DraftKings LIV Golf DFS Picks: Nashville Cash and GPP Strategy

This article is part of our DFS Golf series.

LIV Golf Nashville

Purse: $20M individual, $5 million team
Winner's share: $4M individual, $3M team
Location: College Grove, Tennessee
Course: The Grove
Yardage: 7,297
Par: 71

For more information, check out RotoWire's LIV Golf Optimizer.

Tournament Preview

The second half of the 2024 LIV Golf season kicked off in Houston two weeks ago, which saw the 17th different individual winner of the league in Torque GC's Carlos Ortiz. Ortiz entered Championship Sunday in a four-way tie for the clubhouse lead, and his five-under 67 score in the final round gave him the one-stroke victory over Cleek GC's Adrian Meronk. It wasn't a lost tournament for Meronk, however, as he joined his teammates Richard Bland, Kalle Samooja and captain Martin Kaymer on the podium after Cleeks GC captured their first LIV Golf team trophy, defeating Fireballs GC and Smash GC by two strokes.

Of course, much of the attention heading into Nashville will be centered around Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau, who is coming off an epic victory at the U.S. Open, outlasting Rory McIlroy by one stroke. The duo were neck-and-neck in the final round, and while McIlroy missed a three-foot par putt on the 18th hole that would've kept him in a tie for first place, DeChambeau hit perhaps the best shot of his career out of the bunker, carrying the ball 55 yards to within four feet of the pin on 18. DeChambeau casually sunk the four-foot putt for par, and in the process captured the second U.S. Open of his career, joining fellow LIV Golfer and Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka for that honor.

While high placements and victories in majors contribute positively for the OWGR and media attention, unfortunately for DeChambeau, it does not translate to the LIV Golf Individual season standings. While he has been spectacular in the majors this season -- he's the only player to finish T6 better in the three majors -- he has finished T18 or worse over the last three LIV Golf tournaments, and he's dropped down to 15th in the standings, two spots back of Crushers GC teammate Paul Casey. Despite a T32 finish in Houston, Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann continues to sit at the top of the standings thanks to his victories in Mayakoba and Jeddah. Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm remains in second place, even though he was forced to withdraw from Houston and the U.S. Championship due to a left foot infection. And thanks to his victory in Houston, Carlos Ortiz rose all the way up to 11th in the standings.

Individual Standings

1. Joaquin Niemann (Torque GC) - 134.40 points (Previous: 1)
2. Jon Rahm (Legion XIII) - 98.17 points (2)
3. Dean Burmester (Stinger GC) - 93.74 points (3)
4. Brooks Koepka (Smash GC) - 84.23 points (5)
5. Louis Oosthuizen (Stinger GC) - 83.10 points (4)
6. Sergio Garcia (Fireballs GC) - 81.82 points (10)
7. Dustin Johnson (4Aces GC) - 73.33 points (9)
8. Talor Gooch (Smash GC) - 72.13 points (8)
9. Abraham Ancer (Fireballs GC) - 71.85 points (6)
10. Cameron Smith (Ripper GC) - 70.66 points (10)

Team Standings

1. Crushers GC - 113.5 points (Previous: 1)
2. Legion XIII - 96 points (2)
3. Torque GC - 91 points (4)
4. Ripper GC - 90 points (3)
5. Smash GC - 85.50 points (6)

While Cleeks GC made the podium over the last two LIV Golf events, they still sit outside of the top six with 62.50 points, just ahead of Fireballs GC. With Crushers GC finishing T4 and Legion XIII finishing seventh, DeChambeau's team continues to sit at the top of the team season standings. Ripper GC looked to be in contention for a podium finish in Houston and even briefly held the lead on Championship Sunday, but captain Cameron Smith shot eight-over in the final round to drop the all-Australian foursome to 10th.

