RADIO
Thomas Pieters Brings Good Form Into Carnoustie
7/17:Thomas Pieters' resurgence continued at last week's Scottish Open. Pieters posted his fifth straight made cut and in the process posted his first top-10 finish since January of this year. Pieters, who had fallen all the way from 34th in the world at the beginning of the year to his ranking pre-Scottish Open of 82nd, jumped 13 spots up to 69th in the world after his share of sixth place in Scotland. The big-hitting Belgian comes into this week's Open Championship having made his previous two cuts at Open venues. Pieters should have something to prove after missing out on the U.S. Open in June because of his ranking, and we will not be surprised to see the 26-year-old provide a quality showing at Carnoustie. Source: PGA Tour
Kevin Chappell Hopes To Turn Season Around At Carnoustie
7/17:It is quickly becoming a lost season for Kevin Chappell. The young American had a breakout 2017, picking up his first career PGA Tour win at the Valero Texas Open. Chappell carried that momentum into 2018, kicking off the year with three top-10 finishes. Unfortunately, Chappell's play has nosedived since tweaking his back at the WGC-Match Play event in March. The former DFS darling has missed six of his last nine cuts since suffering the injury. Things don't look very promising for Chappell this week, he has a career-best finish of T53 in two previous Open Championship appearances. He is not a viable DFS option in his current form.Source: PGA Tour
Brian Harman's Game In Good Shape For Carnoustie
7/17:Brian Harman enters this week’s Open Championship having made the cut at his last four events. His best finish during that stretch was a T14 at the Fort Worth Invitational. Harman finished T26 on his debut at the Open Championship back in 2014, but since then he has struggled at the event and he has not made the cut since. Harman will need his usually reliable short game to improve if he wants to perform at his best this week. Harman ranks a lowly 104th in strokes gained around the green over his previous 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Patrick Cantlay Making Open Championship Debut
7/17:Patrick Cantlay is set to make his Open Championship debut at Carnoustie this week. The young American burst on to the professional scene with a victory at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open last November and has been a steady presence on PGA Tour leaderboards this season. Despite his success, Cantlay has struggled in the first two majors of 2018. He badly missed the cut at the Masters and could only manage a T45 at the U.S. Open. With his lack of European links golf experience, Cantlay is a wildcard at Carnoustie this week. He is ranked ninth in strokes gained: tee to green and will need to rely on his elite ballstriking to have a chance to contend. He is a DFS gamble due to his lack of experience in Open conditions and carries a $7,500 DraftKings price.Source: PGA Tour
Gary Woodland Struggling For Form
7/17:Since winning the Phoenix Open back in February, Gary Woodland has failed to record a top-20 finish on Tour as the American has struggled with his game. Woodland finished T53 at his last outing at the Quicken Loans National. Woodland has never missed the cut at an Open Championship in his six appearances at the event, and his best performance came in 2016 where he finished T12. Despite his drop off in form, Woodland continues to drive the ball excellently, and he sits third in this field for strokes gained off the tee over his previous 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Kevin Kisner Comes To Carnoustie Out Of Form
7/17:Kevin Kisner comes to Carnoustie this week very much out of form as the American has struggled with his game all year. In his last six events, Kisner’s best finish was a T52, and he has missed the cut three times in that period. Kisner has made the cut in two of his three appearances at the Open Championship; however his best performance was only a T54 in 2017. Kisner’s iron play has been a massive concern lately, and he ranks 105th for strokes gained approaching the green in this field over his past 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Charley Hoffman Playing Well Coming Into The Open Championship
7/17:Charley Hoffman's resurgence continued last week at the Scottish Open, where he recorded a T19 finish. It was Hoffman’s third top-20 finish in succession. Hoffman has had mixed results at the Open Championship in the past. The Californian has made the cut on three of his last four occasions, however, his best finish at the event is a T20 which came last year at Royal Birkdale. Hoffman sits 21st in strokes gained total over his previous eight rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Kiradech Aphibarnrat Looking To Improve This Weekend
