Fantasy Golf on DraftKings - The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale
Lock of the week:
Rickie Fowler $9,200 - Fowler is going to be extremely popular this week, but for good reason. He’s in fantastic form and has made 4/5 cuts in his last five Open Championship attempts. Rickie is a tremendous ball striker that combines a strong tee game with a spectacular short game. Those skills will be a must for navigating Royal Birkdale this week. The Puma Pro has the same Vegas odds to win as Rory McIlroy but is listed for $1800 less on DraftKings. He should be a lock in your cash games this week. We love him in GPPs as well, but he’ll be over 30% owned in most contests on DraftKings.
Value Plays:
Adam Scott $8,500 - Scott is another underpriced play on DraftKings this week. He has not missed a cut at The Open in the last five years including four T25s. The Aussie has the same Vegas odds to win as Jason Day, but is listed $1500 less on DraftKings. He’s in decent form as of late, making 10/12 cuts this season, and is a world class ball striker that can play in windy conditions if Birkdale gets ugly. Aside from the poor Saturday round at The Scottish Open last week, Scott still finished T35 after closing with a 68 on Sunday. The World No.15 falls in the same category as Fowler this week. He makes for a must-play option in cash lineups, and his GPP ownership could also touch 30%.
Matt Kuchar $7,200 - Kuchar has made 5/5 cuts at The Open with two T25s in the last five years. He’s having one of the best seasons on the PGA Tour this year with six T10s, having only missed two cuts in 16 starts. Coming off a T4 last week at The Scottish Open has Kuchar in perfect position to finish in the Top 10 at Royal Birkdale. He's known for being able to play well in tough conditions and can play if they get a little easier. Kuch is a flexible player, but he will be popular in GPPs across DraftKings. Kuchar’s ownership will be over 20%. Here’s a hint: start your cash lineups with Fowler, Scott, and Mr. Sketchers.
Andy Sullivan $7,000 - Sullivan is one of our favorite GPP plays of the week for The Open Championship. The casual DFS player won’t be familiar with him and his ownership will stay low as a result. However, Sullivan is a class player from England with phenomenal form, coming in after finishing T9 at The Scottish Open. His results display his great golf with four Top-20s in his past five starts on the European Tour. Sully has a great ball flight for windy conditions, and he can score birdies in bunches if the course goes unprotected with very little wind. Sullivan only missed two cuts all season dating back to the beginning of 2017.
Best bargain basement option:
Rafa Cabrera Bello $6,700 - Rafa will not be under the radar after winning The Scottish Open last week, but he’s still a tremendous value at his price. He has the same Vegas odds to win as Molinari, but he’s $600 less. His recent finishes include T4s at The Players Championship and the FedEx St.Jude Classic. Rafa is an accurate driver off the tee and his putter has been on fire lately. We love the confidence, versatility, and consistency of Rafa’s game at only $6,700. He made his way to the big time on the European Tour, and he’s no stranger to links style courses like Royal Birkdale.
Player to avoid:
Jason Day $10,000 - Day is coming off the brutal performance at the US Open, followed by another missed cut at the weak field Travelers Championship. This has us fully fading him for The Open. It’s just difficult to see Day bouncing back and finding form at Royal Birkdale. Despite his solid record at The Open historically, he doesn’t play links style courses all that well. JDay has one of the highest ball flight hitters on tour and that will not come in handy this week especially if the conditions get tough. You could play Day if you’re playing the ownership angle as we suspect he’ll be around 12% owned, but we’d rather take our chances elsewhere.
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