76 in the FedExCup standings. 
  
• Viktor Hovland — His elite iron play is a perfect fit for these small greens, but he’s a boom-or-bust option whose short game and putter have been genuine weaknesses, and last week’s missed cut is a reminder of how quickly it can unravel.

🧐 Did You Know?

The lowest round in PGA Tour history happened here. Jim Furyk shot a 58 at TPC River Highlands in 2016 — still the only sub-59 round in Tour history. The course is also a scoring magnet beyond that: Cameron Young’s 59 in 2024 made the Travelers the first PGA Tour event ever with multiple sub-60 rounds, joining Furyk’s 58 and the 60 Patrick Cantlay fired here as a 19-year-old amateur in 2011.

It hosted one of the longest playoffs in Tour history. Harris English outlasted Kramer Hickok in a sudden-death playoff that went eight holes in 2021 — tied for the second-longest sudden-death playoff in PGA Tour history. The closing stretch tends to deliver drama, from Jordan Spieth’s walk-off holed bunker shot in the 2017 playoff to Keegan Bradley’s birdie on the 72nd hole last year. 

Defending a title here is nearly impossible. Despite annually drawing one of the biggest crowds on Tour, there hasn’t been a successful back-to-back title defense at the Travelers since Phil Mickelson won in 2001 and 2002 — a quirk worth watching as two-time champ Keegan Bradley tries to defend his 2025 crown.

The Tour’s quirkiest “island green” floats in a pond. Between the 15th and 16th holes sits “The Umbrella at 15½” — a 40-foot-wide floating green shaped like the Travelers umbrella logo. During a practice round, pros can win $10,000 — donated by Travelers — for the charity of their choice by making the first hole-in-one or landing closest to the pin on the roughly 85-yard “Par 1.” What began as a brand-promotion lark has become a wildly popular charity challenge, with an official paddling out by canoe to measure each shot — and as Golf Digest put it, the Tour’s true island green resides at River Highlands, all due respect to Sawgrass.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

The fantasy formula at TPC River Highlands is different from the survival test players just endured at the U.S. Open. This is a birdie-fest where you want aggressive scorers, not grinders — a short par 70 where 10 holes measure under 450 yards and approaches cluster in the 125-175 range, with very few from beyond 200. That’s the key reason we keep coming back to strokes gained: approach — and this is one week where it matters as much as ever, if not more. With so many wedges and short irons in hand, the players who stuff it close from scoring range pile up the looks that win shootouts, which is why strong iron play has historically prevailed here. The one caveat: because nearly everyone hits a lot of greens at a course this short, the putter becomes the tiebreaker — SG: Approach gets you in position, but birdie conversion separates the winners. Two more angles to lean on: course history is unusually sticky here, so players with strong track records around Cromwell tend to repeat, and the no-cut format means every golfer you roster is guaranteed four rounds.

With the chalk already covered, here are five under-the-radar names whose profiles fit the course and who can quietly post a big week.

Sleepers to Consider:

•  J.J. Spaun — Outside the majors, he’s been one of the most consistent players on Tour. Over a recent six-start non-major stretch, his worst finish was a T-25, with results of first, T-25, T-14, T-5, T-6, and T-12. A precision-based game that travels well to a course like this.
  
  Kurt Kitayama — A stats-model favorite this week. He ranks sixth on Tour in both SG: Approach and proximity from 125-175 yards, and seventh in greens in regulation — exactly the skill set this course rewards most. The putter is the swing factor, but the ball-striking floor is high.
  
  Ben Griffin — Real course form to back the profile: he posted a T-14 here in 2025 and bounced back from a tired stretch to finish T-17 at the U.S. Open. Trending in the right direction at the right time.
  
• Akshay Bhatia — He’s flashed serious upside at this venue, going toe-to-toe with Scheffler before fading late for a T-5 here in 2024, and he ranks among the top 10 in the field in Birdies or Better Gained — the single trait that wins shootouts at Cromwell.
  
  Tom Hoge — One of the quietest elite iron players in the game. He’s among the top 10 in the field in approach proximity from 100-175 yards, the exact range this course demands over and over. Rarely a household pick, but a strong fit to grind out a top-20.

⭐️ Pro Tip: With a no-cut field guaranteed four rounds on one of the Tour’s shortest, most birdie-friendly courses, lean into elite iron play and red-hot putters — this is a week to chase upside and aggressive scorers, not safe, steady grinders.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Travelers Championship carries a $20,000,000 purse, with $3,600,000 going to the winner. That matches the other Signature Events on the PGA Tour calendar and still makes this a high-value week for One and Done pools, coming directly off the U.S. Open. With The Open Championship and the FedEx Cup Playoffs still remaining, some save logic applies for the very top options. However, this is still a week where deploying strong golfers makes sense, and playing to your position in the standings becomes increasingly important. 

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR

For one-and-done this week, target a precision iron player over a bomber — TPC River Highlands is short enough that distance is largely neutralized, and strong iron play has historically prevailed here, so the profile that wins is the player who controls his wedges and short irons rather than the one who overpowers the course. That makes SG: Approach (again) the single most important category to weigh: with the field hitting a steady diet of scoring-range approaches from 125-175 yards and almost nothing from beyond 200, the golfers who consistently stuff it close generate the volume of birdie looks needed to keep pace in what is annually a birdie-fest, with a hot putter as the tiebreaker that separates contenders from winners. Lean further toward players with proven course history, since results here are unusually sticky year to year, and don’t overlook the strategic gift of the no-cut format — because every entrant is guaranteed four rounds, your pick carries no missed-cut risk, which makes this a sensible week to deploy a strong-but-not-elite ball-striker you’re comfortable burning while saving your true studs for a higher-variance week down the stretch.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Open

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The U.S. Open
• Date: June 18–21, 2026
• Venue: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York 
• Purse: $21,500,000+ (winner $4.3 million+)
• FedEx Cup Points: 750 to the winner
• Cut Rule: Top 60 and ties after Round 2 (no 10 stroke rule)
  
• Course Details: This week’s championship returns to a windswept stretch of Long Island for the sixth time — a course that’s hosted U.S. Opens in three different centuries, more than any other. The layout players face is largely the work of architect William Flynn, whose 1931 redesign turned it into one of the world’s great strategic tests. It will be set up at 7,434 yards to a par of 70 — short by modern major standards, which tells you almost nothing about how hard it plays. The real defense is the wind. Flynn routed three sets of consecutive holes into triangles, so no matter which way the wind blows on a given day, players face a constantly shifting variety of shot-making challenges. Add crowned, exposed greens and thick fescue, and par becomes a great score. Only two champions have ever finished under par here. 
• What’s New: The USGA confirmed this will be the first U.S. Open at the venue played without any modifications to Flynn’s 1931 design — every previous championship, 2018 included, involved some narrowing of fairways or tweaking of greens. Not this time. Players get the course exactly as Flynn drew it up.
  
• Weather: Expect warm, largely sunny conditions in the mid-70s through the week, but wind will be the constant story — gusts are forecast to reach up to 30 mph at times, with the breeziest, most testing day coming early. There’s a chance of rain to open the championship Thursday before things dry out, meaning ball control in the wind will likely separate the field on this exposed coastal layout.

The U.S. Open has always billed itself as golf’s toughest test, and the 126th edition arrives with the storyline of the year attached to it. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines the field chasing the one major that has eluded him — a U.S. Open title that would make him just the seventh player ever to complete the career Grand Slam. He won’t have an easy path. This week’s venue is one of the most punishing courses the championship ever visits — only two champions have ever finished under par here (Floyd in ’86 and Goosen in ’04) — and with firm, wind-swept conditions in the forecast, even par should once again feel like a trophy. The field is one of the deepest and most accomplished in golf, blending major champions, world-ranked stars, and rising talent with qualifiers who earned their place through one of the sport’s most demanding pathways. Beyond Scheffler, keep a close eye on Masters champion Rory McIlroy, two-time U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, reigning PGA champ Aaron Rai, and defending champion J.J. Spaun — though as history at this course shows, the leaderboard come Sunday rarely reads like the betting board.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – J.J. Spaun, 279 (−1) at Oakmont
• 2024 – Bryson DeChambeau, 274 (−6) at Pinehurst No. 2
• 2023 – Wyndham Clark, 270 (−10) at Los Angeles Country Club
• 2022 – Matt Fitzpatrick, 274 (−6) at The Country Club (Brookline)
• 2021 – Jon Rahm, 278 (−6) at Torrey Pines

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

Shinnecock doesn’t crown the hottest hand — it crowns the steadiest one. This is a course where reputations get exposed, where a single wild tee shot can turn a contender into a Friday flight home, and where par on the back nine feels like a birdie everywhere else. The winner won’t be whoever makes the most birdies; it’ll be whoever survives the wind, the fescue, and their own nerves the longest. That makes picking this week as much about temperament as talent. Here are the names built to handle it, the players who’ve already proven they can on this very turf, and a few familiar faces we’d think twice about before spending a roster spot.

Here are the names worth circling on your roster sheet: 

Expected to Contend:

• Scottie Scheffler — He arrives with the career Grand Slam in sight, and Shinnecock plays directly to his greatest weapon: proximity from the fairway. On a course where holding firm, crowned greens is the entire game, the world’s best iron player starts a clear cut above.
  
• Rory McIlroy — His ceiling here is the highest in the field, because length off the tee shortens the brutal par 4s into manageable approaches. The risk is the same as always at a U.S. Open — when the driver drifts, the fescue punishes him harder than anyone.
  
• Bryson DeChambeau — A two-time U.S. Open champion (2020, 2024) who has learned to pair his raw power with the patience these setups demand. He treats par as a weapon rather than a frustration, which is exactly the mindset Shinnecock rewards.
  
• Jon Rahm — A former U.S. Open winner whose natural right-to-left flight and low ball control are tailor-made for shaping shots into the wind. Few players in the field combine his shot-making with his ability to grind out a score on a bad day.

Shinnecock Veterans:

• Tommy Fleetwood — Runner-up here in 2018, where he closed with a 63, one of the lowest rounds in U.S. Open history. His elite iron play and unflappable temperament are perfectly suited to Shinnecock, making him arguably the best course-fit value on the board.
  
• Dustin Johnson — He led through 36 holes before finishing third here in 2018, proving his power-and-touch combination fits the layout. The only hesitation is whether his major-championship sharpness still matches that pedigree. 
  
• Xander Schauffele — A top-six finish here in 2018 reflects his defining trait: he almost never beats himself. In a week where avoiding the big mistake matters more than chasing birdies, that consistency is worth its weight.
  
• Tyrrell Hatton — Also inside the top six in 2018, and his fiery competitiveness masks genuinely world-class ball-striking. The volatile setup that frustrates others tends to bring out his stubborn best. 
  
• Brooks Koepka — The 2018 Shinnecock champion is a five-time major winner who elevates precisely when conditions turn ugly. The serious caveat: he withdrew from last week’s RBC Canadian Open with a hand injury, and though he intends to play, an untested grip makes him pure boom-or-bust.

