RADIO
Top DraftKings lineup picks for the final major of the year, the Open Championship. Fantasy PGA expert advice, DFS lineup sleepers and DraftKings starts.
Welcome back RotoBallers! In the final tune-ups before The Open Championship, Dylan Frittelli won the John Deere Classic (-21), while in Scotland, Bernd Wiesberger took home the Scottish Open.
In this article, I will be 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. You can also track my selections against every other fantasy golf expert on dailyoverlay.com.
If anyone has lineup questions before the start of the tournament Thursday morning, feel free to contact me via Twitter @SethFinkTV.
The Open Championship - PGA DFS Overview
The entire golf world will have its eyes on Northern Ireland this week. Royal Portrush plays hosts to the final major, the Open Championship. The course is a 7,340 par-71. The last time this course hosted anything was the 2012 Irish Open, but since then, it's been completely renovated so no one knows anything about this course. We do know it'll be windy and rainy.
One trend I do like is the fact that experience vastly matters here. Here's a look at this decade of Open's.
2010: Lee Westwood, then 38, runner-up to Oosthuizen.
2011: 42-year-old Darren Clarke breaks through to capture his first ever major. Mickelson, then 40, finishes runner-up.
2012: 41-year-old Ernie Els captures his second Open.
2013: Then 43-year-old Mickelson finally gets his elusive British Open title.
2014: McIlroy defeats fellow youngsters Garcia and Rickie Fowler.
2015: 39-year-old Zach Johnson shocks the golf world winning at St. Andrews.
2016: 40-year-old Henrik Stenson captures his first major defeating then 46-year-old Mickelson in a duel.
2017: Spieth plays inarguably the greatest five-hole stretch golf has ever seen defeating 39-year-old Matt Kuchar.
2018: 35-year-old Francesco Molinari wins.
Why do older players do well at this major? Because you don't need to overpower a links course. You need good ball striking, touch, and play around the greens. That's why the older players have a much much better chance of winning this major than the Masters or U.S. Open.
Let's take a look at the stats:
| Player | Strokes Gained Total
(Last five Open's) |
| Rory McIloy | 52.22 |
| Jordan Spieth | 47.97 |
| Henrik Stenson | 45.97 |
| Sergio Garcia | 40.53 |
| Phil Mickelson | 38.81 |
In Vegas, as of Tuesday on sportsbook.ag, Rory McIlroy is the 8-1 favorite. Brooks Koepka is 10-1. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, and Tiger Woods are 16-1.
My custom stat model will be focusing on the following: NOTHING. Not too many stats to look at, plus European Tour players aren't factored into the Fantasy Golf National.
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for DraftKings (PGA DFS)
High-Priced DFS Players
There are five players this week priced above $10,000;
Rory McIlroy ($11,600) - McIlrot is odds-on favorite and fan-favorite. This major is in his home country. Many people are picking him. I'm not fading him, but I'm not going with him. Here's why; while McIlroy played great at THE PLAYERS, he hasn't at the three majors. Now he has finished in the top-10 in all, but it's completely misleading. McIlroy shot a final-round 68 at The Masters vaulting him into the top-10. At the PGA, it was a 69-69 on the weekend and the U.S. Open saw him shoot even-par on the weekend. The U.S. Open was the only major he was in contention, but he couldn't do anything with that on the weekend. He's finished in the top-five his last four Open's, but I don't trust him to make the putts when they count.
Brooks Koepka ($11,400) - Koepka has extra ammo this weekend with McIlroy being the betting favorite over him. He's had a mixed history here with two top-10's his last four Open's. His caddie is also a member of Royal Portrush. You can't bet against Koepka in a major.
Dustin Johnson ($10,900) - His U.S. Open was the most disappointing I've ever been with a player. His putting was simply atrocious. Can't trust him when he can't make a 10-foot birdie.
Jon Rahm ($10,600) - The Spaniard is on a tear; T-3 at U.S. Open, T-2 at the Andalucia Masters, and winner at the Irish Open last week. He's a popular pick, but his best finish in three tries at the Open has been a T-44. He's 24 and so immature that when one thing goes wrong, it's over.
Tiger Woods ($10,200) - He hasn't played since the U.S. Open. The last time he took a long layoff was after he won the Masters, and then proceeded to miss the cut at the PGA.
Middle-to-low-priced DFS Players
Rickie Fowler ($9,300) - No one is talking about Fowler after his disaster at the U.S. Open. His odds are 27-1 to win. There is no pressure on him at all. He has not been playing well of late and is off a missed cut at the Scottish Open. I just like that he's seemingly forgotten.
Adam Scott ($8,800) - It makes me nervous he hasn't played since a T-7 at the U.S. Open, but he was playing great before that; runner-up at Memorial, T-8 at PGA, T-18 at Masters, and T-12 at PLAYERS. He's made his last nice cuts at The Open with four top-10's.
Matt Kuchar ($8,700) - He fits the bill of the older/more experienced type player. He was runner-up two years ago and T-9 last year. Kuchar is off a T-20 at the Scottish Open.
Matt Wallace ($8,100) - The 29-year-old Englishman is coming in hot; T-3 at BMW International Open, T-55 at Irish Open, and T-14 at Scottish Open. Last year was his first Open where he was cut.
Rafa Cabrera Bello ($7,500) - T-3 at BMW International Open, T-4 at Irish Open, and T-9 at Scottish Open. That's his last three tournaments. Made six of seven cuts at the Open, but only one top-20.
Bernd Wiesberger ($7,100) - This price is a steal. The Austrian is off a win at the Scottish Open, T-2 at the Irish Open, and T-16 at BMW International Open. He's 3/5 in Open cuts made with his best finish being T-64. But he's coming in playing the best golf of his career.
