Bolton: Value of captain elevated with low scoring at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

Welcome back for what essentially is the second half of the PGA TOUR season, contributing to PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore.

Before last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans – the team event was excluded from the game – there were 16 tournaments. Now, 17 remain, beginning with this week’s THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the first five of which close out Segment 2.

While it’s still too early to get excited or concerned about where you’re positioned in your league, time will feel like it’s fleeting faster than usual if you’re chasing and you’re not in a position to strike when starts reset for the opening of Segment 3 at the RBC Canadian Open.

With two Signature Events and a major still to come in Segment 2, FedExCup bonus points could pack a welt without proper roster management over time, but at a stop like this week’s at TPC Craig Ranch, the value of the captain is elevated even more.

Scoring on the par 71 is going to be low. Because fantasy scoring is directly proportional, all gamers need to lean into the possibilities, and that means strong consideration for burning Scottie Scheffler as your captain, even if it’s your last start.

Shootouts like THE CJ CUP almost always are crapshoots in fantasy, and although Scheffler is winless in 2025, his floor is a top 10 in every tournament, so even the most conservative gamer can forget about him missing the cut. So, and quite simply, do the shrewd thing and designate him as your captain.

The counterargument to this strategy affects gamers in battles for their league lead, who have manufactured their standing by playing defense in the Signature Events and the Masters. For them, it’s the chess match during a marathon. So, for a talent of Scheffler’s caliber, being on board with him at the PGA Championship and/or the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the latter of which he’ll be defending on the same course, it’s all about putting the man on that wall.

Yet, there’s an angle that’s been growing on me as we’ve waded deeper into Segment 2, and it has merit even if you’re nose-to-nose for the league lead. Leveraging the reality that only one golfer can be your captain in a tournament is the soul of the simple genius behind the new provision for this season.

That means that Scheffler and, say, Rory McIlroy cannot be your captain at the same time at all of the aforementioned events, but like all older formats of the fantasy game, you still can roster both when you have starts available.

The approach forces you to think of managing a segment, not just about where you burn starts, but the quality of your captains as a whole. To be certain, there are many suitable choices in every field, but this gets to the most extreme of edges that could decide your championship.

Captain

Scottie Scheffler … Putting my pick where my pen is, and this is my last start for him in Segment 2. I wouldn’t do (or advise) it if the captain didn’t exist or if I were front-running, but the stars are aligned.

I’m accepting a worst-case scenario that leaves me a similar deficit at the conclusion of Segment 2, but this timing could yield better than the best-case scenario if I played the game closer to the conservative style that I have for years.

Other considerations

• Jordan Spieth … It feels like a slight to say that this is safe, but that’s of value in our world. Continues to prove that he’s healthy and comfortable again. If you’re not burning Scheffler, Spieth is the perfect pivot.
• Sungjae Im ... It’s a mild surprise that this is his first start at TPC Craig Ranch, but it feeds directly and significantly into his profile as a scorer. His form upon arrival multiplies the incentive.

Rounding out the roster

In a postscript to the analysis at the top, the wide-ranging dispersion of ownership in conjunction with beefy fantasy scoring could yield some wild rides for many of us, but the chalk in this field is limited. In a matrix like this one, gamers who deviate from the chalk will have their day, but frequency will be low; thus, so will its impact. It’s high-risk, high-reward, for which the impact swells only if the chalk cracks, and that occurs at most only twice per season.

MY STARTERS

• Sam Burns
• Sungjae Im
• Scottie Scheffler (C)
• Jordan Spieth

MY BENCH

• Si Woo Kim (1)
• Taylor Pendrith (2)

Careful

For almost every tournament, a usually impressive subset of the field warrants avoiding, and it might be represented in my Power Rankings, which is not written in the context of any fantasy golf format. In this section, I single out those who demand a pause and why.

Note: Will Zalatoris and Gray Woodland withdrew from THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson on Wednesday, April 30.

Tom Kim ... You know that I excused him of making noise on the PGA TOUR as he contributed to Jupiter Links of TGL, but his experience in that arena ended almost two months ago, and he still hasn’t generated as much as a ripple in five starts on TOUR since. It’s a home-away-from-home game for the South Korean this week, but he has just one top-30 finish in three appearances, anyway.

Will Zalatoris ... Missed the 2023 edition, having just had his microdiscectomy, and then decommitted before the opening round last year to rest his back after three consecutive weeks on the road. Now he arrives having taken last week off, but we need to continue to be patient. His inconsistency is a result of an uncooperative putter.

Gary Woodland ... Enjoyed his best week in a while at the Texas Children’s Houston Open when he closed out a T2 with a 62, but it’s one sparkling performance amid a sea of results that aren’t helpful in fantasy. He’s also making his debut at TPC Craig Ranch.

Austin Eckroat ... At last check, he was polling at just two percent on all rosters, so the majority already is abstaining despite a T2 in his only prior trip in 2023. Still, it’s timely to acknowledge that he’s slumped since a T13 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and sits 93rd in the FedExCup. Given that I slotted him 34th in my preseason full-membership fantasy ranking, he’s one of the biggest disappointments of the first half of the season.

Returning to competition

Harrison Endycott ... Getting back after it on the PGA TOUR, where he hasn’t competed since July of last year, and he’s doing it with some momentum. In his second rehab start on the Korn Ferry Tour, he placed T10 at the Veritex Bank Championship on Sunday. With 10 starts on a medical extension in the graduate reshuffle and fields expanding to 156 for the remainder of the regular season, he’s worth a flier in deep formats.

Notable WDs

Joe Highsmith ... The lefty is 31st in the FedExCup thanks in large part to his breakthrough victory at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. The nice problem to have is navigating a schedule consisting of favorite destinations and new tournaments as a result of his success, including in all Signature Events since his win.

Nick Dunlap ... It’s been a struggle since he wrapped the West Coast Swing with a T17 at The Genesis Invitational as he’s just 1-for-5 with a solo 71st at the 72-man RBC Heritage, but he’ll have the promise of another four rounds at next week’s Truist Championship.

Michael Kim ... Slotted sixth in the Aon Next 10, he’s a lock to qualify for the Truist Championship, so he’ll tee it up in Philadelphia after a two-week break.

Keith Mitchell ... Precariously positioned at fifth in the Aon Swing 5, but even if he doesn’t hang on for a spot in the Truist, he’s inside the top-100 bubble of the Official World Golf Ranking to be added to the field for the PGA Championship.

Brandt Snedeker ... He’s 7-for-9 on the season with one top 10 and sits 154th in the FedExCup. Despite sitting this one out, he remains of some value in deep full-season formats as he burns a career earnings exemption.

Blades Brown ... As odd as it might seem, this decision is based on the 17-year-old’s success. With a T2 at the Veritex Bank, he’s taken a big step toward qualifying for Special Temporary Membership on the Korn Ferry Tour, so he’s sticking with his commitment to the Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya. For details on its impact and his pursuit, read here.

S.H. Kim ... The 26-year-old has conditional status, but he’s in a strong position to regain fully exempt status in 2026 via the Korn Ferry Tour. Currently fourth in points, it seems evident that he’s accepting playing full time on that circuit, so consider dropping him in PGA TOUR-only formats unless you can stash him away as a cheap keeper.

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