Potential Fades:

• Rickie Fowler — His name still carries weight, but Shinnecock offers no margin for the inconsistency that has defined his recent seasons. This is a course that exposes shaky form rather than hiding it.
  
• Jordan Spieth — His creativity and scrambling can manufacture pars from anywhere, but the accuracy premium off the tee here works against his current ball-striking. Too much of his round would be spent recovering rather than attacking.
  
• Jason Day — A former world No. 1 whose pedigree tempts drafters, but the physical grind of a firm, demanding U.S. Open setup is a tough ask for his game right now. Better suited to softer, more forgiving venues.
  
• Wyndham Clark — His 2023 U.S. Open title makes him a tempting pedigree pick, but his form has been too uneven since to bank on at a venue this demanding. Shinnecock punishes the streaky, and consistency hasn’t been his calling card lately.
  
• Adam Scott — One of the most respected names of his generation, and his swing still looks the part, but at 45 the relentless grind of a firm, wind-battered U.S. Open is a steep ask. The putter under championship pressure remains the bigger question for fantasy purposes.

🧐 Did You Know?

It’s the most democratic major in golf. Any professional — or any amateur with a Handicap Index of 0.4 or better — can enter, and this year a staggering 10,201 players filed entries for the 126th U.S. Open. Most have to grind through Local then Final Qualifying, a 36-holes-in-one-day gauntlet known as “Golf’s Longest Day” — where 715 players battled across ten sites for just 43 spots at Shinnecock this year.

A 17-year-old made it in with Tiger Woods’ son on the bag. Amateur Miles Russell, 17, will be the youngest player in the field at Shinnecock, making his first major start — and he punched his ticket through Final Qualifying with Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son, caddying for him. The two are close friends and both committed to play college golf at Florida State.

The U.S. Open’s very first champion was a 21-year-old who entered almost by accident. On October 4, 1895, 21-year-old Englishman Horace Rawlins won the inaugural U.S. Open over 36 holes in a single day at Newport, Rhode Island, posting a 173 around the club’s 9-hole course. Rawlins had arrived in the U.S. only months earlier to work as the assistant pro at the host club, and likely entered simply because he happened to be there — collecting a $150 winner’s share from a total prize fund of $335, a figure that today runs into the millions.

The greatest player ever lost a ball at this week’s host course — and it made history. During the storm-lashed opening round of the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, Jack Nicklaus couldn’t find his drive on the 10th hole after a forecaddie abandoned his post in the rain, forcing Nicklaus to walk back to the tee. Nicklaus later said it was the first ball he had lost since the 1959 British Amateur — a span of 27 years. 

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Shinnecock flips the usual fantasy calculus on its head. At most events you chase birdies; here you chase the absence of disaster. With firm, crowned greens, knee-high fescue, and wind that rarely lets up, the smart build prioritizes driving accuracy, greens in regulation, and bogey avoidance over raw distance — a player who finds fairways and two-putts for par will quietly climb past the bombers spraying it into the hay. Temperament matters as much as talent, because the back nine will test every entrant’s patience. And with the cut at a tight top 60 and ties (no 10-shot safety net), cut security is real value this week: a steady grinder who guarantees you a weekend is worth more than a boom-or-bust name who might be gone by Friday night. That dynamic is exactly where under-owned, precision-first players earn their keep.

Sleepers to Consider:

•  Corey Conners — Perhaps the purest course-fit value in the field. He’s one of the most accurate ball-strikers in the world tee-to-green, the single most important skill this week, yet his quiet demeanor keeps his ownership low. On a layout that punishes the wayward, his ability to pepper fairways and greens is a genuine edge.
  
• Harris English — A steady, big-game performer who consistently shows up in majors and tough setups without much fanfare. His combination of reliable tee-to-green play and a strong putting touch makes him a high-floor option who can sneak into the top 10 while others fade.
  
• Maverick McNealy — Few players in the field are this accurate while flying this far under the radar. His precision off the tee and disciplined, low-mistake style are tailor-made for a U.S. Open grind, and his cut-making consistency offers real insurance against the tight 36-hole line.
  
• Shane Lowry — The savviest wind play on the board. A proven champion in brutal, blustery conditions, he relishes exactly the kind of weather Shinnecock is set to deliver, and his ability to flight the ball and grind out pars travels perfectly to a coastal links-style test.
  
• Sungjae Im — One of the most relentless grinders in golf, he makes cuts at an elite rate and rarely beats himself — precisely the profile that creeps up a U.S. Open leaderboard. His patience and durability over four demanding days give him a quietly high ceiling for a name that won’t cost you a premium.

⭐️ Pro Tip: This week, draft fairways over fireworks — at Shinnecock, the player who keeps it in play and calmly accepts par will outlast the bombers chasing birdies into the fescue.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The U.S. Open purse has not been officially announced, but last year’s total purse was $21,500,000, with $4,300,000 going to the first-place winner. Any increase this year would push it higher, and it likely ranks as the highest prize amount available. You want to make a pick that gives you a great chance of winning, and only want to diversify off your top choice if it makes sense for popularity reasons and your place in the standings.

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR

This is a week to spend on a complete, precision-first ball-striker rather than a one-dimensional bomber — history at Shinnecock rewards control over power, with champions like Koepka, Goosen, and Floyd all winning on the strength of disciplined shot-making and unshakable patience rather than raw distance. When hunting for your pick, lean heavily on SG: Approach, because the course’s firm, crowned, exposed greens demand pinpoint distance and trajectory control; a player who can flight the ball into the wind and hold these surfaces will manufacture far more realistic birdie looks and, just as critically, avoid the short-siding that turns a U.S. Open round into a card-wrecker. Your perfect pick, then, is an elite iron player with proven major-championship composure and a track record of grinding out top finishes in tough setups — the kind of golfer who treats par as a weapon — while steering clear of the streaky putters and erratic drivers who tend to unravel when Shinnecock bares its teeth. Given how heavily this venue favors that exact archetype, it’s a defensible week to deploy one of your premium ball-strikers, since the conditions tilt the odds toward the steadiest, most accurate player in the field rather than a long-shot getting hot.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

The Memorial Tournament

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The Memorial Tournament
• Date: June 4–7, 2026
• Venue: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio 
• Purse: $20,000,000 (winner $4.0 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 50 and ties after Round 2, plus anyone within 10 strokes of the lead.
  
• Course Details: This week the world’s best descend on the par-72 monster that Jack Nicklaus built and still personally fine-tunes nearly every year. Stretching to roughly 7,569 yards, it’s one of the longer tracks the Tour visits all season — but raw power alone won’t cut it. Nicklaus designed it as a shotmaker’s examination, and he has continued to tinker with it over the decades to keep pace with the evolving elite game. The defining features are the same ones that make grown men weep: tree-lined fairways that pinch in at the landing zones, a creek that snakes through the property and threatens tee shots and approaches on three of the four par 5s, and small, severely undulating bentgrass greens that run pure and fast. The course is especially tough tee-to-green, with very thick and penalizing rough and fast and firm greens. The rough is grown to near U.S. Open thickness every June, so missing fairways is punished harshly — a key reason this course historically produces one of the lowest birdie rates from the rough on Tour.
• What’s New: Not much, and that’s actually the headline. No major course changes were conducted after last year’s edition, which is surprising only because tweaking the fairways, greens and bunkers has become an almost yearly staple here. After the dramatic 2021 face-lift — tightened rough lines, every greenside bunker rebuilt, several greens shrunk, and around 250 yards added — the design has settled in. The biggest change for 2026 is off the course: a new scoreboard. The test itself is exactly the beast it’s been the last few years.
  
• Weather: Dublin, Ohio is shaping up for a warm, mostly dry week, with highs climbing from the low 80s Thursday into the mid-80s by the weekend and only slim rain chances (around 10%) for the opening rounds. Saturday brings a slightly better shot at a stray storm (about 25%), but with firm, warm conditions in the forecast, expect Jack’s greens to get fast and firm — exactly the high-scoring defense Nicklaus loves.

Welcome to one of the crown jewels of the PGA TOUR calendar. Founded and still hosted by Jack Nicklaus, the Memorial Tournament has been a late-spring tradition since 1976, and this week marks its 50th anniversary — a milestone edition of an event Jack built to honor the game’s greats and test the world’s best on one of the most demanding venues they’ll see all year. As the seventh of eight Signature Events this season, it carries a $20 million purse and an elite, limited 72-player field, which means the talent is stacked top to bottom. It’s the first Signature Event to feature both McIlroy and Scheffler since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. Speaking of Scheffler — the World No. 1 arrives as the two-time defending champion, chasing history: a win would make him the first player to take the same PGA TOUR event three years running since Steve Stricker at the John Deere from 2009-11, and put him alongside Tiger Woods’ legendary 1999-2001 three-peat here. He won’t have it easy. The field includes World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (still seeking his first Memorial title), Cameron Young, Matt Fitzpatrick, red-hot Russell Henley, Justin Rose, reigning FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood, J.J. Spaun, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, and Hideki Matsuyama. In short: if you’re setting a lineup this week, there’s no shortage of stars to build around.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – Scottie Scheffler (−10)
• 2024 – Scottie Scheffler (−8)
• 2023 – Viktor Hovland (−7)
• 2022 – Billy Horschel (−13)
• 2021 – Patrick Cantlay (−13)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

This is a course that rewards precision over power and tends to reveal itself through history — past performance at Muirfield Village means a lot here. In fact, 10 of the past 11 Memorial winners had made the cut at the course in their previous appearance. Since the major 2021 renovation tightened the rough, rebuilt the bunkers, shrank some greens, and added length, low scores have become much harder to come by — the winning total has dropped from 13 under in 2021 and 2022 down to single digits in each of the last three years. That makes this less a birdie-fest and more a test of patience, where avoiding big mistakes matters as much as making putts. The greens are tiny and lightning-fast, the greenside bunkers are among the most punishing on Tour, and the course ranks inside the top five for the lowest scrambling percentage on the schedule (around 53%) — so getting up-and-down here is a genuine grind. Approach play is the great separator: putting yourself on the correct tier of these severe green complexes is the difference between a tap-in birdie and a three-putt bogey. Add in thick, near-U.S.-Open rough that punishes anyone who sprays it off the tee, and you’ve got a week where ball-striking and course knowledge rise to the top.

Here are the names worth circling on your roster sheet: 

• Scottie Scheffler — The two-time defending champion and World No. 1, chasing a historic three-peat. There’s been chatter about his ball-striking being a touch off his ridiculous standard this season, but until someone beats him here, he’s the man to fade at your own risk.
  
• Russell Henley — Arguably the best pure fit in the field. He just won the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff, has multiple top-10s this season including the Masters, and leads the Tour in driving accuracy — exactly the profile this second-shot golf course rewards. He finished T5 here last year.
  
• Patrick Cantlay — A two-time Memorial champion (2019 and 2021) who simply gets this place. He’s added a pair of top-5 finishes around those wins and ranks 2nd on Tour in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green — a huge asset given how punishing the scrambling is here. If the putter cooperates, watch out.
  
