PGA DFS: Ryder Cup 2023

The biggest show in golf has arrived! The Ryder Cup is unlike any other sports event! The atmosphere is absolutely electric, and seeing the world come together to compete in three days of intense match play is truly the pinnacle of the sport. The opening ceremony has been completed, the opening Friday matches have been announced and both sides are coming out swinging! We give you a full PGA DFS preview for the 2023 Ryder Cup here at In-Between Media (IBT).

PGA DFS: Ryder Cup 2023

Opening Matches:

• Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns vs. Jon Rahm & Tyrrell Hatton
• Max Homa & Brian Harman vs. Viktor Hovland & Ludvig Aberg
• Rickie Fowler & Collin Morikawa vs. Shane Lowry & Sepp Straka
• Xander Schauffele & Patrick Cantlay vs. Rory McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood
  

Ryder Cup Format:

The Ryder Cup is played over three days with a total of five sessions of play.

• Day No. 1: Two Sessions, Foursomes and Four-Ball
• Day No. 2: Two Sessions, Foursomes and Four-Ball
• Day No. 3: One Session, Head-to-Head Match Play
  

Foursomes:  Each pair in the group plays one ball, alternating shots until the hole is completed. Each player will alternate tee shots regardless of who had the last shot on the previous hole. The lowest score wins the hole.

Four-Ball:  Each member of the group plays their own ball and the best score for the hole is taken by each team. The lowest score wins the hole.

Singles:  This is traditional head-to-head match play. All 12 players from both teams will be slotted in to play a head-to-head match.

Ryder Cup scoring:  There are 28 matches in total, with a single point being awarded to the team that wins each match. If a match ends in a tie, then both teams are awarded 0.5 points. The first team to accumulate 14.5 points is declared the winner. If the overall result sees both teams finish with 14 points, then the winner is the team that is defending the Cup; in this case, the U.S. would retain the cup, as they won in 2021 at Whistling Straits.

Course Breakdown

Course: Marco Simone (Rome)

• 7,255 yards
• Par-71
• Paspalum Greens

This course will demand accuracy both off the tee and on approach. The fairways are very narrow, the rough is deep, the native areas are brutal and, on top of all of that, there are 80 bunkers in play, further narrowing the landing areas and the already small-to-medium-sized greens. The greens are as multi-tiered and undulating as the fairways are and feature runoffs and false fronts throughout. The greens, much like the fairways, are also surrounded in close proximity by the native grass areas. It is tough to call out one archetype, but certainly, accuracy is at a premium here.

DraftKings PGA DFS Scoring Structure

The scoring is a bit different this week, so see full details below. Ultimately, one thing you want to consider is getting golfers that you think will play the majority of sessions into your roster. From the press conferences today, it does seem like the U.S. will be trickier to predict, while the Euros will most likely have their top-four players in all sessions – something to consider but not necessarily the solution. If Rory McIlroy plays every session but doesn’t win any matches, then he is less valuable than a golfer who plays only three sessions but wins his matches. 

The golfer you draft as your Captain will earn 1.5x the standard fantasy point value for each statistic, streak and bonus.

Ryder Cup PGA DFS Picks

Captain Picks

• Rory McIlroy ($14,400)
• Viktor Hovland ($13,200)
• Xander Schauffele ($12,300)

Captain Fades

• Scottie Scheffler ($14,700)
• Jon Rahm ($13,800)
• Jordan Spieth ($11,100)

Core Picks

• Patrick Cantlay ($9,000)
• Tyrell Hatton ($7,800)
• Rickie Fowler ($7,000)
• Justin Thomas ($6,800)
• Justin Rose ($6,000)

Core Fades

• Brooks Koepka ($8,600)
• Max Homa ($7,600)
• Shane Lowry ($5,400)
• Sam Burns ($5,200)

High Upside/Low Floor Plays

• Matthew Fitzpatrick ($7,200)
• Ludvig Aberg ($6,400)
• Wyndham Clark ($5,800)
• Brian Harman ($4,600)

Thanks for checking out my PGA DFS picks for the Ryder Cup, and be sure to catch more in-depth analysis on the 19th Hole Live! USA, USA, USA, USA!

*Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports*