As the rain falls in the lead-up to The Genesis Invitational, daily fantasy sports players have to ask themselves one big question… Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy.
Torrey Pines South Course is already brutally long at 7,765 yards but becomes another beast entirely when the rain soaks the coastal course, especially with its already long and juicy rough. The forecast calls for continued rainfall Wednesday and Thursday nights, leaving a different challenge to the hard and fast one of a few weeks ago when the Farmers Insurance Open.
The reality is the winner is likely going to be a big hitter who can try to overpower the rest of the contenders. Accuracy will certainly matter, but only if you add length to it. If you’re stuck hitting mid- or long-irons into holes where others are doing so with wedges or short irons, it’s a tough ask.
“The course is going to play long, the rough is very, very penal, so there’s a premium of putting your ball in the fairway and then controlling the spin into the greens,” Rory McIlroy said Wednesday.
“Not that I didn’t remember, but it took me by surprise when I played a few holes yesterday just how much pitch and slope there is on these greens. So if you are lucky enough to be hitting the ball out of the fairway, you’re going to have to control your spin on these greens a lot as well, so a lot of like three-quarter shots.”
McIlroy sits as the second player on the DraftKings DFS contest board at $10,900 this week coming off his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Northern Irishman proved he can not only still play in soft conditions, but he can actually play through tough, wet and windy conditions as well.
The only player above him is of course world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at $12,300. If you want the best, you’ll have to pay. But is Scheffler worth the extra spend against McIlroy with the rain in the picture?
Neither player has been a regular at Torrey Pines so it might come down to if you want to top stack your team with another big name. if the answer is yes, then McIlroy becomes the value of the two.
Justin Thomas ($10,100) and Collin Morikawa ($10,000) are the only other two players in five figures but you should also expect some heavy ownership for Ludvig Åberg ($9,800) and Hideki Matsuyama ($9,600).
Thomas is coming off a T6 at the WM Phoenix Open and was runner-up at The American Express. Has four previous top 25s at Torrey Pines including the U.S. Open. Morikawa was third at Torrey Pines in 2023 and finished T4 at the U.S. Open here. Leads the TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green (although McIlroy’s numbers are higher from just one event.)
Åberg led early at the Farmers Insurance Open, albeit via a low round on Torrey Pines North that is not used this week, before falling ill and tumbling down the leaderboard. The Swede has a previous top 10 here on debut and the length to challenge the course. Matsuyama is the event defending champion (from The Riviera Country Club) and also has two top 10s at Torrey Pines.
The $8000-$9000 section of the board sees the likes of Taylor Pendrith ($9000), Shane Lowry ($8,800), Jason Day ($8,700), Jordan Spieth ($8,500), Tony Finau ($8,200) and Robert MacIntyre ($8,100) in the mix for consideration.
Pendrith has made the cut in all four tries at Torrey Pines, with two top 10s, including one a few weeks ago, and is third on TOUR in SG: Off-the-Tee. Lowry was runner-up to McIlroy at Pebble Beach and is no stranger to playing in the wet. Day is a two-time winner with another T2 and T3 on his Torrey Pines resume. Spieth returned to some form in Phoenix last week but was that just a one-off? Finau is on the comeback trail from knee surgery but has a strong Torrey Pines history with six top 10s from nine top 25s. MacIntyre is used to Scottish-like conditions and enters off a T6 in Phoenix while now ranking 10th in SG: Off-the-Tee.
As you continue down the salary board a few great drivers of the golf ball stand out. Min Woo Lee ($7,800) and Cameron Young ($7,400) could certainly add some firepower to any lineup. Lee is currently third on TOUR in Driving Distance, second in SG: Tee-to-Green and eighth in SG: Total. Young is a decent 16th in SG: Off-the-Tee.
As much as the stars at the top of the board are needed, so too are the diamonds in the rough at the bottom. Consider the fact that Thomas Detry, Daniel Berger, Michael Kim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Taylor Moore were all part of last week’s optimum lineup and all cost $7,400 or less, and you can see how critical these choices can be.
I think riding Berger’s ($6,900) coattails another week could be beneficial. He’s ranked seventh in SG: Off-the-Tee and third in SG: Tee-to-Green! At 22nd in Driving distance and 17th in Driving Accuracy he’s actually leading the TOUR in Total Driving. Those metrics make him a potential bargain coming off his T2 last week.
Another name to pop at small outlay is veteran Justin Rose ($6,400). Rose was T3 at Pebble Beach recently and is a former winner at Torrey Pines. The Englishman is certainly used to playing in wet conditions and he allows you to take two stars from the top of the board.