• Hideki Matsuyama — The 2014 champion, who famously won here in his very first Memorial start. A world-class iron player, which is the single most important skill this week.
  
• Justin Rose — The 2010 winner and still a remarkably consistent ball-striker at this stage of his career. A proven horse for this course who knows how to navigate it.
  
• Rory McIlroy — World No. 2 and back in the field after skipping last year. He’s never won at Jack’s place, and has openly admitted his length advantage gets somewhat neutralized by the way the fairways pinch in — but an in-form McIlroy is always dangerous, and the storyline alone makes him compelling.
  
• Ludvig Åberg — One of the hottest ball-strikers in golf and sitting near the top of the odds board. He’s racked up a string of strong 2026 results, including 3rd at Bay Hill, a pair of 5ths at TPC Sawgrass and TPC San Antonio, and 4th at Harbour Town. His all-around game travels beautifully to premium-approach venues like this.
  
• Xander Schauffele — An elite, well-rounded ball-striker who rarely beats himself — exactly the bogey-avoidance profile that wins here. He doesn’t have a deep Memorial résumé, but his consistency and shot-making make him a strong fit for a demanding setup.

Potential Fades:

• Cameron Young — Despite having some of the shortest odds in the field, the data is wary. He’s never cracked the top 20 in four starts here, has broken par just once over his last 12 rounds at Muirfield Village, and is teeing it up for the first time in three weeks since the PGA Championship — a tough spot to shake off rust.
  
• Wyndham Clark — He’s red-hot, having just closed with a 60 to win the CJ Cup, so the temptation is real. But his Memorial track record is mediocre (a best finish of just T12), and his bomber profile has historically been a shaky fit for this precision-first test. Buyer beware.
  
• Jordan Spieth — Always a tempting, familiar name, but proceed with caution. He hasn’t won in nearly four years, and his recurring issue is waywardness off the tee — the exact flaw Muirfield Village’s thick rough punishes most severely. He’s played the course respectably in the past, but his current form makes him a risky build.

🧐 Did You Know?

Jack designed the entire experience — and still runs it. Now in its 50th anniversary year, the Memorial is one of only a handful of PGA TOUR events both founded and hosted by the same legend. Jack Nicklaus founded the tournament, designed Muirfield Village himself, and has presided over every single edition since 1976. There’s no other regular-season stop on Tour with that combination of host, course, and pedigree all tracing back to one person.

Every year honors a golf great — and 2026 reaches all the way back to the game’s origins. A signature tradition is the Honoree Ceremony, held the Wednesday of tournament week. This year’s honorees are two-time major champion and 1980 Memorial winner David Graham, along with — posthumously — Allan Robertson, the early St. Andrews professional widely regarded as the first great golf professional, whose death in 1859 helped inspire the creation of The Open Championship.

The yellow you’ll see everywhere has a deeply personal meaning. The tournament’s “Play Yellow” theme isn’t just branding. It’s inspired by the yellow shirts Jack Nicklaus wore in the final round of tournaments, which he did to honor Craig Smith — the son of a close friend who fought bone cancer and died at age 13 in 1971. The campaign now raises money for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Muirfield Village rewards a very specific profile, so let the course dictate your strategy rather than chasing big names. Three things matter most here. First, Strokes Gained: Approach is king — this is a second-shot golf course where getting on the correct tier of these severe greens is the whole game. Second, prioritize driving accuracy and bogey avoidance over raw distance; the thick, near-U.S.-Open rough turns wayward tee shots into bogeys in a hurry, and recent winners have ranked near the top in avoiding mistakes. Third, lean on course history — 10 of the past 11 winners had already made the cut here in their prior appearance, so this is a venue where comfort and reps count. Pair one or two elite ball-strikers at the top with value plays who fit that mold, and don’t overpay for bombers who don’t profile well.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Sepp Straka — The standout course-fit sleeper. He’s been dynamite at Muirfield Village over the last three years, with a top-20 in 2023, a T5 in 2024, and a third-place finish last year, and he’s a precise, approach-first player tailor-made for this test. He also carries a trio of top-10s this season, including a T4 at Doral a few starts ago. Quietly one of the best plays in the field at his price.
  
• Corey Conners — A pure ball-striker who fits this course as well as almost anyone. He’s had brilliant stretches of iron play this season but hasn’t cashed in with a hot putting week — and this tougher, iron-demanding setup is exactly where that ball-striking can shine if the putter even rises to average. A classic low-floor, high-ceiling tournament play.
  
• Maverick McNealy — A strong value option rounding into form at the right time. After losing strokes on approach in three straight events, his irons came alive with big SG: Approach weekends, and he finished T5 at the Memorial last year — proof his game travels to demanding setups like this one.
  
• Daniel Berger — A deeper-value sleeper with the precise profile this course wants. His blend of accuracy off the tee and crisp iron play gives him a real shot, and he’s finished T5 here before (2022) — plus he was runner-up at Bay Hill back in March, showing he can contend on a tough track when his game is sharp. 

⭐️ Pro Tip: Don’t chase distance this week — at Muirfield Village, the players who hit fairways and stuff their irons close are the ones who’ll be standing on the leaderboard come Sunday, so build your lineup around accuracy and Strokes Gained: Approach.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Memorial Tournament features a $20 million purse, including $4 million to the winner, matching the PGA Tour’s other Signature Events and representing one of the richest remaining tournaments of the season. With only the U.S. Open surpassing it in significance and prize money on the remaining schedule, the Memorial should be viewed as a premier deployment week for pool players. Those who have been saving their top golfers for the right opportunity have likely reached it, making this a week to balance using your strongest available options with your position in the standings and, if necessary, differentiating with less popular selections to gain ground on the competition.

For a one-and-done this week, target a golfer whose game is built on precision rather than power — the type who hits fairways, controls his irons, and avoids the big number rather than the bomber who overpowers a course. Muirfield Village simply doesn’t reward distance the way most modern venues do; the fairways pinch in at the landing zones, the rough is grown to near-U.S.-Open thickness, and the small, severely contoured greens punish anyone approaching from the wrong spot or the wrong angle. History backs this up: recent champions like Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel won by leading the field in bogey avoidance, and the past three winning scores have all sat in single digits, proving this is a grind where mistakes are far more costly than missed birdie chances. Now, we say it nearly every week that Strokes Gained: Approach is the metric that matters most — and that’s true — but this week you should crank that dial all the way up, because few venues on the entire calendar lean on iron play as heavily as this one.

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR

On a typical Tour stop, a hot putter or a couple of bombed drives can paper over mediocre approach play; here, the tiny, lightning-fast greens and brutal scrambling conditions leave nowhere to hide, so the player who consistently hits the correct tier from the fairway gains a far bigger edge than he would almost anywhere else. In other words, SG: Approach isn’t just the most important category this week — it’s the most important it’ll be all year. Pair elite ball-striking and SG: Approach with a solid history at the course (10 of the past 11 winners had already made the cut here in their prior appearance), and you’ve got the blueprint for the perfect one-and-done pick this week.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

Charles Schwab Challenge

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Charles Schwab Challenge
• Date: May 28–31, 2026
• Venue: Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas 
• Purse: $9,900,000+ (winner $1.78 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
  
• Course Details: This week’s host is one of the most historic tracks on Tour — the longest-running venue at the same site for any non-major, celebrating its 80th edition. Originally designed by John Bredemus, with later contributions from Golden Age architect Perry Maxwell, it’s a tight, tree-lined par-70 stretching just 7,289 yards — short by modern standards, and a refreshing throwback in an era of bomb-and-gouge. Don’t let the yardage fool you. This is a positional, second-shot test where accuracy off the tee and the ability to shape the ball both directions matter far more than raw distance. The Trinity River borders the property, putting water in play on six holes, and gusty Texas winds are a defining feature — when the breeze kicks up, par becomes a genuinely valuable number, which is rare on Tour these days. The bentgrass greens add another wrinkle, putting a premium on the flat-stick.
• What’s New: Following the 2023 tournament, the course underwent a comprehensive $20 million renovation overseen by Gil Hanse (with partner Jim Wagner). Rather than a redesign, Hanse leaned on history — using Maxwell’s 1941 modifications as a roadmap to restore the course’s classic character. The fantasy implication is worth flagging: the renovation has shifted the test back toward accuracy and mid-iron precision, rewarding players who can work the ball into the right angles to attack pins.
• Weather: Expect a hot, humid week in Fort Worth with highs in the low 90s, plus heavy rain on Wednesday that should soften the course and set up low scoring on Thursday and Friday. Winds pick up on Saturday — the likeliest day for higher scores — before easing later Sunday.

This week the PGA TOUR rolls into Fort Worth for the 80th edition of one of golf’s most storied stops — the longest-running tournament held at the same venue of any non-major on TOUR, dating back to 1946. Known affectionately as “Hogan’s Alley” after Ben Hogan won the inaugural event and four more here across his career, this throwback test sits in a fascinating spot on the calendar: the back half of the Tour’s Texas two-step and the last tune-up before next week’s Memorial and the U.S. Open looming two weeks out. That timing thins the field a touch — notably, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and 2016 champ Jordan Spieth are both sitting this one out — but there’s still serious firepower here, with seven of the world’s top 20 teeing it up. J.J. Spaun headlines as the highest-ranked man in the field at No. 9, joined by Russell Henley, Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Robert MacIntyre, and defending champion Ben Griffin. Keep an eye on the in-form names too: Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler are drawing plenty of buzz, along with Akshay Bhatia and lefty Brian Harman, whose accuracy-first game is a natural fit for this tight, positional track. 

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Ben Griffin (−12)
• 2024 — Davis Riley (−14)
• 2023 — Emiliano Grillo (−8)
• 2022 — Sam Burns (−9)
• 2021 — Jason Kokrak (−14)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

Colonial is one of the great equalizers on Tour — a tight, tree-lined par-70 that’s among the shortest courses players see all year, which flips the usual fantasy logic on its head. This is the Tour’s quintessential positional course, where accuracy off the tee and mid-iron precision matter far more than raw power, and the bombers who feast at wide-open venues often grind here instead. History backs it up: length off the tee is usually an irrelevance, and the course can’t really be overpowered. Two more things to weigh before you lock in picks. First, the trends are unusually predictive here — all of the last 13 winners had posted a top-14 finish in one of their previous six starts, and seven of the last 10 had already finished top-14 at Colonial in a prior year, so recent form and proven course history both carry real signal. Second, the weather is a live variable: with the course likely softened by midweek rain and the wind picking up over the weekend, this could come down to whoever best manages the gusts on Saturday. And with Scottie Scheffler skipping his home-state stop, the door is wide open for a crowded group of contenders — so there’s value to be found beyond the obvious favorites.

Here are the names worth circling on your roster sheet: 

• J.J. Spaun — The highest-ranked player in the field at world No. 9. Elite from tee to green this season, with a profile that feels tailor-made for Colonial, and he backs it up with a T6 here last season.
  
• Russell Henley — The name of his game is control — he plays from the fairway, gives himself clean looks, and manages his ball better than almost anyone in the field. A T16 here in 2023 fits the story.
  
• Rickie Fowler — One of the hottest names in the field. He arrives carrying some of the best form of anyone here, and his calculated, course-dissecting style suits a strategic test like this. Strong course history.
  
• Tony Finau — Among the best Colonial records in the field. No win here, but two top-5s and four top-20s, and he hasn’t missed the cut in five tries — his worst finish in the last four years is T-21.
  
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout — A model of consistency at this venue. One of the top-10 scoring averages at Colonial since 2020, and one of just eleven players to avoid missing the cut here each of the last five years.
  
• Sungjae Im — One of six players with multiple top-15 finishes here in the last five years, and a strong Colonial scoring average to match. A classic quiet-but-reliable play.
  
• Keegan Bradley — Finished runner-up here in 2024, so the course clearly fits.
  
• Harry Hall — Has now posted top-10 finishes at Colonial in two of the last three seasons — worth a look as a sneaky-good fit.

Potential Fades:

• Ludvig Åberg — He’ll be the betting favorite, but think hard before leaning on him here. Colonial ranks among the toughest non-major courses on the schedule, and his biggest weapon — elite distance off the tee — is largely neutralized on a positional layout where placement beats power. It’s also his first career start at the course.
  
• Robert MacIntyre — Despite being one of the elite players in the field, he’s a glaring fade right now. He’s missed two cuts since Masters week with no finish better than T-40, driven by dreadful iron play — losing strokes on approach in eight of his past 10 events. That’s a disastrous trend heading into one of the most demanding iron courses on Tour, where precision into the greens is everything. Form and course-fit are both working against him.
  
• Davis Riley — A tricky one, because his course history is genuinely excellent (2024 champ, T-4 in 2022). But beware the pattern: it’s been feast or famine for Riley at Colonial — his win and a top-five were each followed by missed cuts, largely due to poor putting weeks. High ceiling, low floor — risky if you need a safe finish.
  
• Hideki Matsuyama — One of the bigger names in the field and a tempting pick on talent and ranking, but he comes in without the supporting form or recent Colonial pedigree the model-favorites have. A name that looks better on reputation than on this week’s profile — proceed with caution if you’re chasing the brand rather than the fit.

🧐 Did You Know?

Nobody’s defended here since the Eisenhower administration. Ben Griffin is trying to become the first player to successfully defend a Charles Schwab Challenge title since Ben Hogan did it in the early 1950s — a drought of more than 70 years at golf’s longest-running single-venue event. 

The winner drives away with more than a trophy. Along with the famous tartan jacket, the champion receives a custom, hand-built vehicle — and this year it’s the “1982 Schwab Scrambler,” a classic 4×4 chosen to commemorate the year Charles Schwab became the first to offer clients 24/7 order entry and quote service.

They don’t call it “Hogan’s Alley” for nothing. The venue earned its nickname from Ben Hogan, who won the very first tournament here in 1946, successfully defended it in 1947, and ultimately captured five titles at the Fort Worth club — a level of mastery so complete that the course became synonymous with his name. Hogan, a Dallas native, was so closely tied to the event throughout his career that the nickname stuck for good, even though he never officially served as host.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

The smart approach this week starts with throwing out your usual leaderboard instincts. This is a “less-than-driver” course where off-the-tee distance barely matters — avoiding the rough and finding the right spots in the fairway is far more crucial than being long. The winning formula is remarkably consistent: four of the last five champions finished the week top-12 in both Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Putting. So your build should prioritize elite iron play and a hot putter over raw power.

One stat to anchor your thinking: a full 82% of approach shots at Colonial come from inside 200 yards, making this a prime week to target players who thrive with their wedges and mid-irons. Lean into proximity from 100–200 yards and bentgrass putting numbers. And don’t be afraid to go off-board — longshots are genuinely viable here, with the event producing surprise winners like Emiliano Grillo and Davis Riley over the last three years. A diverse range of skillsets can win on this throwback layout, which is exactly why sleepers pay off at Colonial.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Andrew Putnam — The quintessential Colonial profile: a short, accurate plodder in the mold of past champs like Chris Kirk and Kevin Na. He’s got a strong course history here with a T3 and two other top-20s across eight appearances, and arrives in excellent form off a T5 at the Valero Texas Open. A genuine fit-plus-form play flying under the radar.
  
• Alex Smalley — Maybe the hottest under-the-radar name in the field. He’s reeled off five consecutive top-20s while gaining strokes across the board, ranking fourth in tee-to-green and 10th in putting over that stretch, and grades out above average in every key Colonial stat category. Consistency is exactly what this course rewards.
  
• Sudarshan Yellamaraju — A deep sleeper with real upside. He rates as one of the best players in this entire field by strokes gained total, yet sits near 100-1 — and he’s already posted a T5 at another demanding positional track in TPC Sawgrass. He also clears the bar in every key stat category this week.
  
• Taylor Moore — A strong comp-course angle: Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course is a great match for Colonial, and Moore — a former Valspar winner there — is heating up with four straight improving finishes (T39-T20-T17-T14) and a great close-range scoring game. When his irons click, he can win.

⭐️ Pro Tip: Forget the bombers and load up on precision — at a short, tight par-70 where 82% of approaches come from inside 200 yards, the players who find fairways and get hot with their irons and putter are the ones lifting the tartan jacket on Sunday.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Charles Schwab Challenge carries a $9,900,000 purse, with $1,710,000 going to the winner. That’s a similar purse level to last week’s Byron Nelson and a meaningful drop from the $20,000,000 Signature Event purses we’ve seen recently. Factor that into how aggressively you deploy top-ranked golfers this week, as several stronger events remain on the calendar including The Memorial and the U.S. Open.

Colonial is the rare week where you can comfortably spend a mid-tier golfer rather than burning an elite name, because this short, positional par-70 neutralizes the bombers and rewards a very specific archetype: the accurate, methodical ball-striker who plots his way around tight, tree-lined corridors rather than overpowering them. History backs it up — past champions here skew toward precision players like Chris Kirk, Kevin Na, Zach Johnson, and Kevin Kisner, not big hitters, and the winning recipe has been remarkably consistent, with four of the last five champs finishing top-12 in both Strokes Gained: Approach and Putting. Of those, Strokes Gained: Approach is the category that matters most this week, and the reason is structural: a full 82% of approach shots at Colonial come from inside 200 yards, so the golfers who are elite with their wedges and mid-irons get the most looks at birdie and separate themselves on a course where par is a genuinely valuable score.

➔ View Strokes Gained: Approach rankings on PGA TOUR

Your ideal pick, then, is someone in strong recent form who ranks among the field’s best in approach play and proximity from 100–200 yards, owns a track record of success at strategic, wind-exposed venues, and can lean on a reliable putter on the bentgrass greens — a profile that points you toward a steady, in-form name with proven course history over a flashy favorite whose main weapon is distance off the tee.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

The PGA Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: PGA Championship
• Date: May 14–17, 2026
• Venue: Aronimink Golf Club — Newtown Square, PA
• Purse: $19,000,000+ (winner $3.42 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 70 players and ties after 36 holes
  
• Course Details: This week’s host is a 1928 Donald Ross design widely considered his masterpiece, a classic parkland layout just west of Philadelphia that’s playing as a par 70 at roughly 7,400 yards for the championship. Ross famously said of this place, “I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize that I built better than I knew”. The bunkering is the defining feature. A Gil Hanse / Jim Wagner restoration that launched in 2016 took the bunker count from 74 to 176, replacing modernized greenside bunkers with smaller, intricate clusters in Ross’s original style. Add in his famously crowned, contoured greens with severe runoff areas, and missing in the wrong spot leaves players nowhere to go.
• New This Year: More than 100 yards have been added through new tee boxes, fairways have been pinched in at the landing zones to roughly 32 yards wide, and the rough has been grown out to around 3.5–4 inches. A new forward tee on the short par-4 13th will allow players to make it driveable on certain days, bringing the out-of-bounds left of the green dangerously into play. Expect that to be one of the most-watched holes of the week.
• Weather: Forecast looks generally favorable for Aronimink, with highs climbing from the low 60s on Thursday into the upper 70s by Saturday and only a 20% chance of rain through each of the four competitive rounds. Cool, breezy conditions early in the week could keep the greens firm and approach play tricky before warmer weekend temperatures soften the test.

The PGA Championship — the year’s second major and one of golf’s four crown jewels, contested for the storied Wanamaker Trophy since 1916 — returns this week for its 108th playing, with a layout, a region, and a moment that all feel uniquely special. This is the first PGA Championship held in the Philadelphia area in over 60 years, and it coincides with the United States semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of America’s founding in 1776 in Philadelphia. The PGA Championship is widely regarded as having the strongest field of any major, and this year is no exception: 156 players, including virtually everyone inside the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrives as the betting favorite, with Rory McIlroy chasing the third leg of a potential calendar Grand Slam after his Masters win, Cameron Young coming in hot off a Players Championship victory and a T3 at Augusta, and red-hot Matt Fitzpatrick riding three wins in his last five starts. Ludvig Åberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley, Brooks Koepka, and Akshay Bhatia round out a deep contender list — though the headlines this week also include who’s not here: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have both opted out for personal reasons. With a classic Donald Ross test waiting and the strongest field in golf assembled outside Philadelphia, this one has all the makings of a memorable major.

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Scottie Scheffler (-11) at Quail Hollow Club
• 2024 — Xander Schauffele (-21) at Valhalla Golf Club
• 2023 — Brooks Koepka (-9) at Oak Hill Country Club
• 2022 — Justin Thomas (-5, at Southern Hills Country Club
• 2021 — Phil Mickelson (-6) at Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Worth noting: Xander Schauffele’s -21 in 2024 was a remarkable score, while the others all fell in the -5 to -11 range — closer to what you can expect at this week’s classic, demanding Donald Ross test.

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

The PGA Championship’s strongest-field-in-golf reputation means depth is everywhere this week, but a Donald Ross classic with narrow fairways, demanding approaches, and complex green contours will reward a specific kind of player — precision iron strikers with a complete game over pure bombers. With fairways pinched to roughly 32 yards wide and rough grown out to 3.5–4 inches, this is not a week where you can spray it off the tee and recover with wedges — driving accuracy and the ability to control trajectory into firm, contoured greens will be at a premium. The smart roster build leans toward elite iron players, strong scramblers, and steady putters on bentgrass, while fading one-dimensional bombers and players whose recent form has been carried by short-game heroics. Adding intrigue: this course last hosted a Tour event at the 2018 BMW Championship, giving us a small but useful data set on who has solved Aronimink before.

Here are the names worth circling on your roster sheet: 

• Scottie Scheffler — The defending champion and World No. 1 is the tournament favorite for good reason. His combination of elite ball-striking and steady-everything game profiles perfectly for this test. Penciling him in anywhere below the top 10 feels brave.
  
• Rory McIlroy — Coming off a Masters win and chasing the third leg of a calendar Grand Slam, Rory finished T5 here at the 2018 BMW Championship. One rival caddie called Aronimink “absolutely perfect” for his game. The biggest question is whether the putter cooperates.
  
