Black Desert pays for irons and putting, and last October four of the top five finishers cost under $8,300. Michael Brennan, the defending champion, is my cash anchor and my pick to win at +1600, and Ben Kohles at $7,800 is the value that pays for him. The wind barely moves all week, so the draw does not matter. Taylor Pendrith and Kyoung-Hoon Lee both carry an OUT status on DraftKings, and the Top Plays table at the end sorts every play by role.
High Impact Injuries
| Player | Salary | Flag | DFS read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor Pendrith | $7,400 | OUT on DraftKings | Do not roster unless the status clears before lock |
| Kyoung-Hoon Lee | $6,100 | OUT on DraftKings | Do not roster unless the status clears before lock |
| Matt Wallace | $9,700 | 55 days off, 5 events missed | Out at this price, and he missed the cut here in 2025 |
| Harry Hall | $8,900 | 48 days off, 4 events missed | Out at this price |
| Max Homa | $8,800 | 48 days off, 4 events missed | GPP only, small exposure |
| Garrick Higgo | $6,700 | 62 days off, 6 events missed | Dart at most |
| Neergaard-Petersen, Hodges, Yellamaraju, Potgieter, Rodgers, Highsmith | $6,400 to $7,500 | 4 or 5 events missed | Keep out of cash |
None of these players has a withdrawal in the last 18 months. The flags come from time away, not from a named injury.
The Course
Black Desert Resort is a Tom Weiskopf design in Ivins, just north of St. George, and it plays as a par 71 at 7,421 yards. The fairways run about 36 yards wide, which is roomy, and the edges are old black lava rock instead of thick rough. Miss a fairway and you are chipping out and fighting for par, not reloading.
Driving explains the least separation here of any of the four strokes gained categories. Approach explains the most, putting comes right behind it, and around the green lands between those and driving. Approach and putting are the two categories I care about this week, and I will let a poor driver slide if the irons and the putter both hold up.
Last October this same event went to Michael Brennan, with Rico Hoey 2nd, Ben Silverman 3rd, Justin Lower 4th and David Ford 5th. Four of those five names cost under $8,300 this week. This is a course where the leaderboard does not need a $10,000 player at the top of it, and that shapes how I spend.
Weather to Watch
Round 1 | Clear, 65 to 91F | Wind: 2 to 4 mph, gusts 7
The first groups start in the mid 60s and the last wave finishes in low 90s heat. There is no rain anywhere in the forecast.
Round 2 | Clear, 73 to 89F | Wind: 3 to 6 mph, gusts 5
Friday's midday window is the breeziest stretch of the first two days. It still peaks under 6 mph.
Round 3 | Clear, 74 to 89F | Wind: 3 to 5 mph, gusts 4
Another still day, hot again after lunch.
Round 4 | Clear, 74 to 90F | Wind: 4 to 6 mph, gusts 9
Sunday afternoon brings the biggest gusts of the week at 9 mph, which will barely move a flag.
The two halves of the draw finish Thursday and Friday within about a mile per hour of each other, so the edge is worth maybe a tenth of a stroke over 36 holes. That is noise. I am not using the tee times at all, not even as a tie-breaker, and I would build on skill and price alone.
Course History
1. Michael Brennan ($10,200; best finish: won in 2025)
He won here a year ago and then won the Wyndham in August. He has made eight cuts in a row, so the course record and the current form are pointing the same way.
2. Rico Hoey ($8,200; best finish: 2nd in 2025)
Hoey finished runner-up here last year while gaining 0.41 strokes per round off the tee this season. His season total sits at 0.03, though, so the course record is carrying most of the case.
3. David Ford ($7,100; best finish: 5th in 2025)
Ford took 5th here and has a top 10 in one of his two desert starts. He missed the cut at the Biltmore in his last start, which is the part that keeps him out of cash.
4. Pierceson Coody ($7,700; best finish: 7th in 2025)
Coody's three desert starts average a 13th place finish and include a top 10. The problem is current form: he has lost 2.10 strokes per round in his four most recent events.
The Board
Elite ($9,000+)
Michael Brennan ($10,200 | +1600 | Cash) Forty-one days off is the only thing I hold against him. His last start was a 10th at the BMW, the one before that was a win at the Wyndham, and he is up 1.71 strokes per round in his four most recent events. He returns to a course he won on. The field will spread its money across Brennan, Jackson Koivun and Doug Ghim, the three priciest names, and of those three he is the one who pairs a real floor with a win on this property. FanDuel has him +1600. He is my cash anchor.
