This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
The Open Championship
Course: St. Andrews Golf Links (7,313 yards, par 72)
Purse: $14,000,000
Winner: $2,500,000 and 600 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
The 150th edition of the oldest championship in the sport takes place exactly where it should, at St. Andrews. No matter the weather conditions, scoring or who takes home the Claret Jug, we are primed for an outstanding week. There is an extra buzz in the air with Tiger Woods returning to the home of golf, a place where he has won twice before. Who knows if this will indeed be his last go-around at St. Andrews in the Open Championship.
Apart from Tiger, there are still player storylines a plenty. Can Rory McIlroy finally get back into the major championship winner circle? Can Scottie Scheffler bookend the major season with wins at Augusta and St. Andrews. Can top players like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, or Jon Rahm add to their major championship total. Will anyone be able to follow Matt Fitzpatrick's lead at Brookline and finally break through at a major like Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Smith, or Patrick Cantlay. And where do all the LIV Golf players shake out on the leaderboard at week's end?
The word from those on property at St. Andrews is that this is the firmest they have ever seen the course play. That should be an absolute treat for the viewer watching balls roll out on drives over 400 yards and seeing unpredictable bounces coming into the greens. It's hard to predict the weather in Scotland, but it looks like it should be favorable for the most part, which is unfortunate to many who enjoy seeing a little carnage. The winning score in the last three Open's at St. Andrews has been between 14-and-16-under-par.
Recent Champions
2021 – Collin Morikawa (Royal St. George's)
2020 – None
2019 – Shane Lowry (Royal Portrush)
2018 – Francesco Molinari (Carnoustie)
2017 – Jordan Spieth (Royal Birkdale)
2016 – Henrik Stenson (Royal Troon)
2015 – Zach Johnson (St. Andrews)
2014 – Rory McIlroy (Royal Liverpool)
2013 – Phil Mickelson (Muirfield)
2012 – Ernie Els (Royal Lytham & St. Annes)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Off-the-Tee
- Proximity from 50-125 yards
- SG: Putting
- SG: Around-the-Green
Champion's Profile
It's no secret that St. Andrews can be one of the most scorable courses on the Open rota. There are a number of par-4's that will play very short this week due to wind direction and very firm fairways. There is also virtually no rough out there, so really the key is just going to be crossing your fingers that you don't get a bad hop in the fairway and end up in a bunker. This is really one of the only major championship courses where players will be free to wail away with driver and get it up as close to the putting surface as possible. From there wedge play is going to be everything. I'm usually not a huge approach proximity zones person, but players are going to have so many approaches in the 50-125 yard range this week that it definitely deserves a look. Greens in regulation is going to be a pretty pointless stat this week given the size of these putting surfaces. Being dialed in with your speed will be important to try to avoid giving yourself a lot of 4-8 footers for par on your second putt. Even on greens as slow as these, the gusty winds will make holing out a difficult task.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Justin Thomas ($11,700)
I mentioned how important I believe the 50-125 yard zone will be this week, and Thomas leads that stat by a full foot over the next closest player on Tour. The 29-year-old has slowly gotten better at links golf throughout his career. Thomas is excellent a playing shots through the wind, controlling distances, has good touch around the greens and can hole out with the best of them on the putting surfaces. There's nothing not to like here and his ownership might take a slight dip from where it might normally be after missing the cut when he was on the wrong side of the draw at the Scottish Open.
Jordan Spieth ($11,100)
Spieth is gaining 2.54 strokes per round on links courses since the start on 2015, which is well clear of the rest of the field over that timespan. The 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year will be trying to build that resume as one of the best American links players of all time. In 2015 he fell just shy of reaching the three-man playoff at St. Andrews. Spieth is coming off a strong showing at the Scottish Open and ranks top-25 on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green, SG: Tee-to-Green and proximity from 50-125 yards.
Will Zalatoris ($11,000)
There's a good case to be made that Zalatoris presents the best value of any player in the field. There are nine players with a higher salary that Zalatoris, who has finished T8 or better in six of his eight career majors played as a professional. Sure he doesn't have a lot of history on links courses, but clearly this 25-year-old knows how to get into contention in the biggest events. Zalatoris leads the PGA Tour in both SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. He is also 11th in SG: Off-the-Tee and 13th in proximity from 50-125 yards.
Cameron Smith ($10,900)
It kind of seems like a lot of people just forgot about Smith. All he's done is win the Tournament of Champions at 34-under-par, put on a final-round clinic at THE PLAYERS and finish T3 at The Masters. Sure, the Aussie hasn't really contended for wins since then, but he's still playing solid, with three top-15's over his last five starts. Smith ranks top five on Tour in SG: Approach, proximity from 50-125 yards, putts per hole and birdie average. He scored a top-10 at the Scottish Open last week despite a 75 in extremely challenging conditions in round two.
Longer Shots with Value
Max Homa ($9,000)
There's a case to be made that Homa is the most consistent player on the PGA Tour. So far this season he has two wins and is 17-for-19 with 12 top-25 finishes. Homa is gaining strokes in every measured category this season and is sixth in that key proximity from 50-125 yards. The California native was in contention at the Scottish Open last week, but an indifferent Sunday left him in a share of 16th place.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($8,800)
Bezuidenhout has flown under the radar for most of his career, but I think it's time we start recognizing how good of a player he is. The South African is coming off a T2 at the John Deere and a T16 at the Scottish Open the last two weeks. He now has four top-16 finishes in his last six starts. Bezuidenhout is gaining strokes in every category and ranks fifth in proximity to the hole, fifth in scrambling and 25th in one-putt percentage.
Chris Kirk ($7,900)
This is one of the lowest prices I've seen Kirk at all season and this could be a great time to take advantage of it. The 37-year-old has made his last five cuts with three top-15's in that stretch. Kirk ranks 24th in SG: Off-the-Tee, seventh in SG: Around-the-Green and fifth in proximity from 50-125 yards. He doesn't have a ton of history on links courses, but he did finish top-20 at the Open in 2014.
Jordan Smith ($7,600)
Smith has been tearing up the DP World Tour this season. In 2022 he has finished inside the top-25 in 12-of-14 starts. Smith's ball-striking has been very impressive, leading that tour in SG: Off-the-Tee and GIR percentage. He is also third in SG: Tee-to-Green and eighth in scrambling. Smith was a factor at the Scottish Open last week, but a poor final round dropped him back to a T24.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
The Open Championship is perhaps the most unpredictable tournament of the year given the ever changing weather and pot luck of bounces you can get on the fairways and greens. You are going to hit good shots that end up in bad places on these types of courses. Those that can accept the bad breaks and take advantage of the good ones will be there come Sunday. There is a decent chance that St. Andrews is reduced to a driver-wedge-putting contest this week. That's a big reason why I'm placing so much emphasis on SG: Off-the-Tee, proximity from 50-125 yards and the putting stats. This is one of the deepest fields I can remember for an Open Championship, which allows for a multitude of different ways to generate lineups. The weather forecast does not show a side of the draw that is more advantageous than the other, but that can certainly change.
