RADIO
Bryson DeChambeau won the John Deere Classic (-18) by one stroke over Patrick Rodgers after shooting a 6-under 30 on the back nine. DeChambeau is that guy who wears that interesting hat, a tribute to Ben Hogan. He's also that same player who chose to have every single club the same length so he can be more consistent.
As for the Scottish Open, Rafa Cabrera- Bello won in a playoff over Callum Shinkwin after Shinkwin completely collapsed and bogeyed the 18th when all he needed was a par.
Anyways, I'll be looking to get back on top the PGA Expert leaderboard providing you with my DraftKings PGA DFS lineup picks for The Open Championship. My goal as always is to help put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups.
If anyone has lineup questions before the start of the tournament Thursday morning, feel free to contact me via Twitter @Seth_Fink.
Reviewing Last Week's Pick
Ryan Moore ($9,200): Cut
Zach Johnson ($9,100): T-5, 15-under. ZJ made a final round charge shooting a 4-under 67, but it wasn't enough.
Bubba Watson ($8,100): T-44, 9-under. My gut feeling turned out to be correct.
Matt Jones ($7,700): Cut
Johnson Wagner ($7,500): Cut
Steve Wheatcroft ($7,000): Cut
Luke List ($7,000): T-67, 4-under.
Robert Garrigus ($6,600): DQ. He was 7-under after three rounds, but was disqualified because he signed an incorrect scorecard. This is the second week in a row a player I chose that was disqualified. Awful Rule.
The Open Championship
Royal Birkdale located in Southport, Merseyside (north of Liverpool) will host The Open Championship or British Open or whatever you want to call it. I will be alternating using both names, just a heads up. The course is a par 70 and plays to about 7,200 yards, 7,160 to be exact. This will be the 10th time Royal Birkdale hosts the Open Championship and the last time here was 2008 when Padraig Harrington won with a score 3-over. The time before that was 1998 when Mark O'Meara won in a playoff with a score of even par. Past winners also include Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, and Tom Watson.
If the past two wining scores tell you anything, it's that this course is tough. If you don't believe me just click here and check the scores in 2008. You can't miss the fairway and you have to be a great driver. If a player misses the fairways, then they have to deal with the nasty rough and pot bunkers. And the wind is always a factor when it comes to the British Open. There is not one par 5 on the front nine, and only two on the back. There are two par 3's on the front and two on the back leaving 12 par 4's. The first hole is going to be brutally hard and can mentally ruin a player's day. On this course, par is a good score on any hole. I highly doubt we will see two players have a duel with scores close to 20-under like we did last year. The winning score will be around two or 3-under, but nothing better. I could even see even-par winning this tournament.
An interesting stat to point at is, "only two Open winners since 2007—Rory McIlroy (25), Louis Oosthuizen (27)—have been 32 or younger." I will also be favoring European players. They have the advantage on true links courses like this one. They grew up playing links courses and their game is more fitted to the style.
As I wrote above, good accurate driving is key therefore I will be looking at ball striking, driving accuracy, par 4 scoring average and strokes gained: around the green.
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for DraftKings (PGA DFS)
High-Cost Players
Sergio Garcia ($10,600)
Ball Striking: 2 Driving accuracy: 30 Par 4 scoring average: 17 SG: AtG: 18
Although he isn't my top-selection, he's just too hard to pass up with his incredible Open success; seven top-10's, including his three consecutive Open's placing in the top-10. He's played six times since the wining his first major at Augusta, which may not seem like a lot, but he's finished in the top-30 in all six. His last time playing was a month ago at the BMW where he was runner-up. He should be relaxed and ready to go without the pressure of trying to win that first major.
Justin Rose ($10,300)
Ball Striking: T-31 Driving accuracy: 146 Par 4 scoring average: 9 SG: AtG: 9
Rosey has finished in the top-25 in three consecutive British Open including a sixth place finish at St. Andrews two years ago. He was T-4 here as an amateur in 1998- his best ever Open finish- where he had a spectacular finish. In 2008, Rose was T-70. He's had a solid year thus far including a loss in a playoff at The Masters and is fresh off a fourth place finish two weeks ago at the Irish Open. He's been there before on the biggest stages and knows how to play under pressure. Rose is my pick to win.
Tommy Fleetwood ($9,800)
*European Tour Stats* Driving accuracy: 7 Par 4 scoring average: 6 Greens in Regulation: 1
I can't find any other stats from the European Tour, but he's been on fire of late with four consecutive finishes in the top-10. He finished 4th at the U.S. Open, T-6 at the BMW International Open, won the French Open, and was T-10 at the Irish Open. He's competed in three British Open's and has yet to make a cut, but this year will be different. He grew up several miles away from Royal Birkdale and will surely be the home crowd favorite. He even played this course as a boy growing up. I'm not sure if there's a prop bet on the amount of times the announcers will speak about Fleetwood growing up miles from the course, but if there is, go over. I'd say the broadcast team talks about it at least 30 times. Although he will be highly owned, I can't pass him up.
Rickie Fowler ($9,200)
Ball Striking: T-10 Driving accuracy: 35 Par 4 scoring average: 33 SG: AtG: 36
His disappointing final round at the U.S. Open left a sour taste to many, but he's rebounded nicely since with a T-3 at the Quicken Loans National and T-9 at the Scottish Open this past week. Fowler has great experience on European links. He won the Scottish Open in 2015 and his game is suited to this style of play. He's 6 for 7 in cuts made at the British Open including two top-10's and a runner-up three years ago at Liverpool.
Middle-Cost Players
Adam Scott ($8,500)
Ball Striking: 25 Driving accuracy: 131 Par 4 scoring average: 61 SG: AtG: 89
Scotty was driving the ball long and straight last week at the Scottish Open where he finished T-35. In his last time at Birkdale in 2008 he was T-16, 13-over. He's 11 for 12 in cuts made at the British Open including a run of four consecutive top 10's from 2012 to 2015. He's also second to Sergio Garcia in all-time money earners at the British Open among non-winners.
Paul Casey ($8,100)
Ball Striking: T-3 Driving accuracy: 43 Par 4 scoring average: 5 SG: AtG: 14
Casey has mighty stats for this course, although his performance at recent British Open's haven't been too good. He was cut last year and his best finish was a third place finish in 2010, but he did finish T-7 in 2008 at this course. He's been playing great recently and took several weeks off since a T-5 showing at the Travelers.
Patrick Reed ($7,900)
Ball Striking: 145 Driving accuracy: 134 Par 4 scoring average: 61 SG: AtG: 79
Captain America loves to play on the biggest stages and embraces it. This will be his fourth time competing at The Open; cut, 20th, and 12th. He was cut at the Scottish Open ending a streak of four consecutive top-20's. His stats may not be good, but he will bounce back.
Marc Leishman ($7,800)
Ball Striking: 38 Driving accuracy: 127 Par 4 scoring average: 25 SG: AtG: 45
The Aussie is 4 for 6 in Open cuts made including two top-5's in 2014 and 2015. He's made six cuts in a row, with four being in the top-25 and a T-5 at the Quicken Loans National his last time out.
Low-Cost Players
Matt Kuchar ($7,200)
Ball Striking: 77 Driving accuracy: 41 Par 4 scoring average: 25 SG: AtG: 18
Kuuuuuch has not missed a cut since the Houston Open at the end of March, and it's not like he plays every other week. While he missed four of his first five Open Championship's (including being cut in 2008 at Birkdale) he's made five straight cuts. In his last five starts, Kuchar has made three top-10's and two top-25's and is fresh off a T-4 at the Scottish Open.
Andy Sullivan ($7,000)
*European Tour Stats* Driving accuracy: 33 Par 4 scoring average: 83 Greens in Regulation: 126
He's made nine straight cuts dating back to early February when he missed the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic. Sullivan is on fire of late with three straight top-20's, T-13 at French Open, T-20 at Irish Open, and T-9 at Scottish Open. This won't be his first British Open as he's two-for-two with a 30th at St. Andrews and a 12th at Troon last year.
Andrew "Beef" Johnston ($7,000)
Ball Striking: T-48 Driving accuracy: 76 Par 4 scoring average: 46 SG: AtG: 200
Beef is always a fan favorite and very easy to root for. He was T-19 at the Scottish Open and he was 8th in his second British Open ever at Troon last year. I'm a little surprised as to how cheap his price is, but he will surely make the cut.
Steve Stricker ($6,900)
Ball Striking: T-52 Driving accuracy: 1 Par 4 scoring average: 17 SG: AtG: 32
Since 2007 at The Open, Stricker is 7 for 7 in cuts made and he was T-7 at Birkdale in 2008. While he hasn't played in Europe recently, he's a seasoned veteran with enough experience to make a run at winning this. I think he has a backdoor chance at winning his first major.
Bill Haas ($6,600)
Ball Striking: T-66 Driving accuracy: 110 Par 4 scoring average: 25 SG: AtG: 11
While Haas's stats don't portray his accuracy quite well, I can guarantee you he can drive the ball straight which bodes well for him at Birkdale. This will be his eighth time competing at The Open where he's made four cuts, including a personal best 9th place finish last year. He's made five cuts in a row, so any questions regarding his form can be laid to rest.
Ryan Fox ($6,600)
*European Tour Stats* Driving accuracy: 207 Par 4 scoring average: 32 Greens in Regulation: 9
The New Zealander caught my eye at the Scottish Open where he finished T-4. The week before that Fox finished T-4 at the Irish Open and a week before that, 6th at the French Open. He even played well a month ago at the BMW where he placed T-26. His first Open was two years ago at St. Andrews where he had a nice showing finish 49th. It's safe to say Fox is entering his second Open very confident. He's a deep sleeper whose price is far too low.
Alexander Levy ($6,300)
*European Tour Stats* Driving accuracy: 83 Par 4 scoring average: 62 Greens in Regulation: 52
The Frenchman's price is ridiculously low. While he's had mixed results of late, he played well at the Scottish Open, T-26, and French Open, T-57, although he did miss cuts at the Irish and U.S. Open. He's flying under the radar for this tournament and I would not be surprised if he outperformed his price by at least 10 times and finished in the top-20.
Best of luck!
