2026 Truist Championship: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 3
The 2026 Truist Championship heads into the weekend, with Sungjae Im holding a one-stroke lead over Tommy Fleetwood. Looking ahead, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 3 gets underway on Saturday. Conditions have been fairly calm thus far, and the course should continue to firm up over the weekend. We’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 3 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for Truist Championship DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 3 Truist Championship Showdown Pillar Plays
At the 2026 Truist Championship, there is a particular focus on longer hitters with proven success navigating other championship-style, challenging venues. From a statistical standpoint, Driving Distance, SG: Approach (with a focus beyond 200 yards), Scrambling, and performance on positional long courses continue to be of premium importance. Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 3 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Ludvig Aberg ($10,000)
I was high on Ludvig leading into this week. I highlighted him as a Round 2 target, and after a solid -2 outing Friday, I still believe the best is yet to come for Aberg over the weekend. Aberg currently sits T12, five strokes off of Sungjae Im’s lead. While much can be criticized about Aberg’s ability to hold a lead on Sunday, I’m very high on him in a chaser role.
Aberg is still in position to win this tournament despite getting absolutely nothing out og his putter thus far. he ranks 3rd in SG: T2G, but outside the top-50 in SG: Putting. It’s reassuring to know Aberg’s floor can still add value to a Showdown lineup, but I’m not ready to accept that putts will not drop for him at Quail Hollow. Aberg ranked top-25 in SG: Putting leading into this week, and can make a serious charge up the leaderboard if he regresses to the mean on the greens Saturday.
Rickie Fowler ($8,500)
Don’t look now, but Rickie Fowler is playing some seriously sharp golf in 2026. He entered this week on the heels of back-to-back top-10 finishes at the RBC Heritage and Cadillac Championship. He demonstrated exactly how he’s reached this new ceiling on Friday, shooting the round of the day (-8), four clear of the next best round on Friday. It’s rare to see a player repeat two very low rounds in consecutive days, but Fowler’s form has shown that this may be sustainable.
He ranked top-5 in SG: APP over the last two weeks leading in, and now ranks 3rd in SG: APP through the first two rounds. Fowler has great history at Quail Hollow as well, winning this event in 2012, with five total top-10 finishes. With his combination of form and course history, I expect Fowler to continue to climb up the leaderboard this weekend.
Alex Fitzpatrick ($7,400)
Nine strokes clear of his brother through the first two rounds, we may be watching the floodgates open before our eyes, as the PGA Tour’s newest member continues to gain momentum with each round played. From a Showdown perspective, Fitzpatrick checks every box we should be looking for. He’s in red-hot form, he’ll begin round 3 far up the leaderboard at T3, and he’s priced very cheap, and he’s navigating the course in an extremely sustainable way.
Fitzpatrick finished round 1 inside the top-10 despite a lackluster showing off the tee. Considering he led the field in SG: OTT at last week’s Cadillac Championship, we had reason to believe he would correct those issues. Indeed, he has, as Fitzpatrick’s round two improvements helped him rank 2nd in SG: T2G Friday. Fitzpatrick’s ascendence has been one of the best stories in golf this season, and he’ll be a fun story to track over the weekend.
Live Bets To Consider After Round 2
Round 3 Matchup: Min Woo Lee over Justin Rose
Best Available odds: -120 (DraftKings)
The optics continue to look bad in Justin Rose’s experiment with his new McLaren irons. He ranks 53rd in SG: APP through the first two rounds, and was bottom-10 in the category on Friday. Those irons aren’t leaving his bag this weekend, so I’m expecting we’ll continue to see some inconsistency from Rose as he gets used to his new equipment.
Min Woo’s shortcomings, however, seem much easier to resolve. He ranks 62nd in SG: Putting, despite being one of the most skilled putters on Tour this season. Min Woo also holds the distance advantage in this matchup, a premium skillset on Quail Hollow’s 7,500+ yard layout. Min Woo (-2) is one stroke ahead of Rose through the first two rounds, and I expect he’ll add more separation after round 2.
Sepp Straka: Under 70.5 (Round 3)
Best Available odds: -115 (DraftKings)
One of the most consistent ball-strikers on Tour, Straka came into this week hot off of a T4 finish at the Cadillac Championship. He kept that momentum rolling into round 1 with an impressive -5 opening round.
He’s proven he’s capable of going low at Quail Hollow, finishing T8 at this event in his last appearance in 2024. His +2 round two performance was a setback, but exaggerated by a tough closing stretch, shooting +3 over his final two holes. Looking at the bigger picture, Straka still ranks 5th in SG: APP for the week, and looks poised for a bounce-back round of -2 or better on moving day.
Best of luck with your Truist Championship DFS lineups and bets!
Photo Credit: AP/Chris Carlson
