We are coming off the most exciting event of this young PGA season, and another down-to-the-wire finish could be in store at the Genesis Invitational.
The names you know and trust are sitting atop the pricing board: What star(s) allow you to build the best set of six golfers in DFS tournament play this week?
Genesis Invitational DFS Lineup
The type of contest you enter matters in how you put your lineup together. In a cash game, no one would blame you for paying top dollar on Scottie Scheffler and just making it work elsewhere.
This is an elevated event, and that strategy certainly holds weight as the “scrubs” level in this field isn’t nearly as volatile as others. That said, if you want to pay up for a few stars and differentiate yourself from those deploying a similar strategy, I think I have the perfect construction for you.
- Xander Schauffele
- Patrick Cantlay
- Si Woo Kim
- Pierceson Coody
- Ryan Gerard
- Max Homa
When all was said and done, the salaries worked in such a way on DraftKings that I was able to pack my lineup with six golfers who all ranked inside of my top 20 for the week.
It rarely works like that, and I saw no reason to pivot.
Patrick Cantlay is my one-and-done pick, and I detailed the close decision I had to make between him and Xander Schauffele in my 2026 Genesis Invitational preview piece. As for the others that have the privilege of gracing my bulletproof lineup, let’s dive in a bit.
Si Woo Kim
Kim was the best golfer on the planet for the first month of the season, so am I really going to knock him for a T-45 finish last week where he gained nearly a stroke in ball striking but couldn’t put the pieces together around and on the green?
No, no I am not. He’s the second-best golfer in this field over the past 30 rounds in the hyper-critical approach range of 150–200 yards (Viktor Hovland is first, and Lucas Glover is third if you’re looking to get creative in how you leverage that strength), and he’s tied with World No. 1 when it comes to the best par-4 scoring form.
He’s priced as the ninth golfer in this field, and that might be the right holistic spot for him, but not on this track given his lead-in form.
Pierceson Coody
The Coody case isn’t much different than that of Kim. He also finished outside of the top 40 last week as a victim of the tricky around-the-green setup but sustained his borderline elite ball-striking metrics.
He’s gained well north of a full stroke in that regard in back-to-back-to-back events, continuing growth that we saw from him a year ago (+0.85 strokes in ball striking after losing 0.31 in 2024).
This kid is the real deal, and with his ball speed over 180 miles per hour, this is a power-packed profile in a 5-9 frame that can excel at a course like this. If you want to hold the fact that he’s never played here against him, go ahead. I’ll be happy to buy in at a low ownership number for the second-best bogey avoider in this field.
Ryan Gerard
Gerard has three top-20 finishes on his resume this season, including a pair of top-5s, something that isn’t really reflected in his price tag for this week.
I understand that last week wasn’t great and that the talent pool this week impacts what we are asked to pay for him, but this does feel like a discount for a golfer who has gained in ball striking in five of his past six dating back to last season and has shown encouraging signs of fixing a putter that was leaving strokes on the course weekly.
I’m not sure that he’s yet ready to go down to the wire and win an event like this, but let’s not forget that he finished T-8 at the PGA Championship in May. I’ll give away some win equity with the understanding that my odds of getting top-15 production from this low on the board are relatively high.
Max Homa
Homa’s best putting surface over the past three seasons is Poa, and he’s fared better as course length increases, two traits that could pay off in spades this week. He was off last week and a mess in the two events prior (MC at Farmers and a T-66 at WM Phoenix), thus leading me to believe that the temperature on him in terms of public perception has cooled in a meaningful way.
He won here in 2021, and that was the highlight of five straight top-20 finishes at this course. Despite a lack of results, Homa has seen his ball striking pass the smell test this year, and he’s upped the ball speed to make distance more of an asset.
There was hope entering this season that he’d regain his form from previous seasons. Are we really willing to walk away from that train of thought while there is still snow on the ground here on the East Coast?
I’m not, but I’m not sure I’m in the majority on that one. I’m anticipating a lower ownership number, and if that proves true come tonight, I’ll be well overweight in shares.
