Majors Challenge

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.

www.majorschallenge.com
© 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.

Masters Tournament

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

MASTERS EXTENDED EDITION!

• Tournament: Masters Tournament
• Date: April 9 – 12, 2026
• Venue: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
• Purse: $21,000,000+ (winner $4.2+ million) TBD
• Cut Rule: Top 50 players and ties after 36 holes
• Course Details: Designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie in collaboration with Bobby Jones, this par‑72 masterpiece will stretch to 7,565 yards this week, demanding both precision and creativity in equal measure. While it doesn’t overwhelm with bunkers, the real defense lies in its dramatic elevation changes, sloping fairways, and some of the most demanding green complexes in championship golf. Approach play and distance control are everything — shots that land on the wrong tier or miss long can quickly turn birdies into stress‑free bogeys (or worse). Length is a factor, but power alone isn’t enough. Players must shape shots both directions, control spin into elevated targets, and understand that recovery shots around the greens are often more valuable than raw driving numbers. Historically, the par‑5s decide the tournament, while mistakes tend to compound quickly on the closing stretch.
• What’s New This Year: The setup remains largely traditional, but there is one subtle yet meaningful tweak: the par‑4 17th hole has been lengthened to 450 yards, pushing total course yardage to its longest ever. It was already among the toughest holes on the property, and the added length reinforces the premium on strong long‑iron play late on Sunday.
• Weather: Mother Nature looks poised to cooperate this week in Augusta, with temperatures climbing from the low 70s on Thursday into the low-to-mid 80s by the weekend and minimal rain chances throughout — a rarity given that the Masters has seen rain in seven consecutive years. Expect the course to play firm and fast, which should reward players with sharp iron play and the ability to handle slick, dried-out greens.
• FedEx Points: 750 points to the winner.

It’s Masters week — the crown jewel of the golf calendar — and the 90th edition of the tournament feels as wide open as any in recent memory. Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta as defending champion after last year’s dramatic playoff victory over Justin Rose completed the career Grand Slam, and he’ll chase history this week: only Jack Nicklaus (1965–66), Nick Faldo (1989–90), and Tiger Woods (2001–02) have ever gone back-to-back in a green jacket. Standing in his way is a loaded 91-player field headlined by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who’s hunting a third Masters title in four years despite not having teed it up in nearly a month. The LIV Golf contingent adds serious firepower with Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau both among the betting favorites, while Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg represent the next wave of elite talent looking to break through at Augusta. Notably absent this year are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, who won’t be on the grounds at all — a reminder that the torch is well and truly being passed. With new qualifying criteria bringing in winners from several international opens for the first time and dry, fast conditions in the forecast, this week has all the ingredients for a memorable first major of 2026.

Past Champions:

• 2025: Rory McIlroy (-11)
• 2024: Scottie Scheffler (-11)
• 2023: Jon Rahm (12)
• 2022: Scottie Scheffler (-10)
• 2021: Hideki Matsuyama (-10)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

Augusta National has a way of separating pretenders from contenders, and course history matters here more than almost anywhere else on tour. This week’s 91-player field is one of the smaller Masters fields in recent memory, and it arrives with an unmistakable changing-of-the-guard feel — for the first time since 1994, neither Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson will be on the grounds, with Woods stepping away to focus on his health and Mickelson tending to a private family matter. But what this field lacks in nostalgia it more than makes up for in firepower. Twenty-two Masters rookies will make their first walk down Magnolia Lane, including several who earned invitations through Augusta’s newly expanded qualifying criteria for international open winners. Ten LIV Golf players are in the mix alongside the PGA Tour’s best, and the 26-and-under crowd has been doing serious damage on tour this season. Experience still reigns at Augusta — over the last two decades, the average Masters champion has been playing in his ninth tournament here — but this feels like a week where the next generation could make a serious statement.

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

• Scottie Scheffler – The world No. 1 has won two of the last four green jackets (2022, 2024) and has been the most dominant player in golf over the last three years. He hasn’t played in nearly a month after the birth of his second child, but his putting has been elite this season — 17th on tour in strokes gained: putting — and this is a course where his iron play and course management make him almost matchup-proof. He’s the rightful favorite for a reason.
• Jon Rahm – The 2023 Masters champion has quietly been one of the hottest players in golf, finishing inside the top 10 in five of his last nine starts. Rahm has five top-10 finishes at Augusta since 2018, tied for the most in that span. His right-to-left ball flight is tailor-made for this course, and his experience as a former champion gives him an edge that’s hard to quantify.
• Rory McIlroy – The defending champion finally broke through here last year in a playoff over Justin Rose, completing the career Grand Slam. Only three men have ever gone back-to-back at the Masters, and while that’s a tall order, McIlroy’s game has never been more complete. The pressure of the Grand Slam chase is gone — he might actually play more freely this time around.
• Bryson DeChambeau – DeChambeau has finished top 6 in each of the last two Masters and won his last two LIV Golf starts in March, so the form is there. His length gives him a huge advantage on the par 5s, and he’s clearly figured out how to manage this course better than he did earlier in his career.
• Ludvig Åberg – The Swede was runner-up at the 2024 Masters in just his first appearance and followed that up with a solo seventh last year. At 26, he already looks like he belongs at Augusta, and his elite ball-striking profiles perfectly for this course. He’s quickly building the kind of course history that wins green jackets.
• Hideki Matsuyama – The 2021 champion knows every inch of this place. Matsuyama’s approach play remains among the best in the world, and his experience navigating Augusta’s treacherous greens gives him a floor that most of the field can’t match.
• Matt Fitzpatrick – Flying a bit under the radar, the 2022 U.S. Open champion currently ranks second on tour in strokes gained tee-to-green and seventh in approach — exactly the stats that matter most this week.
• Russell Henley – One of the quieter contenders in the field, but Henley has finished in the top 10 in four of his last six major starts. That kind of consistency in big moments at big courses is hard to ignore.

