Zach Thompson takes a look at three longshot options for this week’s King of the Course promo at this week’s major championship on DraftKings Sportsbook.
It’s time to see who claims the crown in King of the Course at the third major of the season! You asked for it, we answered. DraftKings Sportsbook is running back the King of the Course promotion this week. With the difficulty of the course this week at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, there won’t be a ton of birdies available, but whoever can find the most of them in the first two rounds will earn the title as King of the Course.
This Thursday and Friday, $1 million in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opt in and place an outright winner bet on the golfer who ultimately leads the first two rounds in birdies or better!
In this post, we’re going to look at three picks that are longer shots to win and to claim the King of the Course crown, but they could end up being great options if they contend for King of the Course honors. Since they will likely have fewer tokens on them than the favorites like Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young, they will likely provide larger payouts if they emerge with the crown. It is important not to reach too far, though, since the bet is for them to win the tournament as well, so that needs to be a realistic possibility. In the first two major championships, the Kings of the Course have been sleeper plays, so let’s look at a few off-the-radar options who have a shot to earn the crown this week.
The defending champ at this tournament is outside the top 20 favorites this year, which makes him a longshot play for King of the Course. Spaun won last year’s event at Oakmont Country Club with four birdies in Round 1, four birdies in Round 2, three birdies in Round 3, and four birdies in Round 4. He proved that he can contend on a tough course setup in an elite field with that win, and he’ll look to find similar success this week.
Last time the tournament was at Shinnecock Hills, then-reigning champ Brooks Koepka successfully defended his title, and Spaun will hope to follow the same script. He actually comes in with more momentum this year than he had last year. He ranks second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and seventh in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over the last three months.
He won the Valero Texas Open in windy conditions that played close to par, and after that victory, he continued to pile up strong finishes. Over his last six tournaments, he has five top-25 finishes, and he gained strokes on approach in 11 straight tournaments. His accuracy and approach game give him birdie chances, and if he gets his flat stick rolling like he did last year, he could be King of the Course.
Puig is one of the 14 players from LIV Golf in the tournament this week, and the 24-year-old from Arizona State is one of the young players who will have to find his way to a new home if LIV Golf shuts down. The Spaniard went pro early in 2022 but has also supplemented those events with events on the Asian Tour and the DP World Tour.
He won on the Asian Tour in October of 2023 at the International Series Singapore, and in November of 2025, he won the Australian PGA Championship. He placed T3 at the Dubai Invitational, T7 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and T18 at the Turkish Airlines Open on the DP World Tour this spring and has also been playing regularly at the LIV events, posting five top-10 finishes in nine events, with a runner-up finish in Mexico City and a T5 in Andalucia at the start of this month.
Puig showed his upside at Aronimink earlier this year with 12 birdies or better in his four rounds on his way to a T18. It was his only PGA TOUR appearance of the year, but he also made the cut at this event in 2023 and 2024 before missing the event last year.
As one of the longer hitters in the field, he can be aggressive to set up birdie chances, and if his putter keeps rolling, he has a high ceiling for a play that comes at such longshot odds and likely without many tokens on him for King of the Course.
Gerard has been very consistent this season, but comes into this week’s event as a long shot. He is playing this tournament for the fourth time in his career and has made the cut in back-to-back appearances, in 2023 and 2025. He has made the cut in each of his last five majors overall, including a T70 at the PGA Championship and a T38 at the Masters.
Even though his only PGA TOUR win came at the Barracuda Championship last summer, Gerard has been at the top of the leaderboard in much tougher events. He lost in a playoff at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open on the DP World Tour in 2025 and lost again in a playoff at the Memorial just a few weeks ago to J.T. Poston. Overall, he has six top-25 finishes on the PGA TOUR this season with four top-10 finishes and three runner-up finishes.
He has made the third-most birdies on the PGA TOUR this year, behind only Si Woo Kim and Ryo Hisatsune, and he had 23 Birdies or better at the Memorial, which was the most recent Signature Event. He led that event with the most birdies in the field and finished the week T2 in GIR%, sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach, and T11 in driving accuracy.
Over the last six months, he ranks 14th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and his putter was exceptional at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Driving accuracy and putting will be key to racking up birdies this week as well, giving Gerard a chance to challenge for the King of the Course if he can carry over his momentum.
For more information on this promo, click here!
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