The PGA TOUR is headed back to Torrey Pines for the second time on the West Coast Swing since this week’s Signature Event had to be relocated from Riviera Country Club due to the California wildfires. Even though this is a limited field with 72 golfers, there is a cut to the top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead after Round 2 are also included. Since a high percentage of players make the cut, it’s a good week to go with some cheap plays and take some risk. As you search for some lower-ownership options, Justin Thomas ($10,100), Cameron Young ($7,400), and Cameron Davis ($6,800) stand out as my top-three pivot plays of the week.

To level set heading into this post, a “pivot play” is a golfer with a similar upside to a popular option available near the same DFS salary. Sometimes, the golfer with lower expected ownership brings additional risk factors, but in order to make your lineup stand out in tournament formats, it’s worth the extra risk for the extra upside. Players with lower ownership increase the chance of your entry finishing higher on the leaderboard. These pivot plays tend to be “boom-or-bust,” bringing high risk and high reward. Even though they’re NOT the safest plays in the price range, they have enough potential upside to be worth the risk. These picks are ideal for GPP tournament contests where having a lineup that’s different is critical to finishing in the top spot.

Here’s why I like each of my top-three pivot plays this week:

Justin Thomas ($10,100)

Thomas has been priced up over $10,000 this week, which seems to have driven his ownership way down. He’s a strong alternative to Scottie Scheffler ($12,300), Collin Morikawa ($10,000), Rory McIlroy ($10,900) and Ludvig Aberg ($9,800), who are all drawing much more attention this week.

Thomas is still in search of his first win on the PGA TOUR since the 2022 PGA Championship, but he has been heating up since last summer, and he looks to be on the verge of getting back into the winner’s circle. He has five top-10 finishes in his last 11 events, including last week’s WM Phoenix Open when a walk-off chip-in bumped him up to T-6.

Even in this elite field, Thomas has the most Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green over the last six months while also ranking third in Total Strokes Gained and Strokes Gained: Approach.

Every facet of his game is firing as he returns to Torrey Pines, where he posted top-25s in his last two Farmers Insurance Opens and the 2021 U.S. Open. He didn’t play a few weeks ago, but his excellent form and extensive experience make him a great pivot play at the top of the salary structure.

Cameron Young ($7,400)

Young has had to live with the “best player without a win” tag for a while and continues to knock on the door without being able to claim a victory. If he contends this week, that will again be the big story, and his game seems to be rounding into form for him to do just that. At this salary and his expected ownership, even just a high finish will be enough to make him a good play. In his price range, Viktor Hovland ($7,900), Corey Conners ($7,400) and Max Greyserman ($7,200) are much more popular plays, but Young has upside that makes him a good alternative.

Last week, Young finished T-12 at the WM Phoenix Open. He seemed to find his game as the week went on, opening with a 74 but then going 64-66-67 to climb the leaderboard. Young opened the year with a top-10 finish at The Sentry but struggled at his other two tournaments in 2025.

When he’s at his best, Young brings good balance throughout the bag, but last week it was his short game and putter that heated up. He ranked fourth in the field in putting last week, and he has the power off the tee to take on the South Course of Torrey Pines.

He last played Torrey in 2022 and he shot a sizzling 64 in Round 3 on the South Course on his way to a 20th-place finish. If you’re looking for a safe pick, you can wait a week or two on Young, but if you’re trying to be aggressive and grab him on the upswing, there’s a lot to like about his potential this week.

Cameron Davis ($6,800)

Let’s double up on Cameron love this week and also roll with Davis as another good DFS pivot play. Around $7,000 there are several strong options to consider with Si Woo Kim ($7,100), Davis Thompson ($7,000), Daniel Berger ($6,900), Billy Horschel ($6,700) and Ben Griffin ($6,200) getting plenty of public attention and buzz.

Davis is a nice fit for this course and like Young and Thomas has shown the ability to contend if the wind and rain become a factor. Davis does have mixed course history at Torrey Pines, missing the cut in 2023 in his last appearance and not posting a top-30 even though he made the cut in five previous appearances.

However, I’m backing Davis since his game should be a good fit overall, and he is coming off back-to-back excellent showings at The American Express (T-18) and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (T-5).

Those two high finishes give him five top-20s over his last eight starts dating back to last year. His short game has been excellent lately, and he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green over the last 12 rounds, ranks fifth during that span in Strokes Gained: Approach, and also ranks third in Total Strokes Gained.

Davis can be a great leverage play under $7,000 and some other less popular cheap plays I like a lot are Nick Taylor ($6,600), Torrey Pines High School’s own Michael Kim ($6,300), and Kevin Yu ($6,000).

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1M Sand Trip Special [$200K to 1st] (PGA TOUR).