Austin Championship – DraftKings Picks

Each week, along with presenting my top choices for each of the categories below, I will include the pertinent stats for the specific event that come directly from my model. Except for the “Core Plays,” which will typically be somewhat chalky most weeks, I will include at least one player I am confident in who is forecast to be lower-owned and who will present a good pivot from some of the higher-owned options. In essence, the players you see below make up the majority of my player pool for this event.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qyyE-k-bbTKs7KDfunThBkQWmHOyQ-igCaEFl8Qz11E/edit?gid=1341392181#gid=1341392181

Here are my favorite plays and fades in each price range for DraftKings contests for the 2026 Austin Championship.

$9,000+ range

 

Play: Jackson Koivun, $10,400

The data supports Koivun being the most expensive golfer on the slate. He won the 3M Open this summer and most recently finished T-5 at the Biltmore Championship. Over the past nine months, only Blades Brown has gained more strokes per round. 

He ranks eighth in this field in strokes gained/approach and 14th off the tee over the past year. Considering that birdies will need to be made in bunches this week, he profiles well in many of the important scoring metrics, including sixth in the field in par-5 scoring and 11th in birdie or better percentage. Over the past 18 months, he is also fourth-best in weak fields, gaining an average of 1.56 strokes per round.

Fade: Brian Harman, $9,300

Over the last year, Harman ranks outside the top 35 in this field in strokes gained per round. His game is also a poor match for this course. Scoring should be easy and there are four par 5s, yet Harman ranks near the bottom of this field off the tee, in birdie or better percentage and in par-5 scoring, and his strokes gained per round in weak field events over the past three years is lower than all but one player in the $9,000 range. I would rather save $100 and play Ben Kohles, who leads this field in SG/approach over the past year and has finished 29th or better in 12 straight starts.

$8,000+ range

 

Play: Zach Bauchou, $8,800

Bauchou has quietly stacked good weeks this fall. Going back to the Wyndham Championship, he had a stretch of four straight top-25 finishes and then gained over six strokes ball-striking in Mexico last week before finishing 33rd. He’s the third-best ball-striker in this field over the last three months and is sixth in birdie or better %. 

Fade: Marco Penge, $8,200

Penge is cheaper than he has been in weeks, but the drop is deserved. He missed the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship last week, tied for 40th at the Mexico Open and tied for 68th at the Bank of Utah Championship, and over the past year he has lost strokes to the field in PGA Tour events.

His biggest weakness is his iron play. He ranks near the bottom of the field in SG/approach over the past year, and his recent form has been even worse, losing 4.9 strokes on approach over his past 10 rounds.

$7,000+ range

 

Play: Stephan Jaeger, $7,900

Jaeger has found something with his irons this fall. He ranks fourth in this field in SG/approach over the past three months leading to a T-4 at the Baycurrent Classic and a T-25 at the World Wide Technology Championship last week. He has also gained 0.73 strokes per round over his past 25 rounds in Texas.

$6,000+ range

 

Play: Lucas Glover, $6,600

Glover’s finishes this fall have been modest with a T-34 in Bermuda his best, but he has made the weekend in each of his last two starts, and his iron play has been much better than his results. He’s gained 0.89 per round on approach and has been equally as good around the green. He’s been very reliable in the fall and ranks fifth in weaker events over the last three years. If he can just make some putts he has the upside to be in contention on the weekend.

Core Plays

Upper-Tier Plays

Mid-Range Plays

Value Plays