Potential Fades:

• Xander Schauffele – This one might be controversial given his talent, but Schauffele has had a rough start to 2026 with missed cuts and poor finishes. He’s dropped to 76th in total putting after ranking third in 2024, and he has more missed cuts than top-5 finishes over his last four trips to Augusta. The form simply isn’t there right now.
• Tyrrell Hatton – Multiple experts are fading Hatton this week. While his game has improved since joining LIV, Augusta’s demand for precision around the greens has historically been a poor fit for his tendencies.
• Viktor Hovland – Hovland has just one top-20 finish in six Masters starts, has struggled with his driver this season, and has lost strokes around the green in four of his last five starts. Until he proves he can handle Augusta’s short-game demands, he’s a risky play at his price.
• Collin Morikawa – The two-time major champion has been battling a back injury that forced him to withdraw from The Players Championship after just one hole and pull out of the Valero Texas Open entirely last week. He says he’ll tee it up Thursday, but he admitted Monday that he’s “taking it day by day” and that parts of his body aren’t cooperating the way he wants. Despite four straight top-15 finishes at Augusta including a T3 in 2024, it’s hard to trust a player who hasn’t completed a tournament round in nearly a month and is managing his way through Masters week rather than attacking it.

Win great prizes at THE MASTERS

Play in the Perfect Team Challenge sponsored by Shot Scope at The Masters for your chance to win $250,000 and great prizes from Shot Scope. Enter now for FREE!

🧐 Did You Know?

• The Par-3 Curse is real. Every Wednesday before the tournament, players compete in a lighthearted par-3 contest where kids and family members often serve as caddies. Sounds harmless enough — except no winner of the par-3 contest has ever gone on to win the Masters in the same year. Ever. Some players who find themselves in contention have been known to intentionally concede the par-3 title just to dodge the jinx.
  
• A pimento cheese sandwich at Augusta will set you back just $1.50 — a price that hasn’t budged since 2003. In a world where a beer at most sporting events costs more than a round of golf at your local muni, Augusta National’s concession prices remain frozen in time and are part of what makes the patron experience unlike anything else in sports.
  
• Each of the 18 holes is named after a tree or shrub found on the property, a nod to the course’s origins as Fruitland Nurseries — one of the largest commercial nurseries in the South. Before it was hallowed golfing ground, the land was growing azaleas, magnolias, and camellias. You’ll still see those plantings lining every fairway, and if you’ve ever wondered why the place looks like a botanical garden on TV, now you know.
  
• The green jacket never leaves the clubhouse — unless you just won it. First-year champions are allowed to take the jacket home for a year, but after that, it must be returned to Augusta National and stored in the champion’s locker. Every past winner has a jacket hanging in the clubhouse at all times, and if they want to wear it, they can only do so on the grounds. The one exception? Gary Player accidentally took his home to South Africa after winning in 1961 and reportedly got a stern call from the club asking him to bring it back.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

If you’re building lineups for the Masters, the stat you should be weighting most heavily is strokes gained: approach. It’s the single most predictive metric for success at Augusta, and it has been for years. The greens here are enormous but wildly contoured — missing the correct tier almost guarantees a three-putt, so finding the right portion of the green on your approach is everything. Over the last five years, approach play has accounted for nearly 30% of all strokes gained for players finishing inside the top 5. For five consecutive years, the Masters winner has also finished inside the top 10 in strokes gained: around the green, so short game matters just as much as the long stuff once you’re inside 50 yards.

The other key to cracking Augusta in fantasy formats is par 5 scoring. The four par 5s are all reachable in two for the longer hitters, and winning scores typically feature somewhere between 8- and 12-under on those holes alone. Players who can overpower the par 5s while staying disciplined on Augusta’s demanding par 4s are the ones who post the numbers that win you contests.

