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Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the 2022 Open Championship. Daily fantasy golf advice on under-owned golfers and who to avoid for your lineups.
Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for your PGA DFS research. This week we'll dig into the FanDuel PGA DFS slate for the year's final major - the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2022 Open Championship. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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2022 Open Championship - PGA DFS Overview
The Course: The Old Course at St. Andrews
Par 72 - 7,313 Yards, Greens: Fescue/Bent/Poa Blend, Designed By: Old Tom Morris
What can I say about the Old Course that hasn't already been said? The most historical and famous golf course in the world, this property is the true home of golf. This is a true links layout and players will face some unique challenges this week, with shared fairways and seven shared green complexes being just a couple of the most infamous quirks of the Old Course. Both the fairways and greens are extremely large, but both require strategic placement of the golf ball in order to find consistent success. The size of these greens brings into play a skill that we rarely talk about in the DFS community...lag putting.
While the Old Course is undoubtedly a respected and historical venue, it can be susceptible to the modern player (and modern equipment) and the prodigious distance that is such a large part of today's game. The layout only has two real defense mechanisms...the weather and its bunkering. There are 112 bunkers scattered across the property with many basically representing a one-shot penalty. As for the weather, players can often be at the mercy of Mother Nature, as the fairly benign layout can quickly morph into one of the toughest tests in the world when the winds are howling.
To that end, I will monitor the weather forecast deep into the week to both attempt to identify any tee time advantages and settle on the type of player I'll be targeting. Weather aside, I'll lean on experienced Open performers that have the ability to handle the mental test that often comes with this event, are great scramblers, and can avoid costly three-putts.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | The Old Course | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | N/A | 282 |
| Driving Accuracy | 69% | 62% |
| GIR Percentage | 76% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 52% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 1.24 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- SG: Ball Striking
- Total Driving
- Scrambling
- 3-Putt Avoidance
- Open Championship History
- History on Links Courses
- History in Windy Conditions
- Recent Form
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Xander Schauffele ($11,300)
The X-Man heads to St. Andrews as the hottest player in the world with victories in each of his last two outings at the Travelers and last week's Scottish Open (three if you want to count the JP McManus Pro-Am). In addition to his current heater, Schauffele has long been a force in major championships, as he's logged a staggering nine top-10 finishes in majors since 2017. In the Open specifically, he's made the cut in all four of his career appearances, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2018.
With his growing confidence, major-championship pedigree, and overall skill set, the Californian is rightly one of the favorites heading into the week. The only real knock I can level against Schauffele this week from a DFS perspective is a game theory one, as he'll likely be the most popular player on the slate.
Matt Fitzpatrick ($11,200)
It's tough to argue with results and Matt Fitzpatrick has that in spades this year. The newly-crowned U.S. Open champion logged a T6 in his return to action at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, a result that marked his ninth(!) top-10 finish of 2022. Much has been made of the Englishman's distance gains off the tee, and while that is certainly helpful on any course, his consistent accuracy is something I'm earmarking this week. Fitz grades out seventh in Good Drives Gained over his last 24 rounds and placement off the tee will be paramount at the Old Course.
His game has few weaknesses and he stands fourth in SG: Total over his last 24 rounds. While he's yet to truly breakthrough in the Open, he's certainly comfortable with links golf and his best two finishes in the Open (T26-T20) have been in his most recent starts.
Jordan Spieth ($11,100)
Any hope that Jordan Spieth might possibly fly under the radar this week went out the window with his T10 performance at the Scottish Open. It was a reminder that links golf seems to breathe life into Spieth's game, no matter its current form. That said, the recent form hasn't been bad, but a missed cut at the Travelers two weeks ago on the heels of ho-hum outings at both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open had public sentiment at just lukewarm levels.
That's changed now, as his play at The Renaissance Club brings his elite Open Championship track record into the greater consciousness. Eight starts, eight cuts made. A win in 2017 and a couple of additional near-misses, including one here at St. Andrews in 2015 when he missed out on a playoff by a single shot.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Tommy Fleetwood ($10,000)
The Englishman has run off four consecutive made cuts in the Open since 2017, a stretch highlighted by a runner-up finish at Royal Portrush in 2019. After struggling with his game following the COVID layoff, Fleetwood has bounced back this year by doubling his top-10 total from 2021. He comes in off the heels of a T4 result in last week's Scottish Open and possesses the type of Old Course experience that not many in this Open field can claim. Fleetwood has twice finished runner-up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an annual event that features rounds at St. Andrews.
Tony Finau ($9,900)
Tony Finau is one of the rare examples of an American that's a natural-born links player. Finau posted a T18 in his Open Championship debut in 2016 and has never finished worse than tied for 27th in five career Open appearances. A puzzling missed cut at the U.S. Open distracts from the fact that Finau was playing his best golf of the year in the run-up to Brookline and had recorded back-to-back top-four finishes prior to the disappointment at The Country Club. He bounced back for a solid T13 at the Travelers the following week, which eases any concerns about his form.
Justin Rose ($9,700)
While Rose doesn't have a Claret Jug in his trophy case, he has been a consistent performer in the event throughout his career, especially in recent years. The veteran has made the cut in seven consecutive Open appearances, a stretch that includes a T6 here at the Old Course in 2015 and a runner-up finish at Carnoustie in 2018.
Though this feels like purely a course history play due to his age (41) and his game's decline in recent years, Rose has still managed to get up for the majors. He logged a pair of major top-10s last year and recorded a T13 earlier this year at the PGA Championship before turning in a solid T37 at the U.S. Open. Those outings, in addition to nearly shooting a 59 in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open in a start in between the two, indicate that there's still some explosiveness left in Rosie's bag.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Ryan Fox ($9,300)
The Kiwi was the flavor of the week for the Scottish Open slate and it will be interesting to see how his ownership shakes out this week after a T47 at Renaissance Club. Fox has been the best player on the DP World Tour this year and owns a solid, if unspectacular, track record in the Open Championship, making the cut in four of five career starts with his best finish - a T16 - coming at Royal Portrush in 2019. His globe-trotting career has helped him to develop a strong links resume and this $9.3k price point makes him an intriguing salary saver this week.
Seamus Power ($9,200)
The Irish journeyman broke through with a win at the Barbasol last year and he's been taking full advantage of his newfound exemptions in 2022. Despite having never teed it up in a major championship, Power has played brilliantly in the majors this year, going T27-T9-T12 across golf's biggest events. While he's spent the majority of his professional career in the U.S., he is extremely familiar with links golf thanks to his Irish roots. Power isn't going to pop in one statistical category, but he grades out 17th in this field in SG: Total over his last 24 rounds and has repeatedly demonstrated this year that he has the skill set to play golf's biggest events.
Max Homa ($9,000)
Homa continued what's been a strong season with an impressive T16 last week at the Scottish Open. While his links experience is limited, his performance at the Renaissance Club, coupled with a T40 in his Open Championship debut last year, indicates that the Californian has a knack for the unique demands of links golf. Homa recorded a win in nasty, Open-like conditions at the Wells Fargo Championship earlier this season, and his track record on difficult, classical layouts bodes well for his potential at The Old Course. This price tag is an "attention getter" and will likely result in high ownership, so I prefer rostering him in cash and single-entry formats this week.
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