PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for the World Wide Technology Championship

For the second straight event in Mexico, we head to El Cardonal at Diamante (par 72, 7,452 yards, paspalum greens) in Cabo San Lucas for the World Wide Technology Championship. El Cardonal has been the site of this event for the last three years, and Ben Griffin (-29) is the defending champion after winning by two strokes a year ago. This week’s field features 120 players, and there will be a cut to the top 65 and ties after the first two rounds.

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.

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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.

Also available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts

DraftKings $10,000 Range

Ben Griffin ($10,000)

Griffin is the favorite to win this week, and getting him at the third-highest price on the board is highway robbery. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Griffin carries field-best +1325 odds to win the World Wide Technology Championship for the second year in a row. Before winning by two strokes at El Cardonal last year, Griffin finished T23 and T24 in his first two attempts at this Tiger Woods design. Griffin has shot a 66 or lower in six of his eight rounds at El Cardonal, including two 9-under 63s. This isn’t the only Mexican course Griffin has thrived at, either. He just finished T4 at Vidanta Vallarta last week, and he ranks fifth in this field in strokes gained per round at Mexico-based courses. Griffin has finished T17 or better in seven of his last 15 starts, and he is a perfect starting piece for cash game lineups.

DraftKings $9,000 Range

Benajmin James ($9,900)

James has had an excellent debut season on the PGA TOUR, making 10-of-12 cuts with seven top-20 finishes. In his last five starts, James has finished third, runner-up, T5, MC, and T16. That latter finish came at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open last week, and James also finished T4 at the Corales Puntacana Championship in June. Both of these performances came on paspalum greens, which is the type of putting surface James will be competing on at El Cardonal this week. The up-and-coming talent has shot 68 or lower in six of his eight rounds at courses with paspalum greens. James should finish high in his first attempt at El Cardonal this week, and he is a great spend at this $9,900 salary, which is the first time he has been priced under $10,000 in three starts.

Blades Brown ($9,500)

Brown kept it rolling at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open this past week, finishing T19. Between the PGA TOUR and the Korn Ferry Tour, Brown has only missed one cut in his last 20 starts, and 16 of these finishes have been top-25 results. Brown just finished runner-up at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in his second-to-last start, and he finished solo third at the Puerto Rico Open in March, which is another event that is played on paspalum greens. Brown has shot under par in 15 consecutive rounds, and he has moved himself up 386 spots in the world golf rankings this year to No. 95. Brown is red hot right now, and he is another El Cardonal debutant that should thrive this week.

DraftKings $8,000 Range

Ben Kohles ($8,500)

Kohles finished just T63 in his lone start at El Cardonal last season, but he is a far better player nowadays and should finish much higher on the leaderboard. Kohles was ranked No. 248 in the world heading into last year’s World Wide Technology Championship, and he now returns to El Cardonal ranked No. 93. Kohles has made 16 straight cuts between the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour, and 15 of these finishes have impressively come in the top 30. Kohles won the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour in June, and he has finished T17 or better in all four of his starts on the PGA TOUR this fall. Kohles has rounds of 62 and 63 in his last two starts, and he ranks second in SG: Total when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds.

Jordan Smith ($8,300)

In his first career start in Mexico, Smith finished T16 at Vidanta Vallarta this past week, including a closing-round 7-under 64. This marked the Englishman’s ninth straight made cut and third consecutive top-25 finish of the fall. Smith just finished T4 at the Baycurrent Classic in his second-to-last start, which is the second-best PGA TOUR finish of his career. Smith is an elite driver who leads the PGA TOUR in total driving this season, and he is arguably the best value on the slate at this $8,300 price tag. While Smith is the 17th-most expensive player for DFS on DraftKings, his +3500 odds to win the World Wide Technology Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook are the eighth-best in the field, despite this being his debut at El Cardonal.

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Neal Shipley ($7,800)

Shipley missed the cut in his only start at El Cardonal two years ago, but we shouldn’t be holding this against him, as he is in excellent form right now and heads back to El Cardonal sitting 55 spots higher in the world golf rankings. Shipley has made six cuts in a row, and he has been great this fall, finishing T3, T10, T34, and T16, with that final finish coming at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open last week. Shipley gained strokes across the board at Vidanta Vallarta, and he closed the event with an 8-under 63. Shipley has gained strokes on approach in three consecutive starts, and he is an awesome target with his ball-striking trending up.

Beau Hossler ($7,500)

Hossler has been very consistent at El Cardonal, finishing T15, T20, and T17 in his three starts at the par 72. Hossler has a 9-under 63 on his resume at El Cardonal, and he now returns to the track having made 10 of his last 11 cuts. Hossler ranks eighth in SG: Putting this season, and his elite flat stick should lead him to another strong finish at El Cardonal. With large putting surfaces at this susceptible track, your work on the greens is crucial, as all three of the winners here have finished the event in the top five in putts per round.

Billy Horschel ($7,300)

An illness forced Horschel to withdraw from last week’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open during the first round, but he is back in action this week and a steal at only $7,300. Horschel has made five of his last six cuts with four top-25 finishes over this span. Excluding last week’s withdrawal, Horschel has shot 68 or lower in 12 of his last 16 rounds. The veteran’s irons have been great, as he has gained strokes on approach at four straight tournaments. While he has never teed it up at El Cardonal before, Horschel has excelled on paspalum greens in the past. His last win came on this type of putting surface when he took home the big check at the 2024 Corales Puntacana Championship.

DraftKings $6,000 Range

Justin Lower ($6,800)

Lower has made seven of his last nine cuts, and he just finished T40 at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open last week while gaining strokes on approach for the second start in a row. In addition to the solid form, Lower has a terrific resume at El Cardonal, finishing T23, runner-up, and T31 in three starts. The veteran has five rounds of 65 or lower at this par 72, and he ranks sixth in this field in strokes gained per round at El Cardonal.

Ben Silverman ($6,700)

Silverman finished T21 in his first attempt at El Cardonal last season, most notably with an 8-under 64 in the final round. Silverman now heads back to the Woods design on the heels of two impressive starts, finishing T3 at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and T19 at the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. At both these events, Silverman ranked in the top 20 in SG: Approach, and he shot under par in every round. Silverman is a man on a mission right now, and he is way underpriced at only $6,700. Silverman has +8600 odds to win the World Wide Technology Championship on DraftKings Sportsbook, which are better than those of Nick Taylor, who is priced at $7,400.

Pictured: Ben James
Photo credit: Imagn