PGA One-and-Done Contests are simple; winning, not so much. Every year, people make the same mistakes\u2014burning top players too early, chasing hunches, or getting scared off the leaderboard. Here\u2019s how to play smart in 2026.<\/p>\n
First step, know the rules:<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it. No placements, no points, just cash money. It\u2019s the simplest type of contest in any sport. NFL Survivor included.<\/p>\n
The Race for the Mayo Cup is the premier One-and-Done contest in the world. There are impostors. But none feature the ease of play and, most importantly, the best payout structure of any contest.<\/p>\n
Spots are filling fast already, so get your entry (up to 10) at FantasyGolfChampionships.com<\/a> or the Fanball App (Apple or Google Play Store).<\/p>\n If you already have an entry, I\u2019m giving away another two FREE ENTRIES. Takes less than four seconds to enter the draw, well worth the time to get an extra team in the contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n Not all tournaments are equal.<\/p>\n Example: Scottie Scheffler<\/a> earned $1.8M\u00a0for winning the CJ Cup\u00a0and<\/a> $4M for winning the Memorial<\/span>.<\/p>\n Leveraging ownership isn\u2019t about taking a player no one else has; it\u2019s more about avoiding a landmine with an extremely popular pick, going elsewhere, and gaining on the field. Every year, without fail, certain players become automatic clicks at certain tournaments. Think Hideki Matsuyama<\/span> at Phoenix or Luke Donald<\/a> at Heritage back in the day. Thirty-five percent ownership.<\/p>\n At that point, you have a choice. You either eat the chalk and hope for a top three or pivot, knowing that if he fails, you just passed a third of the field.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t know how to determine who will be popular and who won\u2019t, I recommend subscribing to MNN on YouTube and the PME Podcast. We talk about this every week for every tournament.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s winner didn\u2019t pick anyone outside the Top 65 on the Official World Golf Rankings (LIV Excluded). The lowest-ranked player used was world No. 62 (at the time) Davis Thompson<\/a> at the John Deere Classic. An event where he was one of the five favorites on the betting board.<\/p>\n Nick Dunlap<\/a> won as an amateur, zero dollars. Jackson Koivun<\/a>‘s<\/span> Top 3 finish. Same thing, if the player doesn\u2019t get paid, neither do you.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t want to get to August and realize: All your elite players are gone, and you\u2019re scraping the bottom of the barrel. Conversely, you have twelve Top 20 players unused and only four tournaments remaining.<\/p>\n You need to pace your stars, but make certain you use all of them.<\/p>\n Falling behind early isn\u2019t a big deal. Take this from someone who was in first 1st place ten events into the 2023 contest and barely finished in the money. Being in last place after five weeks means almost nothing. Two winners in a row can launch you into the top fifty instantly.<\/p>\n And luck. You\u2019re going to need luck.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":15727,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":""},"bs_types":[15],"bs_tags":[163],"class_list":["post-16218","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","bs_type-fantasy","bs_tag-one-and-done"],"acf":false,"featured_image":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/gettyimages-2228103250-612x612-1.jpg","tags_list":[{"id":163,"name":"One and Done","slug":"one-and-done"}],"types_list":[{"id":15,"name":"Fantasy"}],"bs_author":{"name":"Pat Mayo","profile_image":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-17-163255-150x150.png"},"bs_term_name":null,"is_paid":"false","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/16218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"bs_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bs_types?post=16218"},{"taxonomy":"bs_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bs_tags?post=16218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Race for the Mayo Cup highlights:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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6 Tips to Win PGA One-and-Done in 2026<\/h2>\n
1. Prioritize Signature Events<\/h3>\n
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2. Mind Ownership, but Not Too Much<\/h3>\n
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3. Stop Chasing Long Shots<\/h3>\n
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4. Amateurs = Zero Dollars<\/h3>\n
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5. Balance Your Season<\/h3>\n
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6. Falling Behind Isn\u2019t Fatal<\/h3>\n
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How to Actually Win<\/h3>\n
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Pro Tip: One-and-Done is not about predicting golf. It\u2019s about:<\/h4>\n
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