The PGA TOUR heads from New York to New England this week for the final Signature Event of the season. The Travelers Championship has been the typical tournament that follows the U.S. Open, and it has been a mainstay on the schedule at TPC River Highlands. This year, the event is a no-cut tournament featuring 72 of the top golfers in the world, and DraftKings is teeing it up with a full slate of great GPP contests. My top three fantasy golf picks as pivot plays with lower ownership for this week’s GPP contests are Justin Thomas ($9,100), Akshay Bhatia ($7,400) and Eric Cole ($6,800).

Let’s define what we’re searching for in this post, to be sure we’re all aiming at the same target. A fantasy golf pivot play is a golfer with low expected ownership in tournament formats but high upside. These picks go against the grain and typically come with more risk compared to popular options with similar salaries. In large-field tournaments, it’s important to differentiate your lineup with low-ownership plays like these, even though they are NOT the safest options.

These are “grip it and rip it,” boom-or-bust style options that could go off or flame out. Getting players at low ownership is critical for success in GPP tournament-style events with many entries, so making yours stand out is critical. Be sure to check out my companion post to this one that highlights my picks for cash lineups if you’re looking for safer options that raise the floor.

Let’s break down why I like each of my top three pivot plays this week!

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Sand Trap [$1M to 1st]

Justin Thomas ($9,100)

The top of the salary structure is stuffed with big-name stars at this Signature Event, even with Rory McIlroy getting the week off. Scottie Scheffler ($13,800) is at the top of the list, as usual, with Tommy Fleetwood ($10,300), Matt Fitzpatrick ($10,000), and U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark ($9,400) all strong plays as well. If you are looking for a pivot play to partner with those stars or as the anchor of a more balanced approach, Thomas has a lot of potential upside, even though he isn’t getting quite as much hype.

Thomas won the RBC Heritage last year on a similar course with a similar format, and he has looked to be returning to good form after having back surgery that delayed the start of his season.

He didn’t start the year until the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, but he ramped up and ran off six straight top-25 finishes, including a T-4 at the PGA Championship and a T-17 last week at the U.S. Open. Over the last 30 days, JT ranks in the top 10 in this elite field in Total Strokes Gained and fourth in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. Since TPC River Highlands is a shorter track that typically requires shorter approach shots, Around-the-Green numbers are more important to consider this week.

Thomas has said that this is one of his favorite events, and his track record is very strong at TPC River Highlands. He finished T-3 back in 2016 and has posted top-10 finishes in each of the last three years as well. If his putter cooperates this week, he could challenge for his first victory of the year.

He has a very high ceiling even though he’s a little risky, which is why he makes sense as a GPP pivot play.

Akshay Bhatia ($7,400)

Bhatia is another boom-or-bust play with a high ceiling to consider this week. When Thomas was making his season debut at the Palmer, Bhatia was chasing down Daniel Berger and getting his third PGA TOUR victory.

Even though it seems like he has been a regular on the PGA TOUR (and in these picks) for a long time, Bhatia is still just 24 years old. His volatility has been on display throughout this season, with eight top-25 finishes but also six missed cuts. After his big win at Bay Hill, he added a T-13 at THE PLAYERS Championship, a T-15 at the RBC Heritage, and a T-17 last week at the U.S. Open. That showing at Shinnecock Hills was a nice bounce-back performance after missing the cut at the Memorial and the PGA Championship.

Overall, Bhatia ranks fifth in this strong field over the last six months in Strokes Gained: Putting and is also in the top 25 in Strokes Gained: Approach and Total Strokes Gained.

In 2024, he had a big debut with a T-5 at TPC River Highlands but only managed a T-54 last year. The course seems to give lefties a boost, since Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Brian Harman have had success on this track. Bhatia is one of the few lefties on the PGA TOUR right now, and he could add his name to that list if he has a spike week this week in Connecticut.

Eric Cole ($6,800)

Cole had a great run going before missing the cut two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. He will look to get back on track this week on a course that fits his skill set as a shorter hitter and short-game specialist.

Cole is fourth in the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, fifth in Strokes Gained: Putting and 19th in Total Strokes Gained over the last three months.

He had five top-15 finishes in six events before missing the cut in Canada, including a second-place finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge, an eighth-place finish at the Memorial and a pair of T-6 finishes at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Cole was forced to withdraw from last year’s Travelers before the final round due to illness after finishing T-47 in 2024 and T-24 in 2023. With so much strong form, though, he has a good chance to ride his exquisite short game to a very solid value finish this week from an option under $7,000.