2025 Masters: Top Round 2 DraftKings Showdown Plays

The action has officially kicked off at the 2025 Masters. With Round 1 in the books, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 2 gets underway on Friday. Conditions have been perfect thus far, and we should expect Augusta to get firmer and more difficult as the week continues.

With a similar forecast in store for Friday, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 2 breakout.

Take a look at some of the best pillar players for Masters DFS contests. Right now, DraftKings is offering users shares of millions in prizes for the Masters with a $5 deposit. No promo code necessary, click below to claim.

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 opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.

round 2 masters showdown pillar plays

At the 2025 Masters, there is a particular focus on players who rate out well in Par-5 Scoring and Bogey Avoidance, as the Par 5s present the greatest opportunity to card birdies-or-better, and a clean, bogey-free round can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The below three players will be foundational plays in my Round 2 Showdown lineups for these reasons.

Collin Morikawa ($10,100)

From an ownership standpoint, Collin Morikawa is likely to go overlooked at this price point, as players are likely to skip over him as the third-highest priced player in favor of McIlroy and Scheffler. The long term data this 2025 season has shown that Morikawa remains on their level, however, as he leads the PGA TOUR in SG: T2G this year.

With top-10 finishes in each of his last three appearances at Augusta, Morikawa picked up right where he left off to start his opening round. He reached 3-under par through his first 14 holes, but sputtered to the finish playing +3 over his final four holes. That should give Morikawa plenty to work on on the range though, so I’m feeling optimistic that a motivated player of his caliber will come out guns blazing as he works to play himself back into contention.

Tyrrell Hatton ($7,700)

As a nice compliment to the leverage Morikawa offers, Hatton is likely to be more of a chalk play in Round 2, but I’m comfortable taking it on at this price. It took eight attempts for Hatton to find his first top-15 finish at The Masters, finishing T9 last year. Hatton seems to have finally cracked the code at Augusta National now, as he is currently sitting T5 at 3-under par.

Known as one of the better putters on TOUR, Hatton’s managed himself a place inside the top-5 despite an uncooperative flat stick in Round 1. That’s a credit to his elite tee–to-green performance (No. 3 SG: T2G) to overcome an otherwise lackluster performance on the greens (No. 51 SG: Putting). I would expect more of those putts to fall for Hatton in Round 2, and if they do, he has the approach and scrambling chops to keep a clean card again.

Matt McCarty ($6,400)

A man on absolutely nobody’s radar before the opening round of The Masters, the beauty of the Showdown format on DraftKings is that we can buy in in-tournament on a cheap-priced player who has clearly found something on these grounds. While form was not jumping off the charts prior to this week, a stretch of five consecutive made cuts and two top-20s over his last three starts suggests his game is in a fine place.

McCarty isn’t just striking the ball well right now, he led the entire field in SG: APP in Round 1, gaining a staggering 3.64 strokes on Approach on Thursday. He is by no means an elite putter, but it’s significant to note this debutant fired a 1-under round while getting no help on the greens (No. 82 in SG: Putting). On the surface it may not seem as though Matt McCarty is due for a second round under par. However, I’m looking for a value-priced player so I cram in multiple elite names in my Showdown lineups, and McCarty has shown us his upside in a sustainable way his iron play thus far.

Best of luck if you choose to roster these Masters DFS picks.

2025 Masters ODDS

If you want to add sportsbook bets to your Masters DFS picks this week, you can shop the best odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for PGA Tour sleepers and more highly touted players using the pulldown menu. Best of luck if you choose to bet on these golf DFS picks! Click to bet below.