Champions Profile

LIV Golf will make its first stop in Nashville, which makes Tennessee the 12th state to host a LIV Golf tournament. Designed by LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman, The Grove has been modified to a par 71 for LIV Golf Nashville, with the par-5 11th hole measuring the longest at 629 yards, while the par-3 15th is the shortest at 132 yards. At 344 yards, the fourth hole is a driveable par-4, and long hitters like DeChambeau, Niemann and Burmester will certainly look for opportunities to find the green off the tee. Bunkers and water threaten the fairways, so accuracy will be more important than distance. Players who can find the green in regulation will have an excellent chance at a top finish; in fact, every winner of a LIV Golf tournament this season has finished T10 or better in GIR, outside of Abraham Ancer in Hong Kong (T13).

With the ninth LIV Golf tournament of the season on the horizon, here are some picks to consider heading into Nashville.

DraftKings Value Picks

Based on a Standard $50k Salary Cap

Tier 1 Values

Bryson DeChambeau (Captain, Crushers GC) - $11,400 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +750)

All eyes are going to be on DeChambeau after he captured his second U.S. Open at Pinehurst No 2. After finishing T6 at the Masters and coming agonizingly close to winning the PGA Championship, DeChambeau finally broke through with his one-stroke victory at the U.S. Open, becoming the second LIV Golf player to win a major after Brooks Koepka at the 2023 PGA Championship. DeChambeau hasn't converted his performance at majors to LIV Golf with finishes of T26-T27-T18 over the last three tournaments, but prior to that he had four consecutive top-10 finishes. The Crushers GC captain enters Nashville as the best long driver in the league (320.9 yards) and ranks in the top-15 in GIR, putting and scrambling.

Joaquin Niemann (Captain, Torque GC) - $10,400 (+850)

Niemann's T32 finish in Houston was his worst of the season and the second time he has not finished top-10. It's a case study of how one round can derail an otherwise solid outing (see Caleb Surratt later); Niemann was eight-under and two shots back of the lead heading into championship Sunday, but he went five-over in the final round with one double bogey and four bogeys. Still, you can't count out Niemann, who bounced back from his T30 finish in Las Vegas to win in Jeddah by four strokes over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. The Torque GC captain leads the league in birdies made (115) and ranks top-10 in driving distance, eagles, GIR and putting average.

Talor Gooch (Smash GC) - $9,800 (+1200)

On the flip side of Niemann, Gooch salvaged his outing in Houston with a six-under 66 on Championship Sunday to climb to a T15, which is the sixth top-15 finish he's had at a LIV Golf tournament this season. Thanks to the performances of Gooch and Koepka, Smash GC carded 14-under to soar to a share of second place in the team competition with Fireballs GC. Gooch's best performance of the season was T2 in Las Vegas, though his performance in 2024 could be considered a disappointment considering he won three LIV Golf trophies at this point last year, en route to the 2023 Individual Season Championship. Gooch ranks third in scrambling (70.31 percent), fifth in driving accuracy (63.69 percent) and top-10 in putting, birdies and eagles.

Tier 2 Values

Sergio Garcia (Captain, Fireballs GC) - $9,600 (+2000)

Garcia got his third top-five finish of the LIV Golf season in Houston, finishing the tournament second in driving accuracy (78.57 percent), fourth in GIR (75.93 percent) and fifth in scrambling (76.92 percent). The Fireballs GC captain followed that up with a T12 finish at the U.S. Open, which was the best out of the LIV Golf representation outside DeChambeau. Garcia enters Nashville ranked third, fourth and seventh in GIR, driving accuracy and scrambling, respectively, and if he can upgrade his putting game, he could be in contention for his first LIV Golf trophy.

Carlos Ortiz (Torque GC) - $9,400 (+2000)

Ortiz limited himself to just three bogeys -- one in each round -- in Houston, and he led the field in GIR (83.33 percent) en route to the first LIV Golf trophy in his career. Including Houston, Ortiz has finished in the top-20 in five of the last six LIV Golf tournaments, and he is third behind John Catlin and Fireballs GC's David Puig on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Ortiz is tied with Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm with 4.75 birdies per round and is fourth in GIR (74.31 percent) heading into Nashville.

Abraham Ancer (Fireballs GC) - $8,900 (+1800)

Ancer got off to a slow start in Houston, but he recovered with a six-under 66 in the second round en route to a T24 finish. He doesn't drive the ball particularly far (41st in the league with a 295.0 yard driving distance average), but he leads the field in driving accuracy (67.56 percent) while ranking fourth, 11th and 14th in birdies made, GIR and putting, respectively. Prior to Houston, Ancer strung together five consecutive top-12 finishes, including a victory in Hong Kong in a three-way playoff against Paul Casey and Cameron Smith.

Tier 3 Values

Paul Casey (Crushers GC) - $8,100 (+3000)

The GIR leader was in contention for his first LIV Golf trophy in Houston. He rode back-to-back 5-under 67 rounds to enter Championship Sunday in a four-way tie for the lead, but he finished the final round one-over 73 to settle for T9. Still, it was Casey's first points accrued since Miami, and along with his spectacular ability to get on the green, the Englishman is second in scrambling (71.84 percent) and sixth in driving accuracy (62.99 percent).

Richard Bland (Cleeks GC) - $7,700 (+3000)

Coming off his victory at the Senior PGA Championship, Bland posted a T24 finish at LIV Golf Houston. He fired a 5-under 67 in the final round, which helped Cleeks GC capture their first team title of the season. This season, Bland ranks second behind Casey in GIR (75.46 percent) and 12th in driving accuracy (61.31 percent). 

Jason Kokrak (Smash GC) - $7,500 (+6500)

Kokrak finished T18 at LIV Golf Houston, thanks in large part to his 6-under 66 in the second round when he carded seven birdies. It was the first time since LIV Golf Jeddah that Kokrak accrued points towards the individual season standings. He finished Houston third in driving accuracy (76.19 percent), 13th in GIR (72.22 percent) and T15 with 14 birdies. For the season, Kokrak ranks 14th in GIR (71.3 percent) and 16th in driving accuracy (59.52 percent).

Tier 4 Values

Caleb Surratt (Legion XIII) - $7,100 (+12000)

Surratt looked to be on the verge of a breakout performance in Houston after carding a bogey-free, 7-under 64 to end the first round in a three-way tie with Martin Kaymer and Adrian Meronk for first place. Things unraveled in the second round for Surratt, as the 20-year-old scored a 4-over 76, and he finished the final round with five consecutive bogeys. It was a disappointing outcome for Surratt, but he can take what he learned from Houston as he plays in front of a home crowd in Tennessee.

Henrik Stenson (Co-captain, Majesticks GC) - $7,000 (+6500)

Stenson's T15 finish in Houston marked the third time this season that the Swede has finished top-15 at a LIV Golf tournament this season. He was the best scrambler at the tournament (85.71 percent) while ranking third in driving accuracy (76.19 percent) and eighth in GIR (74.07 percent). For the season, Stenson ranks third in driving accuracy (65.77 percent) and 12th in GIR (72.69 percent).

Martin Kaymer (Captain, Cleeks GC) - $6,900 (+15000)

Like Surratt, Kaymer was tied for the clubhouse lead following a bogey-free seven-under 64 in the first round in Houston. He cooled off after that, scoring two-under over the last two rounds, but his T9 finish was his best performance of his LIV Golf career. Kaymer followed that up by making the cut in the U.S. Open, finishing T64 with a 13-over score. He was fourth in the field at LIV Golf Houston in GIR (75.93 percent), and he ranks 15th for the season in driving accuracy (59.82 percent).

Branden Grace (Stinger GC) - $6,200 (+12000)

If you're going with a top-heavy lineup and have little salary to spare, Grace may be a good lawn-dart option for you. While he finished in last place at LIV Golf Houston, the South African does rank eighth in GIR (73.33 percent) and 21st in driving accuracy (57.44 percent). If he can straighten up his scrambling and putting games, Grace could be a sleeper in Nashville.

Take a spin through the Sportsbook Promo Codes before wagering on LIV Golf Nashville.