The PGA Tour will tee it up in the final major of the 2023 season. This time it will be a trip to Royal Liverpool for the Open Championship. The best golfers in the world will be teeing it up this week. That includes the top golfers from the LIV Tour and from the DP World Tour. This is one of my favorite tournaments of the season. It should also be a good tournament to enter some DFS lineups.
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
Course Breakdowns
The Open Championship will be played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. The last time this course was used in the Open Championship was in 2014, when Rory McIlroy won the Claret Jug. This will be the 13th time Royal Liverpool has hosted the Open Championship.
Royal Liverpool is one of the easiest courses in the Open Championship rotation. Tiger Woods posted a score of -18 in his win in 2006 and Rory McIlory posted -17 in his win in 2014.
Royal Liverpool is a par-71, which will play 7,383 yards in length. It is your typical links-style course, with deep bunkers and large greens. The only defense for the course is the weather. The forecast right now is for a chance of rain each day, but nothing that will make the course to difficult.
Click here to see the course: ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB
KEY STATS FOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
– Total Driving
– Stroke Gained Approach
– Distance Off-the-Tee
– Par 4 Scoring
– Scrambling
* Total Driving will be the stat I am looking at the most this week. Royal Liverpool is one of the tightest courses in the Open Championship rotation. It is also fairly long. I want golf that has distance off-the-tee, with the accuracy to keep the ball in the fairway.
TOP 30 GOLFERS
STRATEGY FOR THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Notice anything new about the DraftKings pricing this week? They introduced a new $5K price range and I think it is a good thing. DraftKings has always been tight with their pricing and it forced us to pick one or two golfers priced above $10K and plant our flag with them. The new $5K range brings more of the golfers priced in the $6K range into play. Typically, the $6K golfers were all scrubs. Now we have some decent golfers to choose from this week.
Stars & Scrubs, Stars & Scrubs, Stars & Scrubs!!! That is the strategy this week for Tournament Contests. I will be playing a lot of lineups with Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy this week. There is enough talent in the $6K range to make this work. I plan to load up on the $9K+ golfers, skip the $8K range (pretty much) and then play Low $7K and $6K golfers. The new pricing makes this strategy sound weird, but it should work.
I will be using two strategies for my Cash Contests this week. I will be some lineups where I pay up for Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy and pair them with some value golfers and I will build some balanced lineups using (pick three) Rickie Fowler, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Dustin Johnson. The one golfer I will use in most of my Cash Contest lineups is Robert MacIntyre. He is very miss-priced this week.
CORE GOLFERS FOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST (BALLANCED LINEUP)
TYRRELL HATTON ($9,400): Hatton is having his best season on the PGA Tour. Could this be the week when he wins his first major? I am betting that it will happen in his home country. Hatton enters the Open Championship after finishing sixth in the Scottish Open last week. He also finished 11th in the Open Championship last year and sixth in 2019. Hatton ranks fifth in the key stats this week, so he should have a great chance to finish in the top-10.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD ($9,400): I will pair Tyrrell Hatton with another golfer from England in my Cash Contest lineup. Fleetwood is from Southport, UK, which is only 45 minutes from Liverpool. He said Royal Liverpool is his favorite course in England. Fleetwood is in good form. He finished sixth at the Scottish Open last week, fifth at the U.S. Open and 18th at the PGA Championship. Fleetwood ranks eighth in the key stats this week. He should be near the top of the leaderboard Sunday.
DUSTIN JOHNSON ($9,200): DJ has been one of the best golfers on the LIV Tour this year and he has been pretty good at the Open Championship too. DJ finished sixth in the Open Championship last year and eighth in 2021. DJ finished 12th the last time the Open Championship was played at Royal Liverpool. He should have a good chance to finish in the top-10 this week.
MIN WOO LEE ($7,700): Lee is in great form. He has not missed a cut on the PGA Tour since early may. That includes a fifth-place finish in the U.S. Open, 18th-place finished at the PGA Championship, 15th-place finish at the British Masters and a 35th-place finish last week at the Scottish Open. Lee ranks 16th in the key stats and he finished 21st in the Open Championship last year. He should be good enough to finish in the top-20 Sunday.
