Breaking down The Open Championship DraftKings picks for St. Andrews with top plays and fades from each pricing tier and building a winning PGA DFS lineup.
Get ready for a historic and incredible week at The Open Championship as the 150th playing of the tournament takes us to the home of golf with the Old Course at St. Andrews hosting the monumental event.
We’ve already gone through our picks and best bets for the week as well as our dark horse picks. But now it’s time to dive into the PGA DFS slate with our Open Championship DraftKings picks. Yes, we’re coming off a poor showing at the Scottish Open and that’s on me. But we’d been cashing previously and this feels like a good slate with great value for St. Andrews.
So as always, we’re going to look at the top plays and fades from each pricing tier to build up our DraftKings picks and then create a winning PGA DFS lineup for The Open Championship.
DraftKings picks for The Open Championship PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays
$10,000: Rory McIlroy ($11,100) – I get it. Taking the most expensive golfer on the slate is sketchy, especially with some great options on the board in this price range. But once again, I am all-in on Rory this week. His game is especially suited for the Old Course in its current form with his length and control off of the tee combined with improved short wedge play and some flashes with his putter. He also finished T3 here in 2010 with an 80 on his card. He’s my pick to win and I’m not remotely wavering. Also Consider: Jon Rahm ($10,800), Justin Thomas ($10,500), Jordan Spieth ($10,000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_cLf0ED7o?feature=oembed
$9,000: Shane Lowry ($9,300) – Because pricing came out early, it’s extremely tempting to take Xander Schauffele at just $9,900 and I do like him this week. But the value of Shane Lowry at this price is too much for me to overlook. I’ve obviously been a big proponent of Lowry throughout the year but his game is made for a course like this. He has a win and a T12 in the last two playing of The Open and has been in great form all year. With his creativity around the greens combined with ball-striking, I love him to show up well at St. Andrews. Also Consider: Xander Schauffele ($9,900), Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,700), Will Zalatoris ($9,600), Cameron Smith ($9,500), Viktor Hovland ($9,000)
$8,000: Tony Finau ($8,400) – I’m all aboard the Tony Finau train this week. That’s a scary proposition given his propensity to letdown in big spots, but his track record both in Scotland and at The Open are too good to ignore. He’s played in Scotland four times in his career and never finished outside of the Top 20. On top of that, he’s finished T15, T3, T9 in his last three Open Championships and has three Top 13 finishes in his last four starts this season. He’s rounding into form and, frankly, should be higher-priced than this. Also Consider: Sam Burns ($8,900), Louis Oosthuizen ($8,800), Tommy Fleetwood ($8,600), Joaquin Niemann ($8,000)
$7,000: Jordan Smith ($7,200) – Another player that would likely be more expensive if pricing weren’t released early, the value with Smith at the bottom of the $7K range is just insane. Playing primarily on the DP World Tour, he’s not finished worse than T24 since March. And he just so happened to back up that form with a T24 at the Scottish Open. He’s a true sleeper to make noise this week given what he’s shown and you have to take advantage of this pricing. Also Consider: Max Homa ($7,900), Robert MacIntyre ($7,800), Tiger Woods ($7,500), Seamus Power ($7,400), Thomas Pieters ($7,200), Gary Woodland ($7,100)
$6,000: Thomas Detry ($6,600) – Another player who I think is a live sleeper this week, Detry has been making some noise on the DP World Tour and most recently the Scottish Open with three Top 30 finishes in his last four starts, including finishing T10 last week at The Renaissance Club. He’s shown fantastic hands and creativity around the greens and is a solid enough ball-striker to make you think that he should be priced at least at the top of the $6K range, but that’s to our advantage here. Also Consider: Kurt Kitayama ($6,900), Jason Scrivener ($6,700), Thriston Lawrence ($6,500),
DraftKings picks for The Open Championship PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades
$10,000: Collin Morikawa ($10,300) – While I’m not big on Scottie Scheffler either, I can’t trust Morikawa given what I’ve seen from him. He just missed the cut at the Scottish Open and I believe that’s reflective of his current game. Morikawa is the defending Open Champion but he has been altering his shot shape recently and it’s become clear that he has less control of his ball than ever. On a links golf course and where wind could be a factor at times, I don’t think he pays off this price.
$9,000: Patrick Cantlay ($9,400) – It’s major championship week, so you already know I’m fading Patrick Cantlay every which way. Cantlay did post a non-competitive T14 at the US Open last month but that’s truthfully been the best major for him in his career. Now we’re looking at a guy still who has just two Top 10 finishes in over 20 career major starts. Moreover, he missed the cut and finished T41 in his last two Open Championship appearances. Stay as far away from Cantlay as you can this week as I don’t see the path to success for him on the Old Course.
$8,000: Brooks Koepka ($8,500) – We’ve got to stop treating Koepka like he’s the player he once was. Not only is there a chance that his move to LIV Golf has softened that competitive edge he once maintained but he’s just not been a top-tier player in some time now. Yes, he’s finished T6 and T4 at The Open in the past two playings, but I don’t buy that more than his form this year, which has been disappointing, to say the least.
$7,000: Paul Casey ($7,500) – Plain and simple, you are outside of your mind to play Paul Casey this week. Despite his solidness when he plays, he hasn’t played a tournament (though he has WD’d from many) since THE PLAYERS in early March and has been fighting injuries since. Now, you throw in his move to LIV Golf hanging over his head and I just don’t see how you can expect even a veteran like Casey to come out and compete with the best players in the world.
Open Championship: Best DraftKings golf lineup
- Rory McIlroy ($11,100)
- Shane Lowry ($9,300)
- Tony Finau ($8,400)
- Seamus Power ($7,400)
- Jordan Smith ($7,200)
- Thomas Detry ($6,600)
Getting my top plays from every pricing tier into this lineup obviously means that I’m confident in it. Moreover, I do enjoy the fact that Smith and Detry could be nice pivots in their respective ranges from guys who will be more popular, though that’s less of a concern when you dip into the $7K and $6K ranges.
The linchpin for this lineup is Seamus Power, but that feels good given his form. He was T9 at the PGA Championship, T12 at the US Open and most recently finished T25 at the Travelers and T30 at the Irish Open. He’s been playing extremely well overall this season but still flying under the radar. The Old Course should suit what he does well and round this lineup into form on DraftKings.