This week, golf’s oldest major championship returns to the home of golf.
With it, comes the greatest players in the game. Rory McIlroy may be sitting at home watching this year, but there are still plenty of big names and big stories this week in Scotland.
And best of all — you’ve got a chance to win $1 million just by picking your roster at DraftKings.com.
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With major championships, the scoring is lower which means fantasy points are at a premium. You have to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Usually, majors don’t reward guys no one has ever heard of. Sure, there have been moments in the past where players have come out of nowhere to win, but for the most part golf’s toughest tests reward the best of the best.
If you look at the official world golf rankings of the last 11 major champions, you’ll see that 7 of them were in the top 12 at the time.
With that in mind, you’re going to want to focus on taking the favorites. You’re going to have to pay for them, but it’s imperative that you have at least two on your roster.
Related: Do Your Fantasy Homework
One thing that makes picking your roster for a major easier than most weeks are the amateurs in the field.
There are always a number of them who qualify and who have (basically) a zero percent chance of winning the tournament. You can eliminate them from any consideration, no matter how cheap they are. They’re (likely) going to miss the cut and will cost you in the long run.
Much like the Masters that invites all past winners to play, the Open will feature most of their past champions from the last 40 years: Don’t. Pick. Them.
Nick Faldo, Todd Hamilton, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Mark Calcavecchia, Mark O’Meara, Curtis Strange, John Daly, Darren Clarke and Sandy Lyle are basically kryptonite for your roster. Avoid them at all costs.
Related: John Deere Classic Fantasy Recap
In fact, other than guys like Tiger, Phil, Louis Oosthuizen and Ernie Els, the only past Open Champions worth taking a look at are Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson. I don’t think they’ve got great chances, but they could certainly make the cut and provide a solid return on their cheap price.
Ultimately, the key this week will be having the right two big names and the correct little guy. We saw it last week with Tom Gillis, who finished runner-up at the John Deere Classic after being drafted by just 0.1% of all DraftKings players.
You can’t account for luck like that, so you’ve really got to do your homework on the rest. Just don’t be fooled or swayed by ghosts of Open’s past — pick the guys carrying some momentum into St. Andrews and you’ll be safe.
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