With dry, firm conditions expected all week, prioritize ball-strikers over pure putters — the greens will be fast and the fairways will be running, making accuracy into the green even more critical than usual.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Adam Scott – The 2013 champion is quietly having a solid season and still owns one of the prettiest swings in golf. More importantly, he’s made 21 of 24 career cuts at Augusta and currently ranks fifth on tour in strokes gained: approach. He knows every slope on these greens, and at this price, you’re getting elite course history and the exact stat profile that wins here.
• Corey Conners – Conners is one of the best iron players on the PGA Tour and has been for several years. At a course where approach play is king, his ball-striking gives him a high floor. He’s made the cut in four of his last five Masters starts and profiles as the type of steady, accurate player who can quietly post a top-15 finish.
• Sungjae Im – Im has four top-15 finishes in six Masters starts, including a runner-up in 2022. He’s a tireless competitor who plays well in big fields and big moments, and his consistency at Augusta makes him one of the safest mid-tier plays in the field.
• Cameron Smith – The 2022 Open champion is a short-game wizard, and that skillset translates beautifully to Augusta’s slick, undulating greens. Smith finished top 5 here in both 2020 and 2022 and has the kind of creative touch around the greens that can save pars others can’t.
• Tommy Fleetwood – The reigning FedEx Cup champion brings elite form and confidence into the week. Fleetwood’s ball flight and course management suit Augusta well, and he’s playing with the kind of consistency that makes him a reliable floor play in any format.

⭐️ Pro Tip: In a week where dry conditions will make Augusta’s greens play like glass, stack your lineups with elite ball-strikers who gain strokes on approach — the guy who can land it on the correct shelf of these massive greens will beat the bomber chasing birdies from the wrong tier every single time.

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 Masters does not announce the official purse until later in the week, but last year, it was raised to a total prize purse of $21,000,000, with $4,200,000 going to the first-place winner. If there is any increase this year, it will push closer to the $4,500,000 Cameron Young earned for winning THE PLAYERS Championship, and should be treated as a top-three event for One and Done pools.

This year feels more open, at least in terms of contenders, as unlike the past 3-4 years, where one golfer was peaking entering the event and then won it (Rahm, Scheffler, McIlroy), we’ve had a wider group of big winners

• It’s not a week to get too crazy, as the top tier of golfers includes many veterans who have won here, along with others who are among the leaders in form heading into Augusta. Translation: go with a big name this week.

The temptation in a one-and-done format this week is to burn a premium name like Scheffler or Rahm at a course where the cream almost always rises to the top — and that’s not a bad play if you still have them available. But if you’ve already used the big guns, this is a week to target experienced, high-floor players who fit Augusta’s DNA rather than swinging for the fences on a longshot. The ideal one-and-done profile here is a player with multiple Masters starts under his belt, elite strokes gained on approach, a reliable short game, and the ability to score on the par 5s. Think accuracy and creativity over raw power. Course history is arguably more predictive at Augusta than at any other venue on tour, so lean toward players who have consistently made the weekend and posted top-25 finishes here rather than a first-timer riding hot form.

• 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 +500
Jon Rahm +1000
Bryson DeChambeau +1000
Rory McIlroy +1300
Ludvig Åberg +1800

Mid Tier Contenders
Patrick Reed +4000
Collin Morikawa +3500
Russell Henley +4500
Jordan Spieth +4500
Robert MacIntyre +3000

Long Shots
Sungjae Im +7000
Cameron Smith +8000
Adam Scott +7000
Jason Day +8000
Sepp Straka +8000

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.

Valero Texas Open

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Valero Texas Open
• Date: April 2 – April 5, 2026
• Venue: TPC San Antonio – Oaks Course, San Antonio, Texas
• Purse: $9,800,000 (winner $1.71 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
• Course Details: This week’s test is a wind‑exposed, par‑72 layout stretching roughly 7,438 yards, designed by Greg Norman with an emphasis on shot‑making over raw power. The course plays through open Hill Country terrain, where swirling winds are a constant variable and distance control into firm, elevated greens is critical. Fairways are not overly narrow, but misses are punished by native areas and awkward lies, making driving accuracy and approach play far more predictive than putting spikes. Three of the four par 5s push past 590 yards, turning them into scoring separators rather than automatic birdie holes, while the par 4s demand disciplined tee shots to set up mid‑iron approaches.
• Weather: Scattered clouds and warm temperatures in the mid‑ to upper‑80s are expected to open the week, with steady winds in the 10–15 mph range playing their usual role as the primary defense across the property. Rain chances increase late in the tournament, particularly Saturday, before cooler, drier conditions arrive for the final round, potentially creating a very different scoring environment over the weekend.
• FedEx Points: 500 points to the winner.

The Valero Texas Open is one of the PGA TOUR’s true pillars, dating back to 1922 and standing as the longest‑running TOUR event held in the same city, all while serving a unique modern role as the final competitive stop before The Masters. That timing always creates a compelling mix of urgency and restraint, and 2026 is no exception, with a strong but selective field featuring elite players balancing tune‑up reps with trophy aspirations. Headlining the field are Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, and Jordan Spieth, alongside defending champion Brian Harman, giving this event a noticeably higher ceiling than a typical non‑signature stop. With one last Masters invitation still on the line and FedExCup points becoming increasingly valuable, history and opportunity collide this week in San Antonio.