Jackson Koivun ($10,800 | +1200 | GPP) Koivun is the most expensive player here and has the thinnest file. There is not enough of a season sample on him to split his game into categories yet. You are paying for results instead: a win at the 3M Open in July, a 6th at the Biltmore in his last start, and plus 1.31 per round in his four most recent events. The board makes him the favorite at +1200. I respect all of it, and I still think $10,800 buys more when it becomes Ben Kohles plus Billy Horschel. GPP-leaning, and I will be underweight.
Doug Ghim ($9,500 | +2200 | Cash) Expect the field to be heaviest here. I understand why. Ghim gains a full stroke per round on the season, 0.59 of it off the tee, and he breaks 70 in 76.8% of his measured rounds. His four most recent events come out to plus 1.21 per round as well. My hesitation is the fit, because his approach number is 0.18 and his putting sits below zero on a course that pays for those two things, and he finished 64th here last year. Cash-leaning at +2200. In tournaments I will let the field have him.
Jackson Suber ($9,300 | +3000 | GPP) Only Davis Thompson gains more on approach in this price range, and Suber sits at 0.51. He finished 18th here last year and 15th at the Biltmore two weeks ago. He has one missed cut in eight starts. The putter is the leak, at negative 0.29, and it is the reason he is +3000 while names with thinner profiles sit shorter. He should draw less attention than the three names above him. GPP-leaning.
High ($8,000-$8,900)
Johnny Keefer ($8,400 | +3500 | GPP) Plus 0.53 off the tee and plus 0.38 on approach. Keefer strikes it as well as anyone in this range, and he finished 7th at the Biltmore in his last start. Two of his eight most recent starts ended inside the top 10, and he made the cut in both of his desert starts. The Wyndham cut he missed in August is a reminder of how the floor looks when the putter goes cold, and at negative 0.25 his putting runs cold a lot. At +3500 he is a tournament play.
Chris Kirk ($8,100 | +4500 | Cash) I did not expect to be here on Kirk this week. Nobody in the $8,000 range gains more on approach, where his season number is 0.50, and his four most recent events average plus 1.22 per round. His putter is the ugliest part of the profile at negative 0.47. That matters on this green complex. He has made six cuts in eight tries, and at +4500 he is the value in this range, lean cash with some tournament appeal.
Rico Hoey ($8,200 | +5000 | GPP) The runner-up finish here is the whole pitch. Four recent events at plus 0.65 per round look fine, but his putting sits at negative 0.32 and he has no top 10 in eight tries. FanDuel has him +5000, and I only want him in tournaments.
Max Homa ($8,800 | +4500 | GPP) Homa finished 10th here last year. He has not played since the FedEx St. Jude on August 13, a gap of 48 days and four tournaments, which caps how much I trust the floor. GPP-only, and a small piece at that.
Mid ($7,000-$7,900)
Ben Kohles ($7,800 | +4500 | Cash) Nobody in this field gains more on approach than Kohles at 0.74. He gains 1.20 strokes per round overall and breaks 70 in 72.2% of his rounds. His four most recent events average plus 1.65 per round, and he has made eight straight cuts. The only caution is sample size, because the season numbers come off 36 measured rounds. He finished 22nd here last year and sits at +4500 this week. Cash core.
Kevin Roy ($7,600 | +5500 | Cash) Roy is the steady one in this range. He made all three of his desert cuts, has made seven cuts in eight tries overall, and sits at plus 1.34 per round in his four most recent events. The 60th here last year is a knock. Expect Roy to be one of the more popular names in the $7,000s, and I am fine paying that for cash. He sits at +5500.
Billy Horschel ($7,600 | +5000 | GPP) Horschel's season is not good on paper, with his total at negative 0.08. His four most recent events tell a different story at plus 1.09 per round, including a 12th at the Wyndham, and he also finished 12th here last October. The name will pull fewer entries than it did a few years ago. That is why I want him in tournaments at +5000.
Pierceson Coody ($7,700 | +4500 | GPP) This one is a contrarian bet on a course over a slump. Coody is down 2.10 strokes per round in that same four-event window and has made only four cuts in eight tries. He also finished 7th here and averages a 13th place finish across three desert starts. Few entries will have him, and I would take that swing in large-field GPPs at +4500.
Cheap (under $7,000)
Davis Chatfield ($6,800 | +12500 | Cash) Chatfield is my floor play down here. He is at plus 0.58 per round across eight recent starts with six cuts made, with a 6th at the ISCO in July. He gains 0.23 on approach and keeps bogeys off the card on 86.2% of holes. He will not win you a tournament at this price, but he fills a cash lineup that needs the salary.
Ben Silverman ($6,600 | +17500 | GPP) Silverman finished 3rd here last year. His four most recent events come out to plus 0.61 per round, but he has made only three cuts in eight tries, so this is a ceiling bet with no floor under it. Keep him to GPP lineups.
Justin Lower ($6,700 | +15000 | GPP) Lower's 4th here a year ago is the best thing on his card. His season total is negative 0.64. He is a pure course-history dart, worth some exposure in large fields and nowhere else.
Andrew Putnam ($6,600 | +15000 | GPP) Putnam wins with the short game, gaining 0.37 around the green and 0.23 putting, and he keeps bogeys off the card on 85.5% of holes. He has a top 10 in one of his two desert starts. The recent form is poor, at negative 0.42 per round over four events. GPP-leaning.
Bets
To Win
Michael Brennan (+1600) is my pick to win. He won here last year, won the Wyndham in August, and has made eight straight cuts. The board has him second behind Koivun, and I would flip those two.
Jackson Suber (+3000) has the approach play this course wants and a top 20 here already. The putter is why the price is this long, and I think the price overcorrects.
Johnny Keefer (+3500) sits outside the top eight on the win board. His tee-to-green profile says he belongs closer to the top five.
Long Shots
Emiliano Grillo (+7000) is up 0.87 per round across eight recent starts, including an 8th at the 3M Open. He missed the cut here last year, so this is a form ticket and nothing more.
David Ford (+8000) finished 5th here last year and has a top 10 in half of his desert starts. His recent results are weak, and I am betting the course fit outweighs them.
Ben Silverman (+17500) finished 3rd here twelve months ago. At this number I only need him to find that week again.
Top Plays
| Player | Role | Salary | FanDuel win | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Brennan | Cash anchor | $10,200 | +1600 | Won here in 2025, eight straight cuts |
| Ben Kohles | Cash core | $7,800 | +4500 | Best approach number in the field |
| Kevin Roy | Cash core | $7,600 | +5500 | Seven cuts in eight, made all three desert cuts |
| Davis Chatfield | Cash value | $6,800 | +12500 | Six cuts in eight at a punt price |
| Chris Kirk | Cash or GPP | $8,100 | +4500 | Best approach number from $8,000 to $8,900 |
| Jackson Suber | GPP | $9,300 | +3000 | Approach play and a top 20 here, less attention than the names above him |
| Johnny Keefer | GPP | $8,400 | +3500 | Best tee-to-green pair in his range |
| Billy Horschel | GPP | $7,600 | +5000 | 12th here and 12th at the Wyndham |
| Pierceson Coody | GPP leverage | $7,700 | +4500 | 7th here, and few entries will have him |
| Ben Silverman | GPP dart | $6,600 | +17500 | 3rd here in 2025 |
| Justin Lower | GPP dart | $6,700 | +15000 | 4th here in 2025 |
Final Thoughts
My cash build starts with Brennan and pays for him with Kohles, Roy and Chatfield. That core gives me a course winner, the best iron player on the board at a mid-tier price, a steady cut-maker and a cheap floor. If the salary leaves room, Kirk is the next spend. Ghim fits too, though I would rather play him here than in tournaments.
In tournaments the field will lean on Ghim, Koivun and Brennan up top. I am underweight on Koivun and Ghim and getting different with Suber, Keefer, Horschel and Coody. Silverman and Lower are the cheap course-history darts that let me afford it.
Before lock, check Pendrith and Kyoung-Hoon Lee. Both carry an OUT status on DraftKings, and neither belongs in a lineup unless that flips. The forecast is flat enough that nothing else should move.
Tools used for this week
Every number in this playbook comes off the free BankrollSZN tools: this week's PGA DFS projections, PGA strokes gained by category, PGA course history, tee time weather by wave, and the free PGA lineup optimizer.