• Cameron Young — Won The Players and finished T3 at the Masters. Currently the hottest player on statistical trend tables and the strongest bet to win among players without a major. A Jersey-area kid playing close to home — major breakout candidate.
  
• Matt Fitzpatrick — Three wins in his last five starts with career-best ball-striking numbers and improving putting. A precision player on a precision course is a classic fantasy fit.
  
• Keegan Bradley — The 2018 BMW Championship winner at this very course. Has only missed the cut twice in 15 PGA Championship starts with six top-25 finishes, including a T8 last year at Quail Hollow. Course history plus form trending up after a strong Masters finish.
  
• Justin Rose — Lost in a playoff to Bradley here in 2018 and also won the 2010 AT&T National at this course. Nobody in the field has played better golf at Aronimink. At 45, he won’t be the popular pick, but the form-plus-fit combo is real.
  
• Ludvig Åberg — Sits second behind Cameron Young on statistical trend tables. Elite iron player with major-championship temperament. The kind of name you can confidently put high in your lineup.
  
• Xander Schauffele — The 2024 PGA champion is always a major-week consideration even when form is uneven. A safe play for cuts and points.
  
• Bryson DeChambeau — A complicated case. Aronimink doesn’t suit his bomb-and-gouge style as well as recent major venues, but he’s been close at every major recently. Worth a flier, not a building block.
  
• Tommy Fleetwood — Five top-10s in his last nine starts, including a T5 at the Truist last week. The reigning FedEx Cup champion is playing himself into major-week consideration.

Potential Fades:

• Jon Rahm — Still in the field and always dangerous, but LIV reps have been struggling at majors of late and his Masters showing was uninspiring. The competitive reps on a weaker LIV schedule simply don’t sharpen a player for the pressure and depth of a major Sunday the way the PGA Tour grind does. Risk/reward play.
  
• Jordan Spieth — A name that always tempts, but the driving accuracy issues that have plagued him for years will be exposed by Aronimink’s narrow corridors and penal rough. The short-game magic that used to bail him out has also been less reliable lately, which makes the math even harder this week. Pass unless you need a name-brand differentiator.
  
• Max Homa — Form has been spotty. Big name with name-brand pull in pools, but the data doesn’t support a high finish. His ball-striking metrics have slipped well off where they were during his peak run, and this isn’t the week to bet on a turnaround at a precision-demanding venue.
  
• Dustin Johnson — Past his peak and on LIV. A faded brand pick that’s unlikely to deliver this week. He hasn’t seriously contended at a major in years, and a tree-lined Donald Ross design with narrow fairways doesn’t fit the wide-open bomber’s paradise his game has historically thrived on.
  
• Hideki Matsuyama — Iron play is always elite, but his putting can erase that edge quickly. A coin flip at majors lately. Bentgrass greens with subtle Ross contours could be especially unforgiving for a streaky putter, and you’d hate to roster him only to watch a hot ball-striking week go unrewarded.

🧐 Did You Know?

• Ross gave each of Aronimink’s 18 holes an Indigenous name, connecting the routing to the land’s deeper past. The club itself takes its name from a chief of the Lenape, the Indigenous people who inhabited this region long before golf arrived — legend holds that the chief once resided in a farmhouse that later served as the club’s original clubhouse.
  
• When Gary Player won the 1962 PGA Championship at Aronimink — the only previous men’s PGA contested here — he collected a winner’s check of $13,000, the largest purse in the tournament’s history at that point. The first-place prize in 2026 will exceed $3 million, which means the caddie on the winning bag stands to make some 20 times more than what Player pulled in.
  
• The Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner restoration that returned this course to its original Donald Ross vision wasn’t guided by drawings alone — club officials watched 8mm films and aerial photos and discovered the course Ross built wasn’t the same course he had originally drawn, prompting Hanse — who lives nearby in Malvern — to restore the layout to exactly the way it was originally built, ultimately taking the bunker count from 74 to 176.
  
• The Philadelphia region is a golf architecture capital. Metro Philadelphia rivals Long Island, Eastern Scotland and Greater London for concentration of great golf courses — sharing top-100 billing with Pine Valley, Merion, and Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course. This major isn’t just at a great course — it’s in arguably the most historically significant golf region in America

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

The PGA Championship’s combination of strongest-field-in-golf depth and an unfamiliar major venue with no recent course form to lean on creates one of the more wide-open major weeks of the year. With Scottie Scheffler at a 17% win probability and no other player topping 9%, the math actually favors thinking beyond the top of the board.

The fundamental angle this week is to lean into approach play and fade pure bombers. Aronimink rewards iron precision and trajectory control over driver length, so players gaining strokes on approach in recent starts should be weighted heavily, while driving distance leaders without elite ball-striking should be downgraded a tier. Bentgrass putting matters too — familiarity with northeast bentgrass is a real edge here, so players who’ve thrived recently at Quail Hollow, Memorial, Travelers, or RBC Heritage profile especially well. And don’t sleep on cut survival: the top 70 and ties advances, slightly more generous than a typical Tour event, which makes reliable weekend-makers more valuable than they look on paper.

When it comes to roster construction, resist the urge to over-stack the chalk. With such a deep field and an unfamiliar venue, building around two top-tier names and filling the rest of your roster with mid-tier value plays gives you the best ceiling — pool winners this week will be the entries that hit on a sleeper or two. One last edge to watch: with cool morning temps early in the week and the chance of wind picking up, the Thursday AM / Friday PM draw could be the best of it, so a late-Thursday name with a strong Friday-morning slot may carry hidden value.

Sleepers to Consider:

• J.J. Spaun — Hard to call a reigning U.S. Open champion a true sleeper, but he’s flying under the radar this week. Ninth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach this year, and approach play is the most important stat at Aronimink. He’s already proven he can win a major in Pennsylvania (Oakmont last year). 
  
• Harry Hall — One of the best course fits for Aronimink according to the stat sheets, coming off a T8 at the Truist where he gained +1.24 strokes per round with his irons — his best approach performance since last April’s Valero Texas Open. If the iron play carries over, he’s a top-20 threat at huge value.
  
• Aaron Rai — One of the most accurate drivers on Tour, which is the single best skill to bring to Aronimink’s pinched 32-yard-wide fairways. Quietly consistent at majors and won’t go over-owned in pools.
  
• Corey Conners — Elite ball-striker with a long history of strokes-gained-approach excellence. The putter is the only thing that’s ever held him back, and even an average week with the flat stick on Ross greens could push him into contention.
  
• Sepp Straka — Has been a steady major-week performer with multiple top-15s at recent PGAs. His combination of accuracy and approach play maps neatly onto what the course demands.
  
• Sam Burns — Was a fixture in Player of the Year conversations not long ago and the talent hasn’t gone anywhere. Bentgrass-friendly putter who can heat up at any moment — perfect leverage play.
  
• Davis Riley — Has shown major-week flashes and quietly profiles as a strong fit for this kind of precision test. A name nobody will be picking, which makes him exactly the kind of swing you need.

⭐️ Pro Tip: When in doubt, follow the irons — the player with the hottest approach numbers over the last month is more likely to lift the Wanamaker than the one with the longest drives.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The PGA Championship week for Golf One and Done pools is here, and it sits at a real crossroads for pool players. We’ve made it through the first half of the year — a run that included a string of high-profile events and the Masters — and now arrive at the second major of the season, with the full complement of PGA Tour players eligible to compete alongside LIV and DP World Tour players who join the field, giving pool players more options to choose from than at almost any other event on the calendar. While the PGA Championship has recently trailed both the Masters and the U.S. Open in total purse, the 156-player field and top-70-and-ties cut still make it a high-leverage opportunity — there’s room for a contrarian pick to deliver a massive payday even if the chalk plays as expected at the top.

The official purse has not been announced yet, but last year’s total purse was $19,000,000, with $3,420,000 going to the first-place winner. Any increase this year would push it closer to the typical Signature Event prize money, and maybe just above recent events like the Truist and Cadillac Championships, but with a much larger field and a cut.

The smart play this week is to target a precision iron player with a complete game over a one-dimensional bomber — the kind of golfer who fits the profile of every past winner here. As longtime head professional Jeff Kiddie put it, players who have won at Aronimink — Gary Player, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley — were never the longest, but long enough, with elite iron play and streaky putting. The single most important statistical category this week is Strokes Gained: Approach, and for good reason: with fairways pinched to roughly 32 yards wide and rough grown to 3.5–4 inches, many tee shots will leave 150–200 yard approaches into firm, contoured Ross greens where simply hitting the putting surface isn’t enough — players have to find the correct quadrant to have a realistic birdie look. That makes this a poor week to burn a top bomber like Bryson DeChambeau and a great week to deploy a player whose recent approach numbers are trending up — names like Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young, Ludvig Åberg, or Matt Fitzpatrick all fit the bill. If you’re saving those bigger names for U.S. Open or Open Championship weeks, J.J. Spaun (9th on Tour in SG: Approach) and Tommy Fleetwood (riding five top-10s in his last nine starts) are the kind of complete-game, hot-iron plays that can deliver a strong week without spending a marquee bullet.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Scottie Scheffler +480
Rory McIlroy +850
Cameron Young +1200
Matt Fitzpatrick +2200
Ludvig Åberg +2200

Middle Tier
Tommy Fleetwood +2500
Justin Thomas +4000
Min Woo Lee +4500
Justin Rose +5000
Russell Henley +5500

Long Shots
Sam Burns +6000
J.J. Spaun +6000
Jake Knapp +8000
Sepp Straka +8000
Akshay Bhatia +10000

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

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© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

Truist Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Truist Championship
• Date: May 7–10, 2026
• Venue: Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, NC
• Purse: $20,000,000+ (winner $3.6 million)
• Cut Rule: No cut
• Course Details: This week’s venue is one of the most respected championship tracks in the country — a classic Southern parkland layout originally designed by George Cobb in 1961, later reshaped by Arnold Palmer in the 1980s, and comprehensively rebuilt by Tom Fazio beginning in 1997. At 7,583 yards, it ranks as one of the three longest courses in regular rotation on the PGA Tour, playing to a par of 71 across four par 3s, eleven par 4s, and three par 5s. The fairways are relatively narrow — averaging just 33 yards in width — making accuracy off the tee just as important as raw distance. The greens are TifEagle Bermudagrass, now three years old, and are being groomed to reach 13 feet on the Stimpmeter — a little above average in size compared to most Tour stops. For this week’s setup, the course is playing notably more generous than it did during last year’s PGA Championship — wider fairways and shorter rough — but don’t mistake “more generous” for easy.
• Weather: Round 1 on Thursday looks to be the toughest draw of the week, with a 75% chance of rain and highs around 74°F — early starters may want to check the radar closely. Conditions improve significantly from Friday onward, with mostly dry skies and temperatures ranging from the low 70s to near 80°F through the weekend, though Sunday brings a 40% chance of showers to close things out.
• FedEx Points: 700 points to the winner.