Past Champions:

• 2025 — Brian Harman: (−9)
• 2024 — Akshay Bhatia: (−20) playoff win
• 2023 — Corey Conners: (−15)
• 2022 — J.J. Spaun: (−13)
• 2021 — Jordan Spieth: (−18)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

As the final competitive stop before The Masters, this week consistently produces a fascinating blend of ambition and caution, and that dynamic is reflected in the quality of the 2026 field. While not a signature event, the tournament still draws a top‑heavy group of elite ball‑strikers and proven winners—players like Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, and defending champion Brian Harman—who view this as either a legitimate win opportunity or a high‑level stress test heading into Augusta. At the same time, the depth drops off quickly, creating separation between true contenders and the rest of the field, which historically has allowed precision players with course comfort to outperform betting odds and fantasy expectations. Add in the final Masters berth, full FedExCup points, and a layout that punishes impatience, and this week routinely punches above its weight in both drama and fantasy relevance.

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

• Tommy Fleetwood – One of the highest‑ranked players in the field, Fleetwood’s elite iron play and wind control fit this course exceptionally well. He’s posted multiple solid finishes here in recent years and profiles as a steady top‑10 threat rather than a boom‑or‑bust option.
• Ludvig Åberg – Åberg brings length, composure, and top‑tier ball‑striking to a course that rewards all three. His ability to flight irons in the wind gives him a high ceiling, especially if conditions firm up over the weekend.
• Corey Conners – Few players have been as reliable at this venue, with multiple top finishes and a win in 2023. Conners’ repeatable tee‑to‑green excellence makes him one of the safest fantasy plays in the field whenever this tournament appears on the schedule.
• Jordan Spieth – The Texas native has long thrived here, including a victory and several strong runs. While his results can be volatile week‑to‑week, Spieth’s local knowledge and creativity around the greens keep him firmly in play.
• Brian Harman – The defending champion returns to a setup that clearly suits his eye. Harman’s accuracy and patience shine when scoring gets tough, and he’s comfortable grinding out pars when others start leaking strokes.

Potential Fades:

• Collin Morikawa – On paper, this is an ideal course fit given his elite iron play and comfort in tough conditions, but Morikawa carries more risk than usual this week. His recent withdrawal from THE PLAYERS Championship due to a back issue, combined with Augusta immediately ahead, raises questions about both health and intent. The upside is obvious, but fantasy managers should account for a potentially conservative approach or limited ceiling.
• Russell Henley – Henley’s accuracy and consistency keep him relevant every time he tees it up here, but his lack of length can be exposed when conditions soften and the long par 5s become scoring separators. He profiles as a high‑floor, modest‑ceiling option, making him less appealing in formats that reward aggressive upside.
• Max Homa – Homa enters the week as a form‑based question mark rather than a course‑fit fade. He’s still searching for rhythm with his swing and results, and recent finishes haven’t reflected his usual baseline of consistency or contention. With confidence clearly a work in progress—and Augusta ahead—this is a spot where expectation should be tempered despite his name value.

Win great prizes at THE MASTERS

Play in the Perfect Team Challenge sponsored by Shot Scope at The Masters for your chance to win $250,000 and great prizes from Shot Scope. Enter now for FREE!

🧐 Did You Know?

• The Valero Texas Open is the longest‑running PGA TOUR event held in the same city, having been played exclusively in the San Antonio area since its inception, a distinction no other TOUR stop can claim.
  
• The Valero Texas Open champion doesn’t just get a trophy — they also receive custom Lucchese cowboy boots. The boots have become one of the most unique winner’s prizes on the PGA TOUR and are a nod to Texas tradition, frequently spotted in champion photos well after the tournament ends.
  
• The course has produced one of the most infamous single‑hole scores in TOUR history. In 2011, Kevin Na famously made a 16 on a par 4, a moment that still ranks among the highest single‑hole scores ever recorded in PGA TOUR play.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

This is a classic variance week from a fantasy perspective. With a top‑heavy field, changing wind conditions, and motivation split between winning and tuning up for Augusta, the Valero Texas Open often rewards strong ball‑striking at suppressed ownership rather than star‑chasing. The optimal approach is to prioritize players who can survive tough par‑4 scoring, manage distance control in the wind, and stay patient when birdies aren’t automatic.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Denny McCarthy – One of the TOUR’s elite putters, McCarthy gains real fantasy equity on courses where greens are difficult to hit and par saves matter. He’s posted strong finishes here before and tends to shine when conditions tilt toward survival rather than scoring.
• Keith Mitchell – Mitchell’s driving gives him a clear advantage on a layout that rewards tee‑shot positioning. If conditions stay firm and the course plays closer to par, he has sneaky top‑10 upside thanks to par‑5 scoring without excessive volatility.
• Alex Noren – Noren checks several sleeper boxes: comfort in the wind, disciplined ball flight, and a willingness to grind. He’s rarely flashy, but that works in his favor here, especially if scoring tightens and experience becomes an asset late Sunday.
• J.T. Poston – Poston offers a nice blend of controlled ball‑striking and touch on tricky greens. He doesn’t need overpowering distance to be effective here, and when conditions demand precision and creativity, his profile fits better than his ownership typically suggests.