DENNY MCCARTHY ($7,300): I may be messing with fire here by using McCarthy in my Cash Contest lineup. He has never played in the Open Championship and he has never played in a European Tournament. We have seen players like Collin Morikawa come over to the Open Championship without any experience and win. I am not sure McCarthy will win, but his form is too good to fade. He ranks fourth in the key stats this week. McCarthy should play well and could win if this turns into a putting contest.
ROBERT MACINTYRE ($6,800): I used Macintyre in my picks last week and he almost rewarded us with a win. Now we get a big discount with one of the best golfers on the DP World Tour. Macintyre finished second last week in the Scottish Open and he has been good in the Open Championship too. Macintyre finished eighth in the Open Championship in 2021 and sixth in 2019. He is cheap and has too much upside to fade this week.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST (STARS & SCRUBS LINEUP)
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER ($12,500): I like safe plays in my Cash Contest lineup, and we have not seen a safer play than Scheffler since the time of Tiger Woods. Scheffler has finished in the top-five in his last seven tournaments. He leads the PGA Tour in almost every stat category, except putting. He will smoke the field this week if he can putt halfway decent. Scheffler is my pick to win and my top golfer in the “stars and scrubs” Cash Contest lineup.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD ($9,300): Fleetwood will be in both of my Cash Contest lineups this week. Royal Liverpool is almost a home course for Fleetwood. His stats, recent form and course history make him one of the top plays for all contests this week.
COREY CONNERS ($7,700): Conners has played well in his last two Open Championships. He finished 28th last year and 15th in 2021. Royal Liverpool requires accuracy off the tee and that is one of the strengths for Conners. He ranks eighth in Shots Gained Off-the Tee and 12th and 15th in Shots Gained Approach. Conners should be a safe golfer with some upside this week.
LOUIE OOSTHUIZEN ($6,900): Oosthuizen won the Open Championship in 2010, so now he is exempt for life. He said he plans to play this event for as long as he can. Oosthuizen enters the tournament this week with a red-hot putter and some form. He finished two of his last three tournaments on the LIV Tour in the top-10. Oosthuizen should make the cut and have a chance for a top-20 finish Sunday.
ROBERT MACINTYRE ($6,800): Macintyre is almost the ‘free square” for Cash Contest lineups. He is cheap and he is in good form. Macintyre will also be highly owned, so if he misses the cut, it will not hurt your lineup too bad.
JORDAN L. SMITH ($7,200): I played Smith in my Tournament Contest lineup last week and he rewarded me with a 12th-place finish at the Scottish Open. I will play Smith in my Cash Contest lineup this week. Smith has now made five cuts in a row and hasn’t finished outside the top-40 in any of them. He finished 47th in the Open Championship last year and his form was nowhere near as good as it is in 2023. Smith ranks 29th in the key stats, so he should be a good play this week.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
BROOKS KOEPKA ($10,400): The popular build for Tournament Contest lineups will be to stack Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. I will be using that lineup construction too, but I think a more contrarian build will be to start with “Big Game Brooks.” Everyone knows that Koepka got his start on the European Tour and he is familiar with links style golf. The reason I am playing Brooks is because of his advantage off the tee. Keopka ranks No. 4 in Total Driving. He hits the ball as straight as anyone in the field. That should give Brooks a good chance to win Sunday.
COLLIN MORAWA ($9,600): All I have heard this week is how important accuracy will be. If that is truly the case, I will play the most accurate golfer in the field. Morikawa led the field in fairways hit and greens in regulation when he won the Open Championship in 2021. He may do it again this week. I was hoping to see some form from Morikawa before the last major of the season. We got it when he finished second in his last tournament (Rocket Mortgage Classic).
RICKIE FOWLER ($9,800): I am not sure that $9,800 is the right price for Fowler this week. I know his form has been terrific, but I was expecting a low $9K price tag for Fowler. I am sure some of the ownership will be taken off of Fowler this week because people will save some salary and play Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood or Dustin Johnson at a cheap price. I will pivot to Fowler and hope his form travels across the ocean.
