2 years agoAt the latest LIV Golf Series event, Dustin Johnson spoke about the state of his game, noting that he felt great about his wedge play and just needed to work on his driving accuracy a little bit. With wide fairways at the Old Course this week and many wedge shots, it feels like a perfect spot for DJ. The former world No. 1 has four career top-10 finishes at the Open Championship and made the cut in both his appearances at St. Andrews. The two-time major champion hasn't won an individual event since February of last year, but it feels like his game is rounding into form, and this could be a spot for him to break through.--Matt Miller - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoJon Rahm comes into The Open Championship after a surprising T55 finish at the Scottish Open last week. However, the result did extend Rahm's made cut streak, dating back to the Sentry Tournament of Champions in early January. Now, Rahm will look to build off his best major championship finish of the season, which came in the last major at the U.S. Open. As always in majors, Rahm is one of the favorites. The current conditions of the course appear to favor players who are long off the tee and can make putts. Rahm is the third longest player on the tour, averaging 317.5 yards per drive, as well as sitting first in strokes gained off the tee. Rahm isn't the best putter but is inside the top-65 on tour in strokes gained putting. Rahm should be considered in all contests, even at the price. --Kasey Kuhrts - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoMito Pereira picked the wrong time to start missing shots and putts. The Chilean golfer has missed three consecutive cuts and worse, fired an 81 at the Scottish Open last week. Around the green, he has been average but he was far into the negative range the last three tournaments. Can he find better form at St. Andrews where one is rewarded if they drive the ball longer? Pereira drives an average of 303 yards but again his 3.72 birdie per round number ranks just 100th on tour. It does feel like too many things are stacked against him for this week. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoSam Burns has not had an easy time of it lately. Burns after an opening round 67 faded at the Scottish Open with a second round 76 and a final round 74. The American golfer kept missing shots and putts which could have stopped the bogeys. That final round featured five bogeys in all over the final ten holes. Since his 76 during the last round at The US Open, Burns has struggled to bounce back. Maybe The Open will be the panacea. Burns does average 4.28 birdies per round (8th on tour). If there was a time, it is now. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoCorey Connors just could not put anything together right at the Scottish Open last week. He managed to make the cut but did little else as the Canadian struggled to a +7 and a tied for 61st finish. Conners can be quite accurate but he has to make putts. His 3.82 birdie average ranks just 66th on tour. St. Andrews prides itself on scores that can be in the -12 to -16 range sometimes. Can Conners get to that level? That answer, given his form, seems to be no at this time. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoIan Poulter picked the wrong time to struggle heading into "The Open". Poulter has missed the cut in two of this last three appearances including last week's Scottish Open. Poulter struggled to string holes together as he could not recover from an opening round 78. The lack of accuracy from tee-to-green hurts the Englishman as he ranks just 199th in greens-in-regulation. Add in the fact that he drives the ball just 294 yards and that is a big problem especially at St. Andrews. One needs at least a little length and some shot making. Right now, Poulter is struggling just to find form let alone make the cut. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoFrancesco Molinari has won "The Open" before in 2018 at Carnoustie. However, St. Andrews is typically a more open course where birdies and scoring is more of a priority. Molinari has never better than eight-under par in any of his appearances. He missed the cut at St. Andrews in 2010 and did not factor in the 2015 Championship. This year could feature more of the same. Molinari's putting has been off this year (hovering around the PGA average). Worse, Molinari has been driving the ball less than 295 yards which has plummeted his strokes gained (tee-to-green) into the negative category (-0.069). The Italian is likely to struggle keeping up. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: TheOpen.com

2 years agoSergio Garcia has played in 24 British Opens. He has finished twice -- once in 2007 and again in 2014. Now, at St. Andrews, things have been interesting for the Spanish golfer. In his previous three appearances, Garcia has a fifth, sixth, and 14th. He came close in 2015 but just could not catch up enough on Sunday. Now at 42, "Father Time" has been relentless as Garcia's game has eroded a little. However, he is able to turn the clock back when it comes to European soil. Courses like Royal Liverpool and St. Andrews are where Garcia could still shoot double-digits under par. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: TheOpen.com

2 years agoPaul Casey had not played on the PGA Tour since the World Golf Championship Match Play in late March. It does seem his back spasms have calmed down enough to allow the English golfer to give it a go at St. Andrews. Casey nearly won The Players Championship earlier that month where he finished tied for third. The 44 year old is a considerable unknown for "The Open" because no one truly knows if he will be able to drive 300+ yards with consistency. If he can, Casey may just have value for DFS purposes. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoGary Woodland finished in 30th place at last week's Scottish Open. Woodland played very well the first two rounds and was in second place going into the weekend. It was another good performance for Woodland. He also finished in 10th place at The U.S. Open last month. He has mixed results at The Open with his best result being a 12th in 2016. While Woodland will be low owned, there are likely better options out there. --Rob Giltner - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoBryson DeChambeau will play St. Andrews for the first time on Thursday but believe he has an advantage. His power and distance (320+ yard drives) should keep him out of trouble from most pot bunkers. DeChambeau has struggled to find his form due to a wrist injury. He just finished tenth at the LIV Tour's Portland event. The American golfer can reach several of the par-fours in one. If the weather holds, DeChambeau could contend as he tries to win his first tournament in 16 months.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: SkySports.com

2 years agoCollin Morikawa won last year's edition of The Open Championship. He beat Jordan Spieth by two shots at Royal St. Georges. Morikawa struck the ball beautifully last year, but his putting performance truly stuck out. Morikawa missed the cut in his most recent start at The Scottish Open. However, he recently finished in fifth place at The U.S. Open last month. Morikawa also needs to be considered based on the caliber of golfer he is. His recent missed cut may bring his ownership down slightly which would increase his DFS upside. --Rob Giltner - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoWith Daniel Berger withdrawing from the Open Championship last week, Sahith Theegala has been added to the field at St. Andrews. It will be his debut in the Open. Theegala has impressed during his rookie season on the PGA Tour. The Pepperdine alum has logged five top-10 finishes over his maiden campaign with a runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship being his most recent highlight. The youngster has limited major championship experience and no professional starts on links layouts, but he has demonstrated explosive scoring ability this year, which keeps him in deep-dive consideration for GPP formats. --Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoRory McIlroy's last major championship victory came in 2014 and he'll look to end that drought this week at the Old Course. McIlroy infamously opened the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews by shooting 63-80 before ultimately finishing in a share of third place. He was forced to miss the 2015 version with an injury. The 33-year-old returns the legendary layout for this edition of the Open in sharp form with top-10 finishes in all three of this year's major championships and a victory at the RBC Canadian Open last month. McIlroy sits atop DFS salary scales this week and is an elite fantasy option in all formats. --Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoDue to the injuries sustained in a life-threatening car accident last year, Tiger Woods has been reduced to playing an extremely limited schedule for the foreseeable future. Woods struggled in starts at the Masters and PGA Championship earlier this year but will give it another go this week at the Open Championship. The legend is on record saying that the Old Course at St. Andrews is his favorite golf course and he's triumphed on two previous occasions at the legendary layout. While the 15-time major champion's injuries and lack of tournament reps take him out of serious DFS consideration this week, we've learned over the years that Woods can perform miracles on the golf course. As a result, he can be viewed as a deep-dive GPP option or OAD dart throw.--Joe Nicely - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour