RADIO
Hello PGA DFS family and welcome back to Horse For The Course! Congrats to Xander Schauffele on a win at the Genesis Scottish Open. It was Schauffele's second victory in as many starts. With his major championship track record and recent form, it is safe to assume the X-Man will be a popular DFS option this week for 2022's final major...the Open Championship.
The Open Championship is always a unique and special event, but that's especially the case this year, as we head to golf's birthplace, The Old Course at St. Andrews, for the 150th anniversary of the Open.
Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!
2022 Open Championship Overview
The Open Championship is the most unique - and polarizing - of the four majors. Many fans and players love the challenges, strategies, and quirks that come with links golf, while some just can't quite get on board with the drastic differences and unpredictability that come with this style of golf.
Perhaps the most prominent and infamous challenge for every Open is the weather conditions, with the biggest surprise in last year's edition being the lack of wind. The Old Course is the O.G. of links layouts and lies completely exposed on the Scottish coastline. While it is golf's most historic venue, it is certainly susceptible to the modern player if the wind isn't blowing. This puts DFS grinders in a "hurry up and wait" mode in the days leading up to the event, as we likely won't have a true feel for the weather until shortly before the tournament actually starts. Whether you feel it's fair or unfair, there are often drastic tee-time advantages for parts of the field that can either give your DFS lineups a huge leg up or leave you drawing dead.
While the weather can be out of our hands to a certain extent, we can prepare our lineups to the best of our ability by targeting proven links golf performers. As Collin Morikawa demonstrated last year, experience isn't a must to win this event, but I do believe it is an advantage this week. In this edition of HFTC, we'll take a look at some of the proven Open performers in the field.
You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles to help you win big!
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.
I always recommend checking out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett for an in-depth breakdown of this week's golf course!
Recent Open Championship Winners
- 2021: Collin Morikawa (-15)
- 2020: No Open held
- 2019: Shane Lowry (-15)
- 2018: Francesco Molinari (-8)
- 2017: Jordan Spieth (-12)
The Horse
Jordan Spieth
- Event Scoring Average: 69.94
- Notable Event Finishes: 2nd (2021), T9 ('18), Win ('17), T4* ('15 *St. Andrews)
- DraftKings Price: $10,000 FanDuel Price: $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. The Texan's putting hiccups aside, his short game remains spectacular, as does his overall creativity and ability to handle any conditions that might pop up this week.
The Ponies
Rory McIlroy
- Event Scoring Average: 70.77
- Notable Event Finishes: T2 ('18), T4 ('17), T5 ('16), Win ('14), T3* ('10 *St. Andrews)
- DraftKings Price: $11,100 FanDuel Price: $12,000
The fact that Rory McIlroy hasn't won a major championship in eight years is one of the biggest mysteries in golf, though that puzzler is followed closely by the fact that he has just one Open Championship victory on his illustrious resume. McIlroy infamously opened the 2010 Open at St. Andrews by going 63-80 in what's a unique reflection of both his Jekyll & Hyde play in majors overall and the drastic impact that weather conditions can have at the Old Course.
He was unable to play in the 2015 edition at St. Andrews due to an injury that fell in the middle of a five-year run that included a win and three additional top-five finishes in the Open. On the heels of that stretch, Rors has slumped a bit in recent Open Championships, missing the cut in an emotional week at Royal Portrush in 2019 and never being a factor in last year's edition. However, the 33-year-old has looked rejuvenated this year with a spectacular runner-up finish in the Masters preceding strong outings at both the PGA (8th) and U.S. Open (T5).
He unquestionably has the physical talent, skill set, form, and links experience needed to win this event - and the game's historical greats have a knack for winning at the Old Course - but there's a psychological hill that McIlroy must climb at some point if he's going to add to his major championship trophy case.
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Xander Schauffele
- Event Scoring Average: 70.00
- Notable Event Finishes: T26 ('21), T2 ('18), T20 ('17)
- DraftKings Price: $9,900 FanDuel Price: $11,300
Oh yes...there will be chalk. 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 McManus Pro-Am). The hot form echoes that of this year's three previous major winners (Scheffler, Thomas, & Fitzpatrick) who all entered the week of their respective wins in white-hot form.
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.
Tommy Fleetwood
- Event Scoring Average: 70.86
- Notable Event Finishes: 2nd ('19), T12 ('18), T27 ('17)
- DraftKings Price: $8,600 FanDuel Price: $10,000
After missing the cut in his first three career Open appearances, Tommy Fleetwood has settled in nicely with the game's oldest major. 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
- Event Scoring Average: 69.85
- Notable Event Finishes: T15 ('21), T2 ('19), T9 ('18)
- DraftKings Price: $8,400 FanDuel Price: $9,900
While many Americans must gain some links experience before playing well in the Open, Tony Finau is one of the rare examples of an American that hit the ground running with this unique style of play. 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.
After struggling with his short game at the outset of the year, he's gained an average of two strokes Around The Green over his last five starts. That scrambling ability, coupled with his distance and links record, makes him one of the best bargains on this slate at his moderate $8.4k DraftKings price tag.
Justin Rose
- Event Scoring Average: 71.63
- Notable Event Finishes: T2 ('18), T6* ('15 *St. Andrews), T4 ('98)
- DraftKings Price: $7,400 FanDuel Price: $9,700
The 1998 Open Championship is where Justin Rose first burst onto the scene, finishing fourth as an amateur in his Open debut. I'm sure many a future bet was placed on the Englishman at the time and he's frustratingly never been able to capture the major that makes the most sense for him. 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. The Old Course has always been kind to experienced veterans and I'm sure he'd love to put a bow on what's been a fabulous career at the game's most historic course.
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