Hello, Rotoballers! I hope everyone is doing well and is ready for another exciting year of PGA DFS. Showdown has returned for another season on DraftKings alongside the PGA Tour, and we’re here to help guide you, whether you’re looking to continue your journey from where you left off in 2024 or are new to this particular DFS format.
Unlike standard golf DFS, which covers the entire tournament, Showdown focuses on each round as an individual event. It's crucial to find players who excel on approach shots, but it’s also important to make roster decisions that provide ownership leverage by selecting riskier players who may not have been performing their best recently but could have a strong bounce-back round. In other words, this is a sprint, not a marathon.
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Weather, Course Conditions, and Tee Times
Round 3 Strategy
The key to success in showdowns is to look for ball strikers who can have a standout putting performance. Having two exceptional putting days in a row is quite challenging, so we should focus on golfers who have been consistent with their approach shots and created birdie opportunities but fell short in converting them.
It’s also beneficial to target players who need to improve their position on the leaderboard, as they often push harder on moving day. Additionally, golfers who have shown some positive form in the first two rounds are great candidates to consider.
Keep in mind that ownership levels tend to decrease as the morning's first tee time approaches, so identifying players who are likely to bounce back is crucial for achieving significant wins.
$10,000+
Favorite Play: Scottie Scheffler hasn't missed a beat since finishing tied for third at last week's FedEx St. Jude Championship. In Round 1, Scheffler gained 1.562 strokes off the tee, 0.927 strokes around the green and 2.351 strokes putting. The only place Scheffler lost strokes in Round 1 was on approach, losing 0.126 strokes on approach. In Round 2, he gained 1.630 strokes off the tee, 0.715 strokes on approach and 1.161 strokes putting. Through the first two rounds, he's hit 78.57% of fairways, 75% of greens in regulation and converted 11 birdies. I don't see him slowing down tomorrow.
A bogey-free 65 puts Scottie Scheffler in the final group heading into the weekend @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/skg4ZAxDop
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 15, 2025
$9,000+
Favorite Play: Ben Griffin only posted one bogey in his first round on his way to a 3-under 67 but his second round was the complete opposite. He only carded one birdie. In Round 1, he gained 1.651 strokes on approach, 0.793 strokes around the green and 1.998 strokes putting. In Round 2, he lost 1.469 strokes on approach and 2.722 strokes putting which is uncharacteristic of what we've come to expect from Griffin. Griffin has been one of the better approach players and putters on tour this season. He's a great bounce back candidate for tomorrow.
Other Options: Russell Henley, Cameron Young
$8,000+
Favorite Play: Sam Burns has only carded three bogeys through the first two rounds. In Round 1, he lost 0.486 strokes on approach but gained 3.430 strokes putting. In Round 2, he lost 0.724 strokes on approach but gained 1.429 strokes putting. Through the first two rounds he's hit 64.29% of fairways, 66.67% of greens in regulation and averaged 1.67 putts per green in regulation. Burns hasn't been solid on approach, but he's been great off the tee and on the greens. He's been consistent and someone I want in my lineups.
Other Options: Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler, Harry Hall
$7,000+
Favorite Play: Harris English dropped five birdies in his first round and only carded one bogey in his second round. In Round 1, he gained 0.714 strokes off the tee and 2.999 strokes putting but lost 3.029 strokes on approach. In Round 2, he gained 0.444 strokes off the tee, 1.167 strokes on approach but lost 0.659 strokes putting. Through the first two rounds, English has hit 67.86% of fairways but has only hit 55.56% of greens in regulation. That being said, he's averaging 1.60 putts per green in regulation. When he hits the green in regulation, he's converting birdies and saving pars. Let's hope he can convert a few more birdies tomorrow.
Other Options: Justin Rose, Maverick McNealy, Jason Day, Corey Conners
“Give me a car!”
J.J. Spaun was begging for an ace and new ride @BMWChamps 😅 pic.twitter.com/msfbUEnkl0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 15, 2025
$6,000+
Favorite Play: Michael Kim has been nothing short of excellent through the first two rounds. In Round 1, he gained 1.750 strokes on approach and 0.367 strokes putting. In Round 2, he gained 3.440 strokes on approach but lost 0.115 strokes putting. So far Kim has hit 72.22% of greens in regulation, converted nine birdies and only carded three bogeys. Kim has been consistent through both rounds so far and that's someone I'll take in my lineups especially in this salary range.
Other Options: Brian Harman, Nick Taylor, Daniel Berger, Bud Cauley
Still on top. #BMWCHAMPS pic.twitter.com/qDAuGqao5B
— BMW Championship (@BMWchamps) August 15, 2025
Guy I'm Playing That You Shouldn't
This will be an every-week addition to my article where I'll pick a golfer who I believe has shown he can go nuclear but has every chance he could dud and should generally be reserved for the largest field GPP tournaments.
Jhonattan Vegas dropped four birdies in his second round today but also carded two double-bogeys. Through two rounds he's gained 0.752 strokes off the tee but lost 3.469 strokes on approach and 1.773 strokes putting. We're really riding the four birdies today, but Vegas has been much better on approach throughout the season so if he can improve there, he could be a low-owned option who has the ability to score points and that's exactly what we're looking for in this section of the article.
This lineup is for demonstration purposes only.
Showdown Optimizer
The optimizer works nicely with the projected ownership from the model. If you are unsure how to use it, there is a video at the top of the "PGA Lineup Optimizer" page on how to get my projected ownership and/or projected points into your optimizer.
Good luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
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Win more with expert tools and advice from proven winners! RotoBaller's PGA Premium Packages feature several savvy analysts and proven winners for DFS and betting.
Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:
If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU
— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020
Congrats @tenndolly2 ???
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