7/17:Kiradech Aphibarnrat will be hoping to improve on his dreadful record at the Open Championship as he gets ready to take on Carnoustie this week. Aphibarnrat has struggled mightily at this event in the past, missing the cut each time on his four appearances. Aphibarnrat will be pleased to have made the cut last week at the Scottish Open as he continues to try and get comfortable with links golf. Aphibarnrat ranks 13th in strokes gained off the tee and will be hoping that consistency off the tee will allow him some success this week.Source: PGA Tour
Francesco Molinari In Top Form Heading To Carnoustie
7/17:Francesco Molinari enters the Open Championship in the form of his life and expectations are high for the Italian this week. Molinari has won twice and finished runner-up twice in his last five appearances. The Italian has a solid record at the Open Championship, making five of his last six cuts at the event. His best finish was a T9 back in 2013. Molinari leads the field in strokes gained tee to green over his previous 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Xander Schauffele Looking For More Major Success
7/17:Xander Schauffele has enjoyed a topsy-turvy year on the PGA Tour, but the youngster has produced some of his best golf at the biggest events. Schauffele recorded top-10 finishes this year at both the U.S. Open and the Players Championship and will be looking to reproduce that form on the links of Carnoustie. Last year, Schauffele performed very well on his first-ever appearance at the Open Championship, recording a top-20 finish.Source: PGA Tour
Rafa Cabrera Bello Lacking Form Heading To Carnoustie
7/17:Rafa Cabrera Bello has struggled as of late, and he enters this week’s Open Championship having missed his last three cuts on the European Tour. Cabrera Bello will be hoping that he can continue his strong form at this major championship. The Spaniard has made the cut on five occasions from his six appearances at this event. Last year, Cabrera Bello played excellent as he recorded a top-5 finish, which is his only top-5 finish at a major championship thus far.Source: PGA Tour
Patrick Reed Full Of Confidence Heading To Carnoustie
7/17:Patrick Reed will be looking to make it major championship victory No. 2 at Carnoustie this week. Reed warmed up for this week with a decent showing in Scotland where he finished T23. Reed has two top-20 finishes in his previous four appearances at this event. Reed has been very consistent in 2018, and he has only missed one cut in his last twelve appearances. Reed ranks fifth in strokes gained total over his previous 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Bubba Watson Hoping To Improve This Weekend
7/17:Bubba Watson will be hoping to improve on a disappointing Open Championship record as he looks to continue his impressive 2018. Watson has never cracked the top-20 in the event in his previous nine appearances and has failed to make the weekend on four of those occasions. However, Watson will be entering the event full of confidence, having won four times on the PGA Tour in 2018. Watson leads the field this week in strokes gained off the tee over his previous 24 rounds.Source: PGA Tour
Daniel Berger Has Limited Open Experience
7/17:Daniel Berger will tee it up in just his third Open Championship this week. The young American had a missed cut in 2016 and a T27 last year. Carnoustie will present a more difficult challenge for Berger than he has faced in his two previous Open starts. The 25-year-old had an excellent U.S. Open, where he shared the 54-hole lead before finishing in a tie for sixth. Despite the nice finish at Shinnecock Hills, Berger has had a disappointing 2018 and has struggled to find consistency in his game. Berger ranks just 94th in scrambling and will have to improve that facet of his game if he hopes to contend at a difficult Carnoustie course. His $7,300 DraftKings price tag is reasonable, but his recent form makes him just a contrarian GPP option.Source: PGA Tour
Ross Fisher Heads To Open In Poor Form
7/17:Ross Fisher heads to Carnoustie for this week's Open Championship in the midst of a slump. Fisher has struggled with his game for most of 2018 and has missed the cut in his last two tournament appearances at the Open de France and Scottish Open. The last signs of life we saw from the Euro Tour veteran was in May, when he logged a T8 at the BMW PGA Championship. The Englishman should be comfortable on Carnoustie's links layout, but he will need to find a solution to his swing problems quickly. With a DraftKings price of $7,100 for the Open, Fisher is a borderline unplayable DFS option this week.Source: European Tour