TALOR GOOCH ($7,800): How good has Gooch been on the LIV Tour this year? He has been so good that he has earned the nickname, “Tiger Gooch”, because he is the Tiger Woods of the LIV Tour. Gooch has three wins on the LIV Tour this year. He has only be “OK” in the Open Championship, but his accuracy off the tee should make Gooch a contender this week. I will play Gooch and hope his success on the LIV Tour translate into a major win.
YANNIK PAUL ($6,500): I need a cheap golfer who can make the cut to pair with my golfers listed above. Sign me up for some Yannik Paul. He has made every cut since early February. That includes a 25th-place finish at the Scottish Open last week. Paul should make the cut and score well enough for this lineup to cash in.
RICHIE RAMSEY ($5,900): Ramsey is another cheap golfer who should make the cut. He has made every cut on the DP World Tour since early March. That includes a 42nd-place finish last week in the Scottish Open. He ranks 28th in Total Driving and that is key this week. This lineup could blow up if Yannik Paul and Richie Ramsey can simply make the cut and finish in the top-40.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contest: (FantasyRacingTips)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the seventh tournament of Segment 4. This is the toughest Segment to navigate because there are two majors (U.S. Open and the Open Championship), one elevated event (Travelers Championship) and four FedEx Playoff Tournaments). Use your golfers wisely.
** I am going to save Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy for the PGA Tour Playoffs and try to get through the Open Championship with the LIV Tour Golfers.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: DUSTIN JOHNSON (OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Matthew Fitzpatrick (MC), Russell Henley (35th), Rickie Fowler (Win), Scottie Scheffler (4), Brooks Koepka (17th), Justin Rose (8th), Patrick Cantlay (30TH) (Memorial), Tommy Fleetwood (MC), Jon Rahm (50th), Adam Scott (8th), Viktor Hovland (43rd), Tony Finau (Win), Sungjae Im (7TH), Jordan Spieth (4th), Si Woo Kim (39th), Tyrrell Hatton (60th), Adam Hadwin (MC), Rory McIlroy (MC), Will Zalatoris (53rd), Matt Kuchar (MC), Tony Finau (20), Xander Schauffele (10th), Seamus Power (15th), Max Homa (1st), Brian Harman (MC), and Corey Conners (12th)
SEASON LONG ONE & DONE PICK: CAMERON SMITH (OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP)
Players Used This Season in One & Done: Matthew Fitzpatrick (MC), Emiliano Grillo (MC), Rickie Fowler (Win), Scottie Scheffler (4), Dustin Johnson (10th), Justin Rose (8TH), Patrick Cantlay (30TH), Tommy Fleetwood (MC), Brooks Koepka (Win), K-H Lee (50th), Cameron Young (59th), Tony Finau (Win), Keith Mitchell (6th), Tom Kim (MC), Brooks Koepka (2nd), Matt Kuchar (3rd), Wyndham Clark (6th), Adam Hadwin (MC), Rory McIlroy (MC), Will Zallatoris (53rd), Sungjae Im (42nd), Max Homa (2), Xander Schauffele (10th), Jordan Spieth (63rd), Jon Rahm (7th), Taylor Montgomery (5th), Russell Henley (32nd), Seamus Power (25th), Brian Harman (2nd), Maverick McNealy (27th), Emiliano Grillo (42nd), Nick Hardy (28th), Terrell Hatton (13TH) Christian Bezuidenhout (29th), Cameron Davis (37th), Denny McCarthy (39th), Brendon Steele (MC)
BEST BETS FOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
BROOKS KOEPKA (18-1)
VIKTOR HOVLAND (22-1)
RICKIE FOWLER (25-1)
TYRELL HATTON (25-1)
TOMMY FLEETWOOD (28-1)
ROBERT MACINTYRE (80-1)
TALOR GOOCH (75-1)
DENNY MCCARTHY (100-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
Follow me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR