After a week off, it feels good to get back into the swing of things especially when it’s a Major Week! I don’t know what it is, but there just seems to be something special in the air when the “Millionaire Maker” is available on DraftKings. So let’s get right to it …
The British Open or Open Championship as it likes to be called begins early Thursday morning with lineups locking at 1:35am ET. The 145th Open Championship takes place at Royal Troon Golf Club which measures out 7,190 yards and is a Par 71. Most experts feel that longer players will have the advantage on this track but if you look at the winners in 1997 and 2004, both were relatively shorter players (Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton). The bombers do have an advantage on this course but only if they can keep the ball out of the rough. The fairways vary from hole to hole when it comes to width but what hurts the most are the annoyingly placed bunkers all over Royal Troon. Make sure you take a good look at players with strong proximity numbers as they’ll be at a premium this week attacking small greens.
Whenever you talk Open Championship, you have to talk about the weather. There is rain in the forecast throughout the weekend but what DFS players should pay more attention to is the wind. Thursday and Friday looks to be good with under 10 mph winds projected but the weekend it climbs to 12-15 mph. There are golfers out there who play better in windy conditions and it might be beneficial to check them out before filling out your lineups.
When it comes to playing in the Millionaire Maker, you can have one, two, or even three highly owned golfers in your lineup. The key to success is finding those one, two, or three low cost players who step up and finish inside the Top 10 or 15. The pricing on DraftKings does lend itself to fitting in two top tier players and going with the stars and scrubs approach. I will certainly do that with my lineups but I will also use a more balanced approach as well.
Lastly, let’s welcome back our girl Paige to the party. If you get a chance, head to her Facebook fan page and check out the interview she did at the brand new Top Golf Las Vegas. She’s tuning up for a big week at Royal Troon.
It just blows my mind that we will have another golf major in just two weeks. The Olympics have really thrown things through a loop.
I wish everyone the best of luck this week … If you want to talk about lineups or anything related to the tournament, make sure you check out the PGA section of the Fantasy Alarm Forums.
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
Dustin Johnson | $6,000 | $12,000 | How can you not ride the hotter player in the world? Wins U.S. Open & comeback Firestone win. 4 Top 15s at The Open |
Rory McIlory | $6,050 | $11,900 | He just needs to come out the gate strong on Thursday. Win at Irish Open, 5 Other Top 4 Finishes in last 4 Months. |
Adam Scott | $5,850 | $10,600 | Last 4 Opens - 2nd, T3, T5 & T10. T10 at Firestone. Leads the Tour in SG:TG & 6th in Proximity. He'll be overlooked by most |
Sergio Garcia | $5,200 | $10,000 | 4th in All-Time Open Earnings, only NON-winner inside Top 7 with 9 Top 10s in 15 Cuts Made. Last 3 Starts - 1st, T5, & T5 |
Rickie Fowler | $5,650 | $9,900 | Will be LOWER owned. Got a T10 at Firestone. 3 Top 15s in 6 Starts at The Open. T2 in 2014 at Royal Liverpool. |
Branden Grace | $5,550 | $9,700 | 5/5 Cuts Made at The Open but hasn't finished better than T20 last year. 9 Top 5s (2 Wins) in the last 11 months. |
Lee Westwood | $4,800 | $8,500 | 2 Top 10s at Royal Troon (1999 & 2004) and has played GREAT since his T2 at the Masters. Always seems to be in the mix |
Martin Kaymer | $4,100 | $8,400 | MUST PLAY on ACES. 4 Top 6s since mid-April & T13 in Scotland last week. 7/8 in Cuts Made at The Open (3 Top 15s) |
Zach Johnson | $5,150 | $8,100 | Defending Champ - 9/9 in Last 9 Starts at The Open (4 Top 20s since 2011). T8 at Oakmont & T10 at Firestone (In FORM) |
Charl Schwartzel | $4,950 | $7,800 | T5 & T7 in his last 2 Starts. Top 20s in 4 Opens since 2010. Played well all season with 14/15 Cuts Made & 6 Top 10s. |