⭐️ Pro Tip: This week, prioritize elite tee‑to‑green players with proven wind control over big names, as volatile conditions and pre‑Masters motivation often reward patience and ball‑striking more than raw scoring power.

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 Valero Texas Open has a total prize purse of $9,800,000. The winner receives $1,710,000.

That first-place prize is the same as last week’s Houston Open, and ranks middle-of-the-pack on the standard One and Done schedule (Tier 3 by prize money). The field this week is a little tougher up top, though, with more of the top-ranked golfers opting to play in this event.

• View this week just like last week as an opportunity to deploy a mid‑tier, high‑floor player who’s capable of a top‑10 finish but not someone you’d save for a major or signature event.

Historically, success here has favored golfers who hit a high percentage of greens, control trajectory in the wind, and stay patient when par is a good score, rather than aggressive scorers who rely on hot putting weeks. With Augusta looming, many elite names carry both usage value later and uncertain intent now, making this an ideal spot to deploy a reliable tee‑to‑green profile with course comfort or strong Texas‑style form. In other words, target golfers with a high Strokes Gained: Approach. Elite iron play has been the strongest predictor of success at this event, especially in wind, where controlling distance and trajectory into firm greens matters far more than putting or raw distance.

• 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
Ludvig Aberg +1200
Tommy Fleetwood +1400
Corey Conners +1800
Patrick Cantlay +2000
Hideki Matsuyama +2000

Mid Tier Contenders
Gary Woodland +5500
J.T. Poston +5500
Rico Hoey +6000
Maverick McNealy +6000
Harry Hall +6500

Long Shots
Matt Wallace +10000
Tom Hoge +10000
Max Homa +12000
Doug Ghim +12000
Matthias Schmid +12000

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.

Texas Children’s Houston Open

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: Texas Children’s Houston Open
• Date: March 26 – March 29, 2026
• Venue: Memorial Park Golf Course — Houston, Texas
• Purse: $9,900,000 (winner $1.78 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
• Course Details: This week’s event takes place on a Tom Doak–designed layout with player‑consultant input from Brooks Koepka, giving it a modern championship feel that blends strategic width off the tee with demanding green complexes. Stretching to 7,475 yards and playing as a par 70, the setup rewards players who can handle long‑iron approaches and stay patient on firm, fast putting surfaces. From a fantasy perspective, the course tends to favor strong Strokes Gained: Approach players—precise iron play has historically separated contenders from the pack. The routing also forces players to navigate several risk‑reward decisions, especially on the longer par 4s that can stretch past 480 yards. No major adjustments to the setup have been reported for this year, meaning players should expect conditions consistent with recent editions—tough but fair, with scoring opportunities only for those striking it well.
• Weather: Expect sunny to partly cloudy conditions with warm temperatures throughout the week, with winds running stronger than usual and potentially affecting ball flight. Forecast models also indicate consistently breezy conditions over all four rounds, which could challenge players’ precision even without significant rain in the area.
• FedEx Points: 500 points to the winner.

The Texas Children’s Houston Open has long been one of the PGA TOUR’s signature pre‑Masters tune‑ups, a historic event dating back to 1946 that attracts players looking to sharpen their form before Augusta. While the event still boasts recognizable star power—including Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Sungjae Im, Will Zalatoris, and defending champion Min Woo Lee—this year’s field is not stacked with top‑10 global players. That’s largely due to the withdrawal of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who pulled out earlier in the week for family reasons. The top of the field is instead anchored by World No. 7 Chris Gotterup, the lone top‑10 presence, alongside steady top‑30 performers like World No. 26 Si Woo Kim, giving the tournament strong depth but not premier global firepower. It’s a quality field with competitive balance—plenty of viable fantasy options, just without the usual cluster of elite top‑10 names you’d expect this close to Augusta.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – Min Woo Lee (–20)
• 2024 – Stephan Jaeger (–12)
• 2023 – No Tournament (event not played)
• 2022 – Tony Finau (–16)
• 2021 – Jason Kokrak (–10)
• 2020 – Carlos Ortiz (–13)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

This week’s field brings an interesting competitive texture: while it isn’t overloaded with top‑10 stars, it features a deep collection of players who have either surged recently or shown flashes of elite form on layouts like this one. With Scottie Scheffler withdrawing earlier in the week, the hierarchy at the top becomes far less defined, opening the door for volatility and potential breakout performances. The presence of several past champions and multiple players returning to a course they’ve handled well in previous years gives this event a distinctly “wide‑open” feel—one where course fit, historical comfort, and trending tee‑to‑green metrics may prove more predictive than pure world‑ranking strength. And with only a single top‑10 player in the field fantasy players are likely to find a rare blend of value opportunities and mid‑tier upside plays throughout the slate.

