The BMW Championship will be played at Caves Valley Golf Club (par 70, 7,601 yards, bentgrass greens) in Owings Mills, Maryland. This Tom Fazio-designed course hosted the BMW Championship in 2021 as well, which was won by Patrick Cantlay (-27). Since then, Caves Valley has been lengthened and converted from a par 72 to a par 70. The BMW Championship is the second of three events for the FedEx Cup Playoffs and only the top 50 players in the FedExCup standings have qualified for this event. Following Sepp Straka’s (personal) withdrawal Monday, there will only be 49 golfers competing at Caves Valley this week and there will be no cut. After the BMW Championship, the top-30 players in the FedExCup standings will advance to next week’s TOUR Championship at East Lake to conclude the FedExCup Playoffs.
The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.
I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.
My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.
Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
- Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
- Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
- Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
- Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green
Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.
The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.
And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.
The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.
PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts
Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link!
Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.
Tool Highlights
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DraftKings $10,000+ Range
Rory McIlroy ($11,400)
With Caves Valley being a Fazio design, saving $2,000 by dropping down from Scottie Scheffler to McIlroy makes a ton of sense for cash games this week. McIlroy has won 44 times as a professional and notably, nine of these victories have come at Fazio-designed courses. McIlroy finished T4th at Caves Valley in 2021 – compared to Scheffler at T22 – and McIlroy ranks first in Strokes Gained per round when we compare this field’s histories at Fazio creations. This season, McIlroy has finished inside the top 10 in eight of his 13 solo starts, including three wins. The 36-year-old should be fresh after taking last week off and McIlroy should contend again at Caves Valley.
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DraftKings $9,000 Range
Ben Griffin ($9,100)
Griffin has finished inside the top 15 in 12 of his 26 starts this season, including wins at the Charles Schwab Challenge and at the team-based Zurich Classic with Andrew Novak as his partner. Plus, Griffin finished T4 at PGA National for the Cognizant Classic and T8th at Quail Hollow Golf Club for the PGA Championship, both of which were designed by Fazio. Griffin ranks fifth in Strokes Gained per round at Fazio courses among the players in this field and the 29-year-old is a tremendous value at this $9,100 salary.
Updated on 12/5/25
DraftKings $8,000 Range
Justin Rose ($8,600)
Rose has been incredible, finishing T6th, T16th, and first in his last three starts, with that win coming at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, in which the Englishman defeated J.J. Spaun in a playoff. Including a 6-under 64 at TPC Southwind last week, Rose has shot under par in 10 of his past 12 rounds, and he ranks third in Total Strokes Gained when we compare this field’s last 12 rounds. Rose’s game is flawless right now and his impressive play should continue with a high finish at Caves Valley.
Sungjae Im ($8,000)
Im finished T3rd at Caves Valley in 2021 and his game is trending in the right direction right now, finishing T27th at the Wyndham Championship and T17th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in his last two starts. Im’s first win on the PGA TOUR came at the Fazio-designed PGA National for the 2020 Honda Classic and the security of competing at no-cut events has translated into plenty of success for Im. When we analyze this field’s last 50 rounds at tournaments that don’t feature a cut, Im ranks fifth in Strokes Gained per round.
DraftKings $7,000 Range
Rickie Fowler ($7,900)
Two of Fowler’s six PGA TOUR wins have come at Fazio tracks and the veteran ranks eighth in Strokes Gained per round at Fazio designs among the players in this field. Plus, Fowler is coming off his best finish of the season. The 36-year-old finished T6th at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, including a pair of 4-under 66s at TPC Southwind. Fowler has finished T18th or better in three of his last five starts and during this five-event stretch, he has shot under par in 17 of his 20 rounds. Sitting 48th in the FedExCup standings, Fowler will be determined to finish high on the leaderboard this week, as he looks to advance to the TOUR Championship next week, after he didn’t qualify for the playoff finale a year ago.
Kurt Kitayama ($7,600)
Very few players head to Caves Valley in better form than Kitayama. The 32-year-old has finished inside the top 10 in three of his past four starts, including his win at the 3M Open last month. Kitayama ranks sixth in Total Strokes Gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he ranks 18th in par four performance this season, making Kitayama a strong match for a par 70 like Caves Valley.
Si Woo Kim ($7,300)
Kim finished T29th at Caves Valley in 2021 and he flourished in the final two rounds of that event, shooting 65 and 66. Kim is on the heels of a T14th finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship – marking his 11th top-25 finish of the season – and Kim put on a ball-striking clinic at TPC Southwind, finishing first in SG: Approach for the tournament. This is an impressive feat considering the stacked field that competed at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and Kim will need to carry this momentum over to Caves Valley if he wants to advance to the TOUR Championship, as the 30-year-old is currently outside the bubble for the playoff finale at 41st in the FedExCup standings.
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DraftKings $6,000 and Below Range
J.T. Poston ($6,700)
Poston made some serious noise at the Fazio-designed Quail Hollow in May for the PGA Championship, finishing T5th and the 32-year-old will need to contend at Caves Valley this week if he wants to move on to the TOUR Championship, with Poston sitting 50th in the FedExCup standings. Given his strong current form, Poston has the potential for a high finish and he is an elite bargain at this low salary. In his last two starts, Poston has finished T11th at the Wyndham Championship and T22nd at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Poston gained strokes on approach and with his putter at both these tournaments and he has shot under in seven of these eight rounds.
Jhonattan Vegas ($6,100)
Vegas must have a terrific showing at Caves Valley for his season to continue – he ranks 49th in the FedExCup standings – and the four-time PGA TOUR winner is coming off a T14 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week. Vegas has shot under par in eight straight rounds and just like Poston, Vegas finished T5th at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship in May, marking his best finish of the season and the best major finish of his career. Vegas finished T38th at Caves Valley in 2021 and with no cut to worry about for this week’s BMW Championship, the veteran is an appealing punt play for cash games at this near-minimum salary.
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Pictured: Rory McIlroy
Photo credit: Getty Images
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