PGA TOUR Championship: Top DraftKings DFS Picks and Key Course Insights

The PGA Tour season come to end an end at the TOUR Championship this weekend at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, GA. Scottie Scheffler leads the way as the heavy favorite to win the FedEx Cup, but anything is possible. He is currently a 3/2 favorite to win it all, but that suggest that there is a much higher probability that he does not. Regardless, the PGA Tour's best performer will be crowned Sunday evening.

Course Breakdown

East Lake is a beloved golf course but it has not necessarily played as a hard one. The winner has been at least 17 under par in the last three events, and has not been single digits since 2015. The current weather forecast shows for sporadic rain all weekend with minimal wind, so you can expect them to perhaps shoot a tournament record this weekend.

East Lake GC is a standard, parkland style golf course. It has been around since 1904, designed by the legendary Bobby Jones. It hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup but most notably, the TOUR Championship since 1998.

This layout tends to be quite fair-weather as far as strokes gained advantages. You will have to be proficient in every part of your game, athlough you do not have to be dominant. I would classify this golf course as favoring Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. Of course, Scottie Scheffler owns that category.

The most notable hole on the course will be the island 15th Hole Par 3.

Tournament History

For the first time, the TOUR Championship will have no stroke advantage based on standings. In the past, the FedEx Cup leader would start staggered at -10, with second place at -8, third place at -7, and so on. This year, everyone will start at even par and the best shall hoist the trophy.

Scottie Scheffler is the current defending champion. The second favorite, Rory McIlroy, is a three-time champion. Viktor Hovland bridged the gap as the 2023 champion.

My Winning Score Projection: -20

Last Week: Projected -13 | Winner: -15 || Two Weeks Ago: Projected -14 | Winner: -16

DFS Picks (DraftKings)

Scottie Scheffler ($13,900)

So long Scottie is breathing air, I will take him up to an astronomical salary. We want, 7x, 8x, 10x? He can do it. This salary is also not too much worse than the last couple weeks, and I project East Lake to be a birdie fest. Scheffler is implied with a 40% chance to win this week and so 100+ points is not just in his bag, but expected.

Scottie Scheffler continues to play at a level we haven't seen since Tiger. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/kCAtG7prsN
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 18, 2025

Rory McIlroy ($11,300)

It will likely be difficult to take both Scheffler and McIlroy, but if you fade Scheffler, I would demand that you do take McIlroy. He is a three-time champion, all culminating at East Lake. He has also finishes top-12 in his last four events. He is the clear-cut next best golfer behind Scheffler. Expect Rory to show up in a big way.

Justin Thomas ($9,100)

Justin Thomas is the best active player at East Lake. He has the best strokes gained total at East Lake among active contenders. He has also participated in this event eight times, and never has he has less than two strokes gained on the field. JT has been playing great golf, so I will gladly take him.

Viktor Hovland ($9,400)

Viktor is the 6th highest in salary this week, which I would consider to be great value. Hovland is either the third or fourth best current performing golfer in here. He is also coming off of his 4th event this season with strokes gained of 3.25 or higher — elite numbers. Hovland won the championship and thus, I will take him.

Maverick McNealy ($7,200)

Of course, we need some lighter salaries in here, and McNealy is a great choice. At his best, McNealy has been a top-10 golfer in the world. He is very likely going to make the Ryder Cup team and he is quite deserving of it. Maverick McNealy is also coming off of a 3rd place finish last week and I love his profile for this course. He is a very well rounded golfer, as opposed to putting specialists like Harry Hall or big-hitters like Chris Gotterup. I definitely see a top-five finish in the range of outcomes for such a low-salary player.

Justin Rose ($6,800)

I think that Rose can be a situational golfer. He does thrive on certain courses, and it shows. For an example, the US Open plays extremely difficult, more tending towards long hitters and agressive iron players. The PGA Championship tends to favor long hitters as well as accurate drivers of the ball. East Lake is fair with less driving penalties and more gettable opportunities, including scrambling and shorter approaches.

I love Justin Rose and at his cheap price. Rose has tasted the TOUR Championship multiples times before. He has not played here since 2019, but Rose has five career top-six finishes at East Lake, and only twice in ten appearances has he finishes outside the top 15 (of 30). I think Justin Rose may have a great shot to finish strong this weekend.