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

• Min Woo Lee – The defending champion dominated here in 2025, shooting –20 and setting a tournament scoring record. His ability to separate from the field last year makes him one of the most reliable targets in both fantasy and betting formats.
• Tony Finau – A past winner at this event (–16 in 2022), Finau also finished runner‑up the following year, showing exceptional comfort with the layout. His blend of length and approach precision tends to translate well at this venue.
• Chris Gotterup – Not a past winner here, but as the highest‑ranked player in the field, he carries upside simply via form and talent. With so few top‑10 players competing, Gotterup enters as a statistical standout.

Potential Fades:

• Brooks Koepka – While Koepka helped consult on the course design and has a strong T5 finish here in 2020, his past missed cut in 2021 and the narrative‑driven price inflation this week make him a volatile play. Experts have noted concern over his putter holding him back at this venue.
• Jake Knapp – Knapp enters as one of the betting notables, but has no recent tournament history or course‑specific success. With several returning past winners and proven performers in the field, Knapp profiles as a high‑variance play due solely to limited historical context rather than demonstrated course fit.
• Sam Burns – A strong player overall, but similar to Knapp, there is no documented history of standout performance at this event or layout. Given how many contenders this week do have confirmed success on this course, Burns becomes a tougher fantasy investment without data pointing to an edge here.

🧐 Did You Know?

• Brooks Koepka played a direct role in shaping this week’s course, having served as a player consultant during its redesign—one of the rare PGA TOUR venues where a competing pro helped influence the architecture.
  
• Texas Children’s uses tournament week to bring hospital programs into the spotlight—sometimes literally. Events like “Cooking Up a Cure” and even a playful putt‑putt course at the hospital feature during Houston Open festivities, blending golf with fundraising and patient‑support activities in true Houston fashion.
  
• When the event debuted in 1946, Byron Nelson won the inaugural edition, tying this modern tournament directly back to one of golf’s most legendary figures.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

With only a single top‑10 player in the field and a course that consistently rewards disciplined ball‑striking over short‑game magic, this week sets up as an ideal spot to lean into smart roster construction rather than star‑chasing. The strength of the field is flatter than usual, which means the real edge comes from identifying golfers whose skill sets match the long‑iron demands and strategic routing of this layout. Because the 135‑player field heightens cut pressure, diversifying lineups across multiple archetypes—steady tee‑to‑green grinders, aggressive ball‑strikers capable of spike rounds, and veteran course‑managers who avoid big numbers—can significantly boost your odds. With volatility expected and proven course horses alongside under‑the‑radar sleepers, this is one of those rare weeks where mid‑tier builds and upside hunting may outperform a traditional “stars‑and‑scrubs” approach.

Sleepers to Consider:

• Doug Ghim – A Texas native with a strong tee‑to‑green foundation, Ghim tends to pop on tougher‑than‑average setups that reward precision off the tee and disciplined approach play. His statistical profile (ball‑striking first, putting second) fits the way this course has separated contenders from the pack. Low ownership upside makes him a sharp differentiator.
• Emiliano Grillo – Known for streaky but occasionally elite iron play, Grillo is precisely the kind of volatile mid‑tier golfer who benefits in fields lacking stacked top‑10 talent. When the course demands long‑iron control and patience—both strengths when he’s on—he becomes a potential top‑15 spoiler.
• Ben Griffin – Griffin profiles as a high‑floor, moderate‑ceiling option for fantasy owners who need stability. He tends to outperform expectations on courses with wide driving areas but challenging approach zones, making him an ideal plug‑and‑play for balanced lineups.
• Matt Kuchar – Inserted into the field after Scheffler’s withdrawal, Kuchar brings veteran savvy and a proven ability to manage scoring on strategic, less penal layouts. His recent form has been quietly steady, and his course‑management style tends to play up where bogey avoidance matters.
• Nicolai Højgaard – A high‑variance bomber who thrives on par‑70 courses with length, Højgaard is a prototypical upside play. His aggressive approach can generate spikes in birdie production—an angle especially valuable if winds pick up and lower‑trajectory players struggle.

⭐️ Pro Tip: With only one top‑10 player in the field and several past champions showing strong course history, lean heavily on ball‑strikers with proven success here and don’t hesitate to load up on mid‑tier sleepers, as this week’s wide‑open setup creates more volatility and upside than usual.

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 Houston Open has a total prize purse of $9,900,000. The winner receives $1,710,000.

The purse size ranks middle-of-the-pack on the standard One and Done schedule (Tier 3 by prize money). The upcoming Valero Texas Open, along with both the Byron Nelson and Charles Schwab Challenge in May, are all at a similar prize tier.

• View this week as an opportunity to deploy a mid‑tier, high‑floor player who’s capable of a top‑10 finish but not someone you’d save for a major or signature event.

