2 years agoRickie Fowler has had another rough season on the PGA Tour and remains difficult to trust this week at the 3M Open. The 33-year-old looked like he was turning it around with his irons a few months back but has now lost most momentum, losing strokes on approach in two of his last three starts. He has also now lost strokes off the tee in five of his last seven starts, ranking him 121st in the field over his last 36 rounds. Fowler has not registered a top-20 finish on tour since last October. Despite being a fan favorite, it's difficult to see him contending. --Matt Miller - RotoBallerSource: Fantasy National

2 years agoCameron Champ will look to defend his title this week at the 3M Open. The 27-year-old bomber ranks second in the field in strokes gained off the tee over his last 36 rounds but doesn't have much else going for him as of late. The former Texas A&M Aggie has been inconsistent with his irons, ranking 103rd in the field over the last 36 rounds and his short game has been disastrous. Champ has lost strokes putting in six straight events and has lost strokes around the green in seven of his last eight. While there is some boom or bust potential here, a repeat is hard to imagine. --Matt Miller - RotoBallerSource: Fantasy National

2 years agoJ.T. Poston was another one of those golfers who just could not make enough putts to get to the weekend at The Open. However, before that, Poston was posting some impressive scores en route to a victory at the John Deere Classic. That followed a runner-up finish at the Travelers Championship where he shot a 64 to almost win there too. He still misses a few too many cuts but the American is improving his shot making skills. Poston is making way more birdies over the past few tournaments stateside as well. He may be one to watch for DFS purposes. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoAdam Long took the week of The Open off and the week before as well. That may have been smart for the American golfer. After The Memorial, where he missed the cut, Long finished in the top-25 in three straight events. That included shooting consistently right into the final rounds of each tournament. His final round 68 at the John Deere almost vaulted him into the top ten (tied for 13th). Long cannot drive the ball far (291 yards) but he is 14th on the tour in shots gained from putting (0.551). If he can string some approaches together, Long could contend again. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoStewart Cink could not make many birdies overseas last week at The Open. His opening-round 78 proved to be an early demise as the American missed the cut. He did make four birdies on Friday to go along with three bogeys. The problem for the 49-year old golfer is strokes gained around the green. He loses nearly one third of a shot which ranks just 186th on tour. There are some other ugly numbers but that one sticks out. When everything else is nearly average, that makes Cink a less than recommended option even at the 3M Open.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATOUR.com

2 years agoMaverick McNealy was in great shape at the Barracuda Championship last week and then the final four holes happened. There was a double bogey followed by three more bogeys which caused McNealy to drop to a tie for ninth. Honestly, the young American might have won the tournament if he had not missed several key shots. McNealy is a bit hit or miss but does have three top-20 results after missing two cuts. He does seem in better form this July. However, one errant shot seems to throw his game off kilter for holes at a time. That may not be good at the 3M Open come the weekend.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com

2 years agoJordan Spieth will likely be one of the highest-owned golfers in DFS this week. Spieth has shown good form of late, highlighted by his 10th place finish at The Scottish Open. Spieth has had an up and down here. He missed the cut at The Masters but returned to win The RBC Heritage a week later. Spieth has been inconsistent putting from short distances this year and that again came back to hurt him at The Scottish Open. If he hopes to contend this week he will need to have a strong putting performance. --Rob Giltner - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoWorld No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrives in St Andrews for the final major of the year. Many had expected Scheffler to have a good year, but few may have predicted just how well he would play. Although his missed the cut at The Scottish Open, he is a top choice for The Open. With how fast and firm the course appears to be, Scheffler can rely on his strong wedge play. He will, however, need to improve his putting. He has lost strokes in that metric in four out of his past five events. Scheffler is in play in all formats.--Rob Giltner - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoLouis Oosthuizen has played two Open Championships at St Andrews, winning the first in 2010 and finishing as the runner-up in 2015. If there were ever a time to play someone on course history alone, it would be Oosthiuzen this week. His recent form is unimpressive for the former Open Championship winner, he has played average on the LIV Golf Tour and had a decent finish in his lone DP World Tour start since joining LIV. That said, he did have great results in major championships last season, and given his history at St Andrews, he may be worth a play.--Matt Miller - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoRegardless of the form Robert MacIntyre enters a major with, he has somehow made the cut in all nine majors he has played in. He has two top-10 finishes in those majors which both came at the only two Open Championships he has played in. If history repeats itself and MacIntyre finds himself inside the top-10 for a third time, he could be a fantastic value play across betting and fantasy markets as his poor recent form has most markets anticipating that to continue. --Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoAfter losing 2.7 strokes on the greens in the final round of the U.S. Open, Keegan Bradley has lost strokes putting in six of his last seven rounds. However, he is still averaging plus-0.4 strokes in the last 32 rounds he has played. If he can bounce back with the putter this week, he stands a fantastic chance of winning his second major, as he enters the week leading the field in strokes gained on approach over the last 12 rounds by gaining an average of plus-1.5 strokes with his irons. With past winners of this event showing impressive approach play leading up to the event, Bradley is a miraculous putting week away from history.--Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoJoaquin Niemann has not finished worse than T25 in the six starts he gained more than two strokes on the greens this year. His ball striking has seemed to provide him with a high floor that allows him to be in immediate contention once his putter starts contributing to the team project. Niemann was neutral on the greens for his T16 last week at the Scottish Open, showing that he can handle the elements from tee to green in links-style conditions. It appears that Niemann's success this week will depend on his volatile putter. --Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoMatt Fitzpatrick has worked tirelessly on all aspects of his game to reap the rewards of winning the U.S. Open last month. His game seemingly has no weaknesses as he is averaging no less than +0.41 strokes gained in all four of the major strokes-gained categories this year. Regardless of the conditions we get this week, Fitzpatrick should have all the shots in the bag to contend for his second major and 13th top-20 in 18 starts this season. --Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoChristiaan Bezuidenhout enters the week with four top-20s in his last six starts, courtesy of a putter that has averaged plus-1.04 strokes over his last 24 rounds. Bezuidenhout has also gained strokes off the tee in his last five starts and has flashed upside on approach, too. Renowned as a tough-condition specialist, his putter has steered him to impressive finishes at both the Byron Nelson and John Deere Classic, where scores were well into the double digits. If Bezuidenhout can continue to scorch the greens with his putter, he should find himself close to the top of the leaderboard once more this weekend.--Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour

2 years agoAfter rattling off three wins and seven top-10 finishes in a nine-event stretch across the globe earlier this season, Viktor Hovland has yet to crack the top 20 in any standard event since March. Although he is still typically gaining on the ball-striking front, he has regressed on his approach and off the tee relative to his early season form. Hovland has shown no improvement around the greens either, losing 0.67 strokes per round this year. At an event that puts an emphasis on creativity and touch around the greens, there are other options that offer more upside than Hovland this week.--Byron LindequeSource: PGA Tour