Justin Van Zuiden said Rory McIlroy is the clear DFS pay-up anchor this week, beating out Scottie Scheffler once price, form, and setting are weighed. McIlroy is playing a "home game" in Northern Ireland on a links course he knows well, and he flashed peak form with a T2 last week while Scheffler settled for T8. The salary gap is massive—$11,500 on DraftKings and $11,900 on FanDuel for McIlroy versus $14,200 and $13,900 for Scheffler—so McIlroy provides similar upside at a steep discount while likely drawing lower ownership. Van Zuiden believes that combination of venue comfort, recent ball-striking resurgence, and value makes McIlroy the strongest roster anchor in GPP builds.

Justin Van Zuiden expressed surprise at Taylor Pendrith's significant slide in fantasy drafts, eventually picked at number 26, despite his strong profile as a lengthy driver ideally fitting Memorial Park's layout. Pendrith has struggled lately, which likely contributed to his fall; however, given the strong course fit emphasizing bombers, Van Zuiden considers Pendrith a potentially sneaky, high-upside DFS selection capable of significantly outperforming his current market expectations and depressed DFS salary.

Justin Van Zuiden cautions about Keith Mitchell as a DFS option due to his pronounced volatility. While Mitchell often starts tournaments strongly and spends time on leaderboards, Van Zuiden highlights Mitchell's frequent dramatic collapses, including recent examples where he scored well initially, only to falter or nearly miss the cut due to poor finishing holes. Given this established pattern, Van Zuiden sees Mitchell as particularly high-risk for DFS lineups, advising caution despite a tempting ceiling.

Justin Van Zuiden recalls J.T. Poston's near miss at the Houston Open last year, where Poston bogeyed the 18th hole to narrowly miss out on joining a playoff. Poston's strong performance last year at Memorial Park, nearly clinching his first victory, highlights his comfort and competitive capability on this course. Van Zuiden emphasizes this recent past success makes Poston a valuable DFS option at likely modest ownership levels this week.

Justin Van Zuiden highlights Mackenzie Hughes as an interesting DFS option given his consistently strong course history at Memorial Park. Hughes has recorded impressive finishes of 14th, 16th, 29th, and 7th place in previous appearances at this event. Justin expressed surprise at how strongly Hughes has performed historically on this course despite the venue seeming like a poor stylistic fit for Hughes. This makes Hughes an appealing value option likely overlooked by others, providing leverage in DFS tournaments.

Justin Van Zuiden briefly pointed out Davis Riley's quiet return to strong form after a period of regression, noting he's playing well again recently. Riley had previously fallen off DFS radars but is displaying improved performance of late. With Memorial Park's emphasis on driving and iron precision at lengthier yardages, Riley's rejuvenation comes timely, signaling potential upside as a contrarian DFS consideration.

Justin Van Zuiden confidently backs Ryan Fox as a preferred DFS play at just $6,900, stressing Fox's ideal fit for Memorial Park's demanding driver-heavy design. Known for elite distance off the tee, Fox fits the bomber angle essential this week and showed strong ball-striking performances last week. Van Zuiden regularly targets Fox on lengthy driver-dependent setups, pointing to Memorial Park as a perfect venue to capitalize on Fox's strengths, making him a key addition to DFS player pools.

Justin Van Zuiden strongly suggests considering Jeremy Paul as a value DFS option at $7K. Though Paul faded slightly on Sunday finishing outside the top five last week, he showed sustained strong performance overall. Specifically highlighting multiple recent strong showings, Justin underscores Paul's overlooked yet positive recent form, seeing him as a low-owned player ripe to provide good value—particularly useful in DFS rosters incorporating elite salary-heavy golfers like Scottie Scheffler.

Justin Van Zuiden highlights Jake Knapp at $7,700 on DraftKings, identifying him as a key target for those emphasizing distance and upside this week. Justin points to Knapp fitting the bomber profile crucial for success at Memorial Park, noting the course heavily favors players with driving distance and a strong off-the-tee skillset due to minimal rough penalties. At an affordable DFS salary, Justin plans to actively include Knapp in his player pool, suggesting considerable potential value and upside relative to cost.

Justin Van Zuiden recommends Joe Highsmith at $7,800 as a quietly strong value pick for DFS, emphasizing his consistent recent form combined with a promising track record at Memorial Park. Highsmith finished top-25 in this event last year and backed that result up recently with multiple top-25 finishes in Florida events. Given his stable play recently and proven ability to perform at this specific venue, Van Zuiden sees Highsmith as an underrated yet valuable core addition to DFS rosters this week.