It’s a week for long drivers where distance really matters. The Memorial Park course is almost 7,500 yards while playing as a par 70. Driving distance is pretty important, but there is less penalty for missing the fairway here. The last two winners (Lee and Stephan Jager) ranked inside the Top 25 in driving distance but outside the top 100 in driving accuracy in the year they won. Target golfers driving 310+ on average. You can also pay attention to the few golfers with Texas ties.

• 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
Min Woo Lee +1300
Chris Gotterup +1800
Jake Knapp +2000
Sam Burns +2200
Brooks Koepka +2200

Mid Tier Contenders
Shane Lowry +4000
Keith Mitchell +4000
Wyndham Clark +4000
Harry Hall +4000
Taylor Pendrith +4500

Long Shots
Aaron Rai +7000
Patrick Rodgers +7000
Nico Echavarria +8000
Gary Woodland +8000
Will Zalatoris +8000

Golfmerce – a marketplace built by golfers, for golfers.

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 Valspar Championship

Your weekly guide to fantasy golf on the PGA TOUR

⛳ This week on the PGA TOUR

• Tournament: The Valspar Championship
• Date: March 19 – March 22, 2026
• Venue: Innisbrook Resort – Copperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Florida
• Purse: $9,100,000 (winner $1.64 million)
• Cut Rule: Top 65 and ties after 36 holes
• Course Details: This week’s test unfolds on a 7,352‑yard, par‑71 layout crafted by architect Larry Packard, a designer known for building courses that reward patience, precision, and disciplined ball‑striking. The setup challenges players with tree‑lined corridors, constant elevation changes, and doglegs that force strategic club selection—a combination that typically suppresses scoring and favors golfers comfortable grinding through difficult tee‑to‑green conditions. One of the defining characteristics of this track is how it flips the typical Florida narrative: instead of wide‑open, wind‑exposed fairways, players face tight landing areas, penal rough, and a demanding closing stretch where par often gains ground. Accuracy off the tee and elite long‑iron play historically separate contenders from the pack.
• Weather: Expect a sunny, warm four‑day stretch with temperatures generally ranging from the low‑70s to low‑80s, with only minimal risk of rain throughout tournament play. Light‑to‑moderate winds—occasionally gusting into the 12–19 mph range—may add some challenge, but overall the forecast looks stable and favorable.
• FedEx Points: 500 points to the winner.

The Valspar Championship has long been one of the PGA TOUR’s most quietly demanding stops, earning a reputation for tight finishes, precision‑driven golf, and steady drama since its debut in 2000. As the final event of the Florida Swing and the last chance for some players to fine‑tune their games before the Masters, this week carries meaningful implications—even if the field is weaker than usual with many top stars opting to rest after THE PLAYERS and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, including world Nos. 1–3 and newly ranked No. 4 Cameron Young. Even so, fantasy managers still have plenty of firepower to consider, with seven of the world’s top 20 teeing it up, highlighted by Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka, ensuring a strong core of contenders despite the absence of several marquee names.

Past Champions:

• 2025 – Viktor Hovland (‑11)
• 2024 – Peter Malnati (‑12)
• 2023 – Taylor Moore (‑10)
• 2022 – Sam Burns (‑17)
• 2021 – Sam Burns (‑17)

🏌️ Players to Watch (and a Few to Fade)

This week’s field brings an unusual blend of opportunity and volatility: with several top‑ranked stars resting after THE PLAYERS—including world Nos. 1–4—the door opens wider than usual for mid‑tier contenders and course specialists to make noise. Even so, the event still features seven of the world’s top 20, highlighted by defending champion Viktor Hovland along with Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas, ensuring the top of the board remains highly competitive. What makes this week especially intriguing for fantasy players is how many of the remaining headliners possess strong course histories, creating a clear separation between proven grinders and bigger names whose fit—or recent form—may be more questionable.

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

• Viktor Hovland – The defending champion owns the lowest scoring average here since 2021 (68.50) and is coming off another strong season. He’s one of the clearest course‑fit plays in the field.
• Xander Schauffele – Despite not yet winning this event, he has never finished worse than T12 across three career starts here, holding one of the best cumulative scoring averages in the field. He enters with strong form following THE PLAYERS. 
• Justin Thomas – Last year’s runner‑up, he finished just one stroke behind Hovland in 2025 and continues to profile well on tight, iron‑heavy tracks. His strong history here makes him a legitimate high‑upside play, and last week’s performance moves him off the fade list and firmly back into the “players to watch” category.
• Matt Fitzpatrick – Coming off a close call at THE PLAYERS and ranking among the betting favorites this week, Fitzpatrick’s precision game and trending form make him a strong fit. 
• Jordan Spieth – A past champion at this event (2015), Spieth’s creative shot‑making shines on demanding layouts. While volatile, he remains one of the few players with a proven winning blueprint here.
• Corey Conners – One of the TOUR’s elite iron players, Conners has finished T8, T21, T16 in his last three starts at this event and owns a sub‑70 career scoring average on this course. An extremely reliable course‑fit pick.