Now in its 23rd playing and second year as a PGA Tour Signature Event, the Truist Championship has long been one of the most prestigious non-major stops on the schedule — a brutally honest test that has crowned champions like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, and Max Homa. This week carries extra weight: it’s the third Signature Event in four weeks since the Masters, and it serves as the final tune-up before next week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink — meaning the players teeing it up in Charlotte have something real on the line both this week and next. The field quality is as strong as it gets outside of a major. Seven of the top 10 players in the world are in the field, including Rory McIlroy (No. 2), Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 3), Cameron Young (No. 4), Justin Rose (No. 5), Tommy Fleetwood (No. 7), Xander Schauffele (No. 9), and J.J. Spaun (No. 10). The notable absentees are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is resting ahead of his PGA Championship title defense, and No. 6 Collin Morikawa, who has withdrawn due to a nagging back injury. Defending champion Sepp Straka is back, McIlroy arrives fresh off defending his Masters title, and Cameron Young rolls in red-hot after winning both the Players Championship and last week’s Cadillac Championship.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – Sepp Straka (-16)
• 2024 – Rory McIlroy (-17)
• 2023 – Wyndham Clark (-19)
• 2022 – Max Homa (-8)
• 2021 – Rory McIlroy (-17)

NOTE: The 2022 and 2025 editions were played at off-site venues (TPC Potomac and Philadelphia Cricket Club respectively) due to Quail Hollow hosting other events, which explains the outlier winning score in 2022. When played at Quail Hollow, the winning number has typically landed in the -17 to -19 range.

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

With Scottie Scheffler taking the week off and Collin Morikawa sidelined with a back injury, the door is wide open for the rest of the elite field. This is still one of the strongest non-major lineups you’ll see all year, and Quail Hollow has a very clear player profile — long, accurate off the tee, elite with the long irons, and steady enough to survive the Green Mile. For the uninitiated, the Green Mile is the brutal three-hole closing stretch of holes 16, 17, and 18 — each featuring water hazards, punishing bunkering, and elevated green complexes that have ended more than a few would-be victories. More tournaments have been lost on the Green Mile than won, which makes closing ability and composure under pressure just as important as raw ball-striking.

• Rory McIlroy — The field favorite and for good reason. McIlroy has won at this venue in 2010, 2015, 2021, and 2024, making him a four-time champion here. He arrives fresh off defending his Masters title and has been rested since Augusta. This is arguably his best venue on the PGA Tour — Jordan Spieth once called it “Rory McIlroy Country Club” — and he leads the field in strokes gained tee-to-green and off-the-tee in 2026. The obvious pick, and the stats back it up.
  
• Cameron Young — Young just routed the field by six strokes at the Cadillac Championship last week and rolls into Charlotte on an extraordinary heater. He’s won the Players Championship, contended at the Masters, and now arrives at a course that fits his game perfectly — long, demanding, and rewarding of elite driving distance and high ball flight. He’s the most dangerous player in the field not named McIlroy right now.
  
• Xander Schauffele — Nobody has a more tortured relationship with close calls at Quail Hollow than Schauffele, with runner-up finishes in both 2023 and 2024. He’s been steadily rounding back into form with seven consecutive top-25 finishes and is one of only six players in the field ranking above average in all of the key stat categories for this course. At some point, he breaks through here. This week feels ripe.
  
• Matt Fitzpatrick — Fitzpatrick has won three times in 2026, including the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic with brother Alex. He ranks second in the field in strokes gained tee-to-green this season and ninth in bogey avoidance — exactly the profile that survives Quail Hollow. Don’t let the lack of a course win here fool you; his game fits this track.
  
• Ludvig Åberg — Åberg has posted four top-five finishes in his last six starts and ranks fifth in strokes gained tee-to-green, fifth in strokes gained approach, and ninth in driving distance over the last 24 rounds. He’s been knocking on the door all season without a win, and Quail Hollow’s ball-striking demands are tailor-made for his game.
  
• Adam Scott — At 45, Scott is quietly having one of the best seasons of his recent career. He posted a T4 at the Cadillac Championship for his second top-five finish of the year. He’s gained strokes on the greens in each of his last four appearances at Quail Hollow — impressive given his well-documented putting woes elsewhere — and his elite long iron play is perfectly suited to this course.
  
• Sepp Straka — The defending Truist champion may have won at Philadelphia Cricket Club last year, but he should be on your radar for a strong performance at Quail Hollow. He’s a big hitter who plays a complete game and has shown the ability to win in signature-event fields. An underrated name at a course that suits him.

Potential Fades:

• Robert MacIntyre — MacIntyre ranks second-to-last in the field in strokes gained approach this year, losing 0.61 strokes per round — a glaring weakness at a course where approach play is everything. Recent form has also been lacking, with a T-42 at the RBC Heritage following a missed cut at the Masters. He’s an unnecessary risk this week.
  
• Viktor Hovland — Hovland is searching for his best form and hasn’t found it yet. He’s coming off a T-42 at Harbour Town and a T-38 at Doral heading into a track that demands consistency and precision from tee to green. A name to monitor but not one to lean on heavily this week.
  
• Si Woo Kim — Kim has posted three top-10s in his last four events and is an intriguing name, but his T8 at the PGA Championship here last year was largely powered by a sizzling second-round 64, and he shot 71 or higher in the other three rounds. The concern is that his game may be too streaky and too dependent on one brilliant round to hold up over four days at a course this demanding.

🧐 Did You Know?

• Mother’s Day Tradition — The final round of the Truist Championship falls on Mother’s Day this year, which has become something of a tradition at this event. Remarkably, two of McIlroy’s four wins here — 2021 and 2024 — both came on Mother’s Day. If he wins again on Sunday, he’ll have claimed three Mother’s Day victories at the same venue. Flowers optional, trophy mandatory.
  
• Musical Venues — Though Quail Hollow is home, this tournament has been a bit of a nomad over the years. Due to Quail Hollow hosting the PGA Championship or Presidents Cup, the event has been forced to relocate three times — to Eagle Point in Wilmington (2017), TPC Potomac near Washington D.C. (2022), and Philadelphia Cricket Club (2025). That means last year’s defending champion Sepp Straka has never actually played this event at Quail Hollow — making his bid to defend the title this week essentially a debut at the home venue.
  
• Rory’s House — Rory McIlroy has won at Quail Hollow four times (2010, 2015, 2021, and 2024), but what makes it even more remarkable is how he’s won. His 2015 victory set the all-time tournament scoring record at -21, winning by seven strokes. His 2024 win came from one stroke behind entering the final round, where he proceeded to shoot a closing 65. No other player has won this event more than twice — McIlroy has lapped the field in terms of course dominance.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Quail Hollow is one of the most straightforward course-fit profiles on the PGA Tour, which is both a gift and a trap for fantasy managers. The profile is clear — long hitters with elite iron play and solid short games — but the no-cut Signature Event format changes how you should build your lineup. With all 72 players guaranteed four rounds, there’s no floor to protect you from a boom-or-bust pick. That means roster construction matters more than usual. Load up on the ball-strikers who fit this track, mix in at least one mid-tier value play, and resist the urge to go too top-heavy — the $20 million purse and 700 FedEx points have every elite player in this field motivated to perform.

Key Stats to Target This Week: Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Strokes Gained: Approach, Driving Distance, and Around-the-Green performance on the Green Mile holes. Players who can generate high ball flight on approach shots have historically had an edge here.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Jason Day — Day won here in 2018 and finished T4 in the last Truist played at Quail Hollow in 2024 — his first chance to test the renovated layout, and he took to it immediately. He’s currently 10th in strokes gained around the green, 17th in strokes gained putting, and fifth in bogey avoidance. His short game is the best weapon in this field at longer odds, and his course history is as good as anyone not named McIlroy. A high-floor play.
  
• Harris English — English has a T3 at the 2023 Truist and a T2 at last year’s PGA Championship at this very course on his Quail Hollow resume. He carded a T4 at the RBC Heritage three weeks ago and ranks 16th in birdie-or-better percentage and 40th in bogey avoidance this season. Eight trips to this track and a results sheet that demands attention.
  
• Akshay Bhatia — The 24-year-old lefty already has a Signature Event win this season (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and is arriving in excellent form after a T24 at Augusta, T12 at the RBC Heritage, and a T9 at the Cadillac Championship. He’s 2-for-4 at Quail Hollow with course experience and a ball flight that suits this layout. His ability to find fairways and convert short approach putts makes him dangerous mid-level play.
  
• Taylor Pendrith — Pendrith has solid history at this course and brings one of the biggest drives in the field — exactly the profile that wins here. He’s been quietly consistent this season and represents genuine value in a format where he’s guaranteed four full rounds to make his power game count.
  
• Sungjae Im — Im has gone T4 and T8 the last two times this event was played at Quail Hollow — a remarkably consistent and impressive track record. He’s a reliable driver of the ball who thrives on longer, more demanding layouts. Im’s course history makes him one of the safest mid-range plays in the field.

⭐️ Pro Tip: Quail Hollow rewards a very specific type of player — long off the tee, elite with the long irons, and composed under pressure — so when building your roster, prioritize ball-strikers over putters, because the winners here are almost always made from tee to green, not on the greens themselves.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Truist Championship carries the same $20,000,000 purse as other Signature Events, with $3,600,000 going to the winner. Given the strength of the field and purse size, this week can have a meaningful impact on One and Done standings.

Quail Hollow is one of the most reliable course-fit venues on the PGA Tour calendar, which makes it a strong one-and-done deployment week — but only if you pick the right type of player. The winners here are almost exclusively elite ball-strikers who generate exceptional distance off the tee combined with high-flight long iron play, and the stat category to prioritize above all others is Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. Unlike courses where a hot putter can carry a mediocre ball-striker to a top finish, Quail Hollow’s sheer length and narrow fairways punish anyone leaking strokes from tee to green before they even reach the green. Of the past eight winners here, none ranked worse than 36th in driving distance for the week — so if you’re using a premium name, make sure they check both boxes of distance and iron precision, not just one. For one-and-done purposes, this week favors deploying a top-five caliber player — McIlroy, Young, or Schauffele — rather than gambling on a sleeper, because the course profile is so well-defined that the elite players with proven Quail Hollow history have a genuine structural advantage. Save your mid-tier darts for venues where course fit is less predictable.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Rory McIlroy +550
Cameron Young +950
Xander Schauffele +1000
Matt Fitzpatrick +1500
Ludvig Åberg +1800

Mid Tier Contenders
Jason Day +4700
Harris English +5000
Jordan Spieth +4500
Hideki Matsuyama +3500
Akshay Bhatia +6000

Long Shots
Taylor Pendrith +10000
Sungjae Im +17000
Max Homa +11500
Corey Conners +8800
Brian Harman +10000

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

Cadillac Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Cadillac Championship
• Date: April 30 – May 3, 2026
• Venue: Trump National Doral – Blue Monster Course, Miami, Florida 
• Purse: $20,000,000+ (winner $3.6 million)
• Cut Rule: No cut
• Course Details: The PGA Tour returns to South Florida this week to a venue it hasn’t visited in a decade — and the layout still earns its monstrous nickname. Originally designed by Dick Wilson in 1962 and modernized by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner in 2014 PGA TOUR, this par-72 stretches to 7,739 yards Golf Betting System, making it one of the longest tracks on the entire Signature Event calendar. Bermudagrass fairways, three-inch Bermuda rough, and TifEagle Bermuda greens running 11–11.5 on the Stimp Golf Betting System are the standard ingredients, but the real defense is water — it’s in play on 11 holes Golf Betting System, paired with 99 sand bunkers Golf Betting System Hanse strategically relocated to make every tee shot a decision rather than a swing.
• Weather: Expect classic Miami: hot and humid with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s, calm-to-moderate easterly breezes of 10–15 mph through the first three rounds, and a chance of scattered storms hanging over the weekend. The wild card is Sunday — current forecasts have winds picking up to 20–25 mph out of the southwest with a 50% chance of rain, which could turn the closing stretch and that brutal 18th into a genuine survival test.
• FedEx Points: 700 points to the winner.

The PGA Tour rolls into South Florida this week for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, a brand-new Signature Event that nonetheless feels like a long-overdue homecoming. The Blue Monster at Trump National Doral hosted a Tour event every single year from 1962 through 2016 — first as the Doral Open and later as the WGC-Cadillac Championship — racking up 14 World Golf Hall of Fame winners along the way, including a four-time champion named Tiger Woods. After a decade-long absence (during which LIV Golf kept the lights on), Doral returns to the regular calendar with $20 million on the line, 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner, and a no-cut 72-player field. The headline name is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who arrives in Miami fresh off back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Masters and the RBC Heritage and is the deserving betting favorite. Behind him, the field is genuinely stacked — Cameron Young, Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Russell Henley, and Hideki Matsuyama are all teeing it up — though it’s worth noting the absences too: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick are all skipping ahead to next week’s Truist Championship as PGA Championship prep. Two other names worth circling: Adam Scott, the literal last man to win a Tour event at Doral (2016), is back in the field via the Aon Next 10, and Alex Fitzpatrick is making his Signature Event debut after he and brother Matt won last week’s Zurich Classic together.

Past Champions:

• 2013 – Tiger Woods (-19)
• 2014 – Patrick Reed (-4)
• 2015 – Dustin Johnson (-9)
• 2016 – Adam Scott (-12)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

This week’s field is genuinely loaded at the top — seven of the top 10 in the OWGR are teeing it up — but the Blue Monster is a course that filters players sharply. Length off the tee, long-iron precision, and patience around water hazards are non-negotiable. Course history is hard to lean on heavily since the Tour hasn’t been here in a decade, but the handful of players in this field with positive past results at Doral are absolutely worth circling. Below, a mix of the obvious favorites, a few course-history names, and a couple of familiar guys who might be better left on the bench this week.

• Scottie Scheffler — World No. 1, betting favorite around +300, and arrives off back-to-back runner-ups at the Masters and the RBC Heritage. Ranks No. 1 in this field in total strokes gained, tee-to-green, and around-the-green. His length, ball-striking, and iron play in the 150–200 yard range fit Doral perfectly. The only knock is putting on Bermuda, which has occasionally given him fits. Interestingly, Scottie has never played the Blue Monster as a professional — he’ll be seeing it for the first time in tournament conditions this week.
  
• Collin Morikawa — Two-time major champion ranks No. 1 in this field in strokes gained: approach, which is the single most important stat at Doral. Took last week off and arrives rested. Top-10 finishes at the Masters and RBC Heritage despite back issues. If he’s healthy, he’s an obvious target.
  
• Cameron Young — Won The Players, T3 at the Masters, and the longest hitter in this field — Doral’s 7,739 yards plays into his hands. A T25 at Hilton Head was a soft spot, but his ceiling is as high as anyone’s.
  
• Russell Henley — Quietly one of the most consistent players on Tour in 2026. Has finished T20 or better in all but three starts this year, ranks second on Tour in driving accuracy, and is in the top 10 of this field in both tee-to-green and putting. Strong outright AND finishing-position bet.
  
• Adam Scott — The literal last man to win a Tour event at Doral (2016 WGC-Cadillac). Got into the field via the Aon Next 10 and has made every cut in 2026, including a solo fourth at the Genesis. Ranks fifth in this field in tee-to-green and second in approach.

Potential Fades:

• Justin Thomas — In the field, but has negative course history at Doral. He’s a popular-name fade this week — Betting sites have him as a top-20 prop bet given his length, but be wary of taking him outright.
  
• Tommy Fleetwood — The reigning FedEx Cup champion is a household name and ranks No. 7 in the world, but he has historically struggled at Doral. His ball-striking has been a notch off elite all season. Don’t auto-pick him just because he’s famous.
  
• Viktor Hovland — Has been chasing consistency all year. Flashes of brilliance (Sunday charge at Augusta) but too much damage control in between. The water-everywhere setup at Doral is unforgiving for a player still working out the kinks.
  
• Jordan Spieth — Betting sites have Jordan listed with decent odds this week, and the name will tempt people. He’s a fine ball-striker but Doral’s emphasis on length and patience around hazards isn’t where Spieth’s current game is winning.

🧐 Did You Know?

• Doral’s name has nothing to do with golf. The resort was built in 1962 by New York real estate developer Alfred Kaskel, who named it by combining his first name with his wife Doris’s: Dor-Al. The unincorporated swampland community surrounding the property was so dependent on the resort that the town itself eventually adopted the name Doral.
  
• The 72-hole course record is a tie between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — both at 19-under. Woods set the mark first, and his nine top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Doral are arguably the most dominant track record any modern player has at any single venue.
  
• The 18th hole has its own scoring history that borders on legendary. The 473-yard par-4 finisher was the single hardest hole on the PGA Tour the last time the event was played here in 2016, averaging 4.43 strokes — meaning the field as a whole couldn’t even make par on it. Tiger Woods has called it “one of the toughest par 4s you’ll ever play if it’s into the wind.”

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

The Blue Monster’s 7,739-yard footprint is the longest test on Tour, and Doral’s defenses — water on 11 holes, 99 bunkers, three-inch Bermuda rough, and a closing stretch where the wind can decide everything — reward a very specific player profile. Strokes Gained: Approach is the most predictive stat on a course where the average approach is a long iron, not a wedge. Driving distance matters, but pure bombers without iron precision are the wrong answer here — the WGC era at Doral was won by ball-strikers like Tiger, Justin Rose, and Adam Scott, not by length-only specialists. With no cut, look for high-floor consistency rather than boom-or-bust upside; one disaster round on the 18th can sink an otherwise solid week. The prevailing wind forecast (calm-to-moderate Thursday through Saturday, then 20-25 mph Sunday) means morning Thursday tee times have a slight scoring edge over the afternoon wave.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Kurt Kitayama — Profiles perfectly for Doral. Top-10 in the field in driving distance, has gained strokes on approach in 20 consecutive starts, and won at Bay Hill in 2023 — one of the best comparable courses to Doral with similar length, Bermuda agronomy, and water-laden challenges. First-time visitor here, but the metrics scream course-fit.
  
• Jacob Bridgeman — Won at Riviera earlier this season as a debutant (the first to do so in 51 years) and has elevated to No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting. Ranks fifth on Tour in first-round scoring average, which is huge in a no-cut event where a strong Thursday creates separation.
  
• Keegan Bradley — Quietly trending up with a T21 at the Masters and a T12 at the RBC Heritage. Strong comp-course history on long, demanding tracks, and his elite long-iron play is exactly the profile that wins at Doral. He’s a top-15 putter in this field on Bermuda. Good leverage play if Scheffler/Morikawa eat the chalk.
  
• Corey Conners — One of the clearest pricing inefficiencies in the field. Top-3 driving accuracy man on Tour paired with elite iron play — the most repeatable formula for a long Bermuda layout where finding fairways unlocks the par-5s. Listed at +10000 on most boards, which is genuine longshot value play for a guy with this profile.
  
• Alex Smalley — Earned his way in via a T2 at the Zurich Classic and the Aon Swing 5. Listed in the +8000–10000 range, he ranks top-25 in this field in both Strokes Gained: Approach and tee-to-green. A sneaky option that could pay off big..
  
• Ryo Hisatsune — Riding a 10-event made-cut streak and currently ranks second on the entire PGA Tour in greens-in-regulation percentage — only Justin Rose is ahead of him. Doral’s a course where GIR is everything.

⭐️ Pro Tip: With no cut and every player in the field guaranteed four rounds, prioritize high-floor ball-strikers over boom-or-bust bombers — one blow-up round on Doral’s water-lined closing stretch can sink your entire week.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The Cadillac Championship carries the same $20,000,000 purse as other Signature Events, with $3,600,000 going to the winner. Given the strength of the field and purse size, this week can have a meaningful impact on One and Done standings.

With no course history numbers that can skew the popularity, and with perhaps four of the golfers who would be in the Top 8 in odds to win sitting out, expect that to push more picks to the top options, and then for opinions to be mixed on the next tier.

The Blue Monster rewards a specific archetype: long, precise ball-strikers who can hit long irons into elevated, water-guarded greens without flinching. History backs that up — Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, and Adam Scott all won at Doral by overpowering the course off the tee and dialing in approach shots from 175-plus yards. Strokes Gained: Approach is the single most important stat this week, because Doral’s 7,739-yard layout means the average approach is a mid-to-long iron, and missing the wrong side of a green here doesn’t just cost you par — it costs you a ball in the water. The ideal pick combines top-tier SG: Approach with above-average driving distance and the temperament to manage risk on the closing stretch. Collin Morikawa (No. 1 in this field in SG: Approach), Russell Henley (elite accuracy with T20-or-better finishes in all but three starts this season), and Adam Scott (the last man to win at Doral and currently the fourth-best iron player in the world in 2026) all fit the profile cleanly.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Scottie Scheffler +300
Collin Morikawa +2000
Cameron Young +1300
Russell Henley +2500
Tommy Fleetwood +2500

Mid Tier Contenders
Adam Scott +3300
Justin Rose +3300
Hideki Matsuyama +3300
Patrick Cantlay +3000
Min Woo Lee +2200

Long Shots
Kurt Kitayama +5500
Jacob Bridgeman +4500
Keegan Bradley +6000
Corey Conners +10000
Ryo Hisatsune +10000

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.

RBC Heritage

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: RBC Heritage
• Date: April 17–20, 2026
• Venue: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
• Purse: $20,000,000+ (winner $3.6 million)
• Cut Rule: No cut
• Course Details: Designed by Pete Dye and Alice Dye, with a young Jack Nicklaus assisting in one of his earliest architectural roles, this iconic Hilton Head layout plays to a par 71 at 7,213 yards and has humbled the world’s best since 1969. Narrow tree-lined fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and some of the smallest greens on Tour make accuracy and elite wedge play non-negotiable here. The course completed a full six-month restoration last fall with five-time Heritage champion Davis Love III serving as player consultant, rebuilding every green, bunker, and bulkhead while restoring original Dye design elements that had softened over decades. PGA Tour players will essentially be encountering the course in its truest form for the first time this week, with reclaimed hole locations and tighter greenside bunkers that could surprise even seasoned veterans. Coastal winds off Calibogue Sound remain the final variable, making this a precision player’s paradise from start to finish.
• Weather: Conditions at Hilton Head look ideal for tournament week, with mostly sunny skies, no meaningful rain in the forecast, and highs in the mid to upper 70s across all four rounds. Wind will be the primary factor, with southwesterly breezes in the 10 to 15 mph range expected throughout the week and gusts potentially reaching 20 to 25 mph on Sunday afternoon, which could separate the field down the stretch.
• FedEx Points: 700 points to the winner.