Justin Van Zuiden recommends Keith Mitchell as a strong play at only $8,000, noting Memorial Park as uniquely suited for bombers with a high-off-the-tee advantage due to negligible rough penalties for missed fairways. Mitchell, known for his length off the tee, previously finished top 10 at this exact course. Van Zuiden specifically notes Mitchell's ability to spray it off the tee without significant penalty at Memorial Park, creating ideal conditions for him to achieve a breakout performance relative to his affordable DFS salary. Given his combination of distance and past positive experience here, Van Zuiden sees potential for significant lineup value.

Justin Van Zuiden strongly recommended Aaron Rai at $9,800 on DraftKings for this week's Houston Open due to his elite long-iron game, a necessary skill given over 34% of approaches come from beyond 200 yards at Memorial Park. Rai, despite not being considered a powerful driver, ranks top 30 in this field in strokes gained off-the-tee due to his outstanding accuracy and ability to consistently find fairways. Van Zuiden cited Rai's consistent past success in Texas' windy conditions, further elevating his suitability this week. Additionally, Van Zuiden boldly labeled Rai as his choice for wire-to-wire winner, reinforcing his confidence in him for tournament play and DFS.

Justin Van Zuiden identified Alex Smalley as a solid DFS pick due to his quality iron play. He specifically mentioned Smalley's strength in ball striking, finding good value at his current DFS price point for THE PLAYERS Championship.

Justin Van Zuiden praised Laurie Canter's recent performances, citing an eye-popping streak on the DP World Tour. Canter has finished first, second, and third over his last four events. Based on his stellar recent results, Van Zuiden considers him a particularly appealing lower-cost DFS tournament play for THE PLAYERS Championship.

Justin Van Zuiden identifies Ben Griffin as one of the top options in the $6,000 DFS pricing tier, given his impressive iron play recently and strong form over the past six to eight months. Given TPC Sawgrass is shorter and emphasizes iron skill, Griffin fits well. However, Van Zuiden expresses mild concern regarding Griffin playing nine straight events without rest, potentially affecting his performance at a demanding venue.

Justin Van Zuiden strongly recommends Aaron Rai at $7,100 in DFS, citing Rai's excellent recent ball-striking form, gaining 11 strokes ball striking in his last event. Rai has two consecutive top-11 finishes coming into THE PLAYERS and a perfect two-for-two record at this tournament. His strong long iron play suits the course demands, making him Van Zuiden's preferred lower-priced DFS target even at potentially rising ownership.

Justin Van Zuiden emphasizes Corey Conners as a clear DFS choice this week at his low $7,900 pricing. Conners has consistently excelled in prominent tournaments on ball-striking courses, with past success here highlighted by finishes of 13th last year and 7th in 2021. Although his approach numbers haven't been peak lately, Van Zuiden expects Conners to elevate his game during this part of the season, making him a reliable DFS play even at popularity, noting historically Conners tends to produce best when highly owned.

Justin Van Zuiden is skeptical about playing Sepp Straka in DFS despite his recent strong performances and excellent approach statistics, ranking him top-seven over the past year. Van Zuiden notes Rob Bolton from PGATour.com surprisingly ranked Straka #1 in his power rankings over elite players like Scottie Scheffler, an assessment Van Zuiden finds overly aggressive. Given Straka's projected chalky ownership at around 20%, Van Zuiden prefers betting him at 50-to-1 odds rather than rostering him at high DFS ownership.

Justin Van Zuiden categorically advised avoiding Viktor Hovland in DFS at this week's Players Championship due to his poor current form. Van Zuiden expressed significant concern over Hovland's struggles last week, noting weak statistical performances, which resulted in him ranking unusually low (86th) in the tout's model. Van Zuiden stated he sees no value at Hovland’s current DraftKings price near 9,000 salary and will confidently omit him from his lineups.

Justin Van Zuiden advised fading Patrick Cantlay at The Players Championship, pointing to Cantlay's troubling negative history specifically at TPC Sawgrass. Cantlay is notably the only golfer priced above 9,500 DraftKings salary who has consistently lost strokes relative to the field over the past five years, including three missed cuts and uninspiring finishes of 19th and 68th in recent attempts. Van Zuiden remains bearish and intends to remain strongly underweight versus the field.

Justin Van Zuiden recommended completely fading Xander Schauffele at The Players Championship due to his high pricing relative to recent form. Despite Schauffele making the cut last week after a decent Sunday performance, Van Zuiden wants to see more consistent results before investing at Schauffele's current elevated price above 11,000 DraftKings salary. He firmly stated he would cross Schauffele off his player pool entirely at this price.