Potential Fades:

• Patrick Cantlay – Though talented enough to contend anywhere, he has very limited history here (no start since 2017) and enters 2026 with inconsistent putting and an overall form dip, making him a risky roster anchor.
• Ben Griffin – His recent form is worrying, with missed cuts in each of his past two events, and nothing in his course history suggests a likely turnaround this week. He profiles as a poor‑floor option. 
• Patrick Fishburn – Coming off mixed and inconsistent results, his performance trends indicate volatility without a strong statistical foundation to trust on a demanding ball‑striking layout. That makes him more of a contrarian dart than a safe play.
• Brooks Koepka – Although a huge name, he hasn’t played this event since 2022 and brings limited course history plus uneven form into the week. Without recent reps on this layout, he could be a risky fantasy start.

🧐 Did You Know?

• The final three holes are so tough they have their own nickname — The Snake Pit. This notorious closing stretch has long been one of the most demanding finishes on the PGA TOUR, and the course overall rarely yields birdie‑fests: seven of the last twelve winning scores have been −10 or worse, underscoring how hard it is to go low here.
  
• The winner this week earns a Masters invitation if not already exempt — a rare perk for a non‑Signature, non‑major event. With much of the field still unqualified for Augusta, this creates one of the highest‑stakes Sundays of the early season.
  
• This event has had more name changes than some players have had caddies. Before becoming the Valspar Championship, it cycled through sponsorship identities like the Tampa Bay Classic, Chrysler Championship, PODS Championship, Transitions Championship, and Tampa Bay Championship — possibly the most rebranded stop on TOUR.

🤔 Fantasy Strategy

With the field noticeably thinner at the very top — none of the world’s top nine players are teeing it up, this week sets up as a rare opportunity where elite course fit matters more than sheer world ranking. Xander Schauffele, currently World No. 10, enters as the highest‑ranked player in the field, giving him a unique anchor role in roster construction. On a layout as historically demanding as Copperhead — one that rewards precision, patience, and disciplined tee‑to‑green performance — fantasy players should lean into proven grinders and players with established success on positional courses. With the mid‑range packed with strong course fits and reliable ball‑strikers, balanced lineup builds become especially attractive, and past familiarity with this venue gains even more predictive value in a week where the top‑end star power is limited.

Sleepers to Consider:

• J.J. Spaun – Spaun’s trending tee‑to‑green form and his ability to excel on difficult, positional courses make him a strong sleeper. His low‑mistake profile plays well on a layout that penalizes aggressive misses.
• Taylor Moore – A former champion here (2023), Moore’s course familiarity gives him a meaningful advantage over many in this weakened field. His comfort with Copperhead’s rhythm makes him an excellent mid‑tier value.
• Adam Hadwin – Hadwin’s 2017 win at this event highlights his long‑term fit with this course. His accuracy‑first profile and controlled ball‑striking are ideal traits for Copperhead’s narrow corridors.
• Peter Malnati – The 2024 champion thrives in grind‑it‑out setups. He rarely draws high ownership, making him a savvy differentiator with real top‑20 potential on this track.
• Seamus Power – Power has posted multiple strong finishes here in previous seasons and tends to shine on courses that reward patience and precise ball‑striking over power.

⭐️ Pro Tip: If you normally fade the chalk, this is the week to double down — a thin top tier means ownership will cluster, and the edge lies in the gritty mid‑tier grinders who fit Copperhead’s blueprint.

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 Valspar Championship has a total prize purse of $9,100,000. The winner receives $1,566,000.

The purse size puts it in the lower half of non-Signature events (Tier 3 event by prize money). It’s actually slightly lower than the Cognizant from three weeks ago, but because of its placement on the schedule (not sandwiched by Signature Events), it’s a better field

• Given the thinner top end and the historically demanding setup, this is a week to bank a solid mid‑tier performer, protect your elite names for larger purses, and lean into lesser‑known players who quietly posted strong finishes here last year—taking advantage of a field where course history often levels the playing field..

The top 9 finishers here last year are playing: Players who are returning here also played well a year ago. Jacob Bridgeman had a third-place finish, Corey Conners had a Top 10, and Xander Schauffele finished just outside the Top 10.

• 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
Xander Schauffele (+1100)
Viktor Hovland (+1600)
Matt Fitzpatrick (+1800)
Justin Thomas (+2200)
Akshay Bhatia (+2200)

Mid Tier Contenders
J.J. Spaun (+3000)
Corey Conners (+3300)
Nicolai Højgaard (+3500)
Ryo Hisatsune (+4500)
Taylor Pendrith (+4500)

Long Shots
Lucas Glover (+8000)
Stephan Jaeger (+8000)
Billy Horschel (+10000)
Denny McCarthy (+10000)
Adam Hadwin (+12500)

Golfmerce – a marketplace built by golfers, for golfers.

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.