The RBC Heritage has been one of the PGA Tour’s most beloved stops since Arnold Palmer won the inaugural edition in 1969, and the tournament has grown into a true showcase event in the weeks following the Masters. Now in its 58th edition and operating as the Tour’s fourth Signature Event of the season, the Heritage carries a $20 million purse, a no-cut format, and a limited field of just 82 players — all of whom have earned their way in. This year’s event carries an especially compelling storyline: the field is structured as a Tournament of Champions, meaning every player in the field won a PGA Tour event during the 2025 calendar year, making it one of the most exclusive fields assembled outside of a major. The one notable absence is back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who is sitting out to rest after his historic run at Augusta. That leaves the door wide open for world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who enters as the betting favorite and defending champion looking for his second win of 2026, while Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley, Matt Fitzpatrick, and defending tournament runner-up Andrew Novak all figure to be in the mix on a freshly restored Harbour Town layout that promises to test even the most seasoned veterans.

Past Champions:

• 2025: Justin Thomas (-17)
• 2024: Scottie Scheffler (-19)
• 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
• 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
• 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

Harbour Town has a well-established track record of rewarding the same types of players year after year — precise iron players, creative scramblers, and strategic thinkers who respect the course rather than try to overpower it. Each of the last six champions has been a major winner, which tells you this is not a venue where the leaderboard gets hijacked by surprises. With the course making its debut in freshly restored form this week, course history is still relevant but the new green contours and tighter bunker placements add a layer of uncertainty that could work in favor of experienced Harbour Town veterans. The no-cut format also changes the fantasy calculus slightly, as every player earns points regardless of where they finish, making floor as important as ceiling.

Here are some notable names to consider—and a few to be wary of:

• Scottie Scheffler — The world No. 1 and 2024 RBC Heritage champion owns the lowest scoring average at Harbour Town over the last six years (67.42) and enters fresh off a solo second at the Masters. He is the clear favorite and for good reason — his ball-striking and course management profile is as close to a perfect fit as exists in the field.
  
• Patrick Cantlay — Perhaps the most underappreciated Harbour Town specialist in the field. Cantlay has gained more strokes at this event than anyone over the past five years, with three top-3 finishes in his last four starts here. He has never won it, but the consistency is impossible to ignore.
  
• Russell Henley — Coming off a T3 at the Masters where he led the field in strokes gained approach, Henley has gained strokes on approach in each of his last five trips to Harbour Town. His iron play profile is a textbook fit for this course and he enters in arguably the best form of his season.
  
• Matt Fitzpatrick — The 2023 champion is one of the most reliable course fits in the entire field. His precision off the tee and elite approach play are exactly what Harbour Town rewards, and his scoring average here over the past six years ranks among the top handful of players.
  
• Jordan Spieth — The 2022 champion and two-time Harbour Town finalist has a track record here that is nearly unmatched. He comes in with strong approach and tee-to-green numbers despite a disappointing Masters, and the relatively short layout mitigates his length limitations off the tee.
  
• Tommy Fleetwood — The reigning FedExCup champion and world No. 5 is one of the most consistent ball-strikers in the field and has quietly built a solid Harbour Town resume. His creative short game and comfort in coastal wind conditions make him one of the more compelling plays this week.

Potential Fades:

• Cameron Young — Young has been one of the hottest players on Tour, winning the Players Championship and posting a T3 at the Masters, but his Harbour Town history is a concern. He has finished outside the top 50 in each of his last three starts here, and the tiny putting surfaces do not play to his strengths with his putting metrics ranking toward the bottom of the field.
  
• Viktor Hovland — Hovland has been searching for his best form for much of the season, and Harbour Town has historically not been a venue where he has separated himself. His game tends to shine on bigger, more open tracks where his length is an advantage — the opposite of what is on offer this week.

🧐 Did You Know?

• Arnold Palmer won the very first RBC Heritage in 1969 at age 40, making it one of the last significant victories of his legendary career. In a fitting piece of symmetry, the course was co-designed with input from a young Jack Nicklaus — Palmer’s greatest rival — meaning the two most iconic figures in golf history both left their fingerprints on the tournament’s origin story.
  
• The winner of the RBC Heritage does not receive a traditional trophy presentation at the 18th green. Instead, the champion dons a tartan plaid jacket and hoists the “Sir William Innes” Champions Trophy in a nod to the tournament’s Scottish golf heritage — then, the following year, the defending champion is handed a hickory club and must hit a ceremonial shot into Calibogue Sound accompanied by a cannon blast before the tournament begins. It is one of the most unique and theatrical traditions in all of professional golf.
  
• Davis Love III won the RBC Heritage five times (1987, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2003), making him the all-time record holder at Harbour Town by a wide margin. In a full-circle moment, Love served as the player consultant on the 2025 course restoration that gave the layout its most significant makeover in decades — meaning the man who mastered the course more than anyone in history was also the one trusted to bring it back to its original form.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

Harbour Town rewards a very specific skill set — precise iron play, creative scrambling, and the ability to manage a golf course intelligently from tee to green. Strokes gained approach is the single most predictive stat at this venue, outpacing strokes gained off the tee by nearly three to one among recent top-5 finishers, which means you do not need to chase the big bombers this week. The no-cut format is also a critical fantasy consideration, as every player in the field will complete 72 holes and earn points, making floor almost as important as ceiling when building your roster. Course history carries significant weight at Harbour Town — players who have succeeded here tend to do so repeatedly — but the freshly restored green complexes introduce a small wildcard that could slightly level the playing field for first-timers on the new surfaces. Target precision ball-strikers with strong approach games, avoid players whose primary weapon is distance, and keep an eye on the draw as Thursday afternoon winds could create meaningful scoring differences between waves.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Sepp Straka — One of the most compelling under-the-radar plays of the week. Straka has two top-5 finishes at Harbour Town and led the entire field in strokes gained approach during his T13 last year. He ranks 12th in the field in that same metric over his last seven events and profiles as a textbook fit for this course. His game thrives on precision and short iron repetition rather than length, which is exactly the formula Harbour Town rewards.
  
• Daniel Berger — A true horse for this course. Berger owns two career third-place finishes at Harbour Town and ranks among the top players in the field in strokes gained approach. He missed the cut at Augusta, but several Heritage winners over the years have bounced back immediately after a poor Masters showing, and Berger’s course record here makes him difficult to overlook at his current price.
  
• Wyndham Clark — Clark enters as a sponsor exemption but his Harbour Town history is quietly impressive — he has never finished outside the top 30 in his last three starts here, including a T3 in 2024. His iron play has been trending in the right direction in recent weeks, and he is flying well under the radar given his ranking has slipped from its peak.
  
• Sungjae Im — Im ranks among the top ten players in the field for scoring average at Harbour Town over the last six years and brings one of the most consistent ball-striking profiles in the entire lineup. He does not get the attention of the bigger names but quietly fits everything this course asks for and offers excellent fantasy value relative to his price.
  
• Brian Harman — The Georgia native is a classic Harbour Town fit — short, accurate, and built for precision courses. He owns one of the best scoring averages in the field at this venue over the past several years and plays the style of ground-and-pound, iron-first golf that this layout rewards. A player who makes the most of what he has rather than relying on length, Harman is a strong value play any week the course demands control over power.

⭐️ Pro Tip: At a venue where strokes gained approach is king and the greens are among the smallest on Tour, prioritize iron play metrics above all else when making your picks — if a player is not hitting it close this season, Harbour Town will expose them in a hurry.

Looking to run a fantasy contest this week?

Add this week’s tournament to your existing Majors Challenge league or start a new one and invite your friends to join the action.

❎ One-and-Done Corner

The RBC Heritage is a signature event again in 2026, with a total purse identical to last year’s $20,000,000, including $3,600,000 awarded to the winner.

That keeps this event among the higher-paying tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar, though still a step below THE PLAYERS Championship and the major championships in terms of top-end payout. Given the size of the purse and the strength of the field, this is a week that can have a large impact on One and Done standings — especially coming right after the Masters, when many entries likely used a top-tier option.

Harbour Town is one of the most one-and-done-friendly venues on the PGA Tour calendar for one simple reason — the course profile is so specific that you can identify the right type of player with real confidence before a shot is hit. The stat that matters most this week is strokes gained approach, which has been nearly three times more predictive than strokes gained off the tee among recent top-5 finishers here, making it the clearest filter you can apply when evaluating the field. You are looking for a compact, controlled ball-striker who thrives on precision and repeatability with their irons rather than a player who relies on length or aggressive driving to set up scoring opportunities — those players tend to get neutralized on a course where the average driving distance is among the lowest on Tour and only 25 percent of drives exceed 300 yards. The ideal one-and-done target this week is a player with a strong Harbour Town history, elite approach numbers over the last several events, and the short game creativity to scramble when the tiny greens and wind-affected approaches inevitably create difficult up-and-down situations. With a $20 million purse and a winner’s share of $3.6 million, the RBC Heritage ranks among the richest non-major events on the entire PGA Tour calendar — comparable only to the other Signature Events — meaning the FedEx Cup points and fantasy value on offer this week are as elevated as they get outside of a major, making it one of the most worthwhile weeks of the season to deploy a premium one-and-done selection.

• 6 Stats That Actually Matter in Golf One and Done Pools
• 2026 PGA Tournaments Ranked by Prize Money
• One-and-Done Strategy Guide from PoolGenius

Looking for more articles, help with your picks or One-And-Done strategy?
Check with the experts at Pool Genius.

💰 Select Betting Odds

Top Favorites
Scottie Scheffler +400
Xander Schauffele +1500
Matt Fitzpatrick +1500
Russell Henley +1600
Patrick Cantlay +2500

Mid Tier Contenders
Jordan Spieth +3000
Tommy Fleetwood +2000
Collin Morikawa +2500
Si Woo Kim +3000
Daniel Berger +6000

Long Shots
Sepp Straka +4000
Justin Thomas +5000
Wyndham Clark +10000
Sungjae Im +7000
Ryo Hisatsune +6000

Visit Shot Scope for the latest in golf tech

Majors Challenge is the leading fantasy golf platform designed for everyday golf fans. Trusted by golf clubs, state golf associations, and charitable groups, we make it easy to run engaging, customizable fantasy golf contests. Whether you’re playing with friends or supporting a cause, Majors Challenge brings people together through friendly competition around the sport they love.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 2025 Majors Challenge ™. All rights reserved.