Matt Kuchar | $5,550 | $7,800 | UNREAL since mid-May. T3 at Firestone. 5 Top 6s in last 6 Starts. 2 Top 15s at the Open (2012 & 2013). HIGHLY OWNED! |
Brandt Snedeker | $4,900 | $7,700 | He will be Low Owned but has a spotty record at the Open. BOOM OR BUST. T3 in 2012 & T11 in 2013. Take a GPP Shot |
Jim Furyk | $4,750 | $7,700 | Finished 4th FOUR TIME at The Open (1997 at Royal Troon, 1998, 2006 & 2014). T2 at Oakmont. Worth a GPP Play |
Graeme McDowell | $4,300 | $7,600 | T10 last week at Castle Stuart. T9 at The Players, T18 at U.S. Open. He keeps the ball in play, that's important here. |
Scott Piercy | $4,500 | $7,400 | HE'LL BE HIGHLY OWNED after finishing 2nd to Dustin Johnson in his last 2 starts, ON FIRE! But NO history at The Open |
Marc Leishman | $4,700 | $7,400 | 3 Straight Top 20s going into Oakmont. Top 5s in last 2 Opens (Good Wind Player). Well balanced player. |
Nicolas Colsaerts | N/A | $7,200 | 7 Top 25s in his last 8 Starts (Three 3rd Place Finishes). 3rd Last Week at Castle Stuart. T7 at The Open in 2012. |
Andy Sullivan | $4,450 | $7,200 | Really playing well right now. Finished T5 & T6 in his last 2 starts, Top 25s in his last 5. He will be popular |
Francesco Molinari | $4,400 | $7,000 | In 3 of his 5 Cuts Made at The Open, Finished in T15. 2nd at Open de France. 5 Top 20s since Mid-March. T11 in Par 5 Scoring |
Alexander Noren | $4,450 | $6,900 | Won his 1st Event back from Stress Fracture in his Chest (Last week). Top 15s in 5 of his last 8 starts. GOOD PUTTER! |
Paul Dunne | $4,000 | $6,700 | 54-Hole Leader in 2015 (Finished T30). 7 Top 25s Worldwide since the last Open. Needs to keep the driver in check. |
Emiliano Grillo | $4,400 | $6,400 | 42 ranked player in the world. 2 Top 10s in his last 4 starts. Knack for playing on the big stage, can pop any week. |
Steve Stricker | $4,000 | $6,400 | 12 Top 10s in Majors (8 since Turning 40), 2 at the Open. T21 last week. 2nd in SG: P & 3rd in Scrambling on TOUR. |
Danny Lee | $4,550 | $6,300 | T3 in Scotland last week. 9 Consecutive Cuts Worldwide (4 Top 25s). Can't be the heater he's on heading into Troon |
DRAFTKINGS OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
Adam Scott | $10,600 |
Lee Westwood | $8,500 |
Martin Kaymer | $8,400 |
Zach Johnson | $8,100 |
Matt Kuchar | $7,800 |
Danny Lee | $6,300 |
DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
Dustin Johnson | $12,000 |
Branden Grace | $9,700 |
Graeme McDowell | $7,500 |
Andy Sullivan | $7,200 |
Francesco Molinari | $7,000 |
Danny Lee | $6,300 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
ACES CASH | PRICE |
Dustin Johnson | $6,000 |
Adam Scott | $5,850 |
Lee Westwood | $4,800 |
Marc Leishman | $4,700 |
Danny Lee | $4,550 |
Martin Kaymer | $4,100 |
ACES GPP | PRICE |
Rory McIlory | $6,050 |
Branden Grace | $5,550 |
Sergio Garcia | $5,200 |
Charl Schwartzel | $4,950 |
Martin Kaymer | $4,100 |
Paul Dunne | $4,000 |
ONE-AND-DONE OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
Hyaundai: Patrick Reed | 2nd - $688,000 |
Sony: Harris English | T56 - $12,818 |
CareerBuilder: Bill Haas | T9 - $162,400 |
Farmers: Nick Watney | Missed Cut |
Phoenix: Ryan Moore | T11 - $149,500 |
Pebble: J.B. Holmes | T11 - $143,500 |
Northern Trust: K.J. Choi | T5 - $258,400 |
Honda: Luke Donald | T61 - $13,115 |
WGC-Cadillac: Dustin Johnson | T14 - $120,000 |
Valspar: Kevin Na | T22 - $52,959.09 |
Arnold Palmer: Francisco Molinari | T9 - $170,100 |
Puerto Rico: Scott Brown | T5 - $109,500 |
Shell Open: Charley Hoffman | T33 - $36,720.00 |
The Masters: Phil Mickelson | Missed Cut |
RBC Heritage: Matt Kuchar | T9 - $147,500 |
Valero: Billy Horschel | T4 - $233,740 |
Zurich: Justin Rose | Missed Cut |
Wells Fargo: Gary Woodland | T24 - $62,232.50 |
Players: Sergio Garcia | T54 - $24,150 |
Byron Nelson: Ryan Palmer | Missed Cut |
Colonial: Chris Kirk | T15 - $117,250 |
Memorial: Hideki Matsuyama | Missed Cut |
St. Jude: Retief Goosen | T12 - $125,550 |
U.S. Open: Adam Scott | T18 - $120,978 |
Quicken Loans: Jim Furyk | T21 - $64,773.75 |
Bridgestone: Zach Johnson | T10 - $167,750 |
British Open: Martin Kaymer | ??? |