Now that it is time for the last major championship of the year, a lot big-money daily fantasy golf contests are on the docket. With three different buy-in levels to choose from this week, winning each of them will take different lineups and unique building strategies. The British Open brings out the mental side of this game, more so than any other major, as elements beyond the players’ control always tend to be at their climax here. For this article, I will give a few stats from previous millionaire makers (including The U.S. Open), which featured the same buy-in levels. In addition, I will add my top leverage picks in each pricing category as well as some of Awesemo’s expert DFS golf projections for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Choosing the buy-in levels for millionaire makers will change the build strategy. Beating over 250,000 other entries will take a more optimal lineup and a few very low-owned golfers. Getting a perfect 6-for-6 at the British Open is tough but rewarding given the large number of big names in the field and volatility at its peak.
Awesemo’s Fantasy Golf Ownership: Top 10
(As of 12 p.m. ET Tuesday)
Click here for the full field and most up to do date projection
Millionaire Maker PGA Facts & Figures
Incredibly, the same lineup and person won the $10 and $100 millionaire maker with the same lineup in the last U.S. Open. Instead, the $10 to the $4,444 and how different the winning lineups were are compared below. It amplifies the point of building differently for specific contests. Also, the U.S. Open bucked the trend and saw plenty of higher-owned golfers having a good week. The winning lineup in the $10 had a total ownership of less than 35% for the PGA Championship.
The 2020 PGA Championship was the lowest total ownership a lineup had in the last 12 large-field millionaire maker contests in major tournaments. It was the lowest by over 15%. The U.S. Open, on the other hand, brought the average back to around 77% for the total ownership, with one of the higher-owned lineups touching close to 100%. However, with two golfers under 10% owned and $500 left on the table, it was still a unique lineup. It also did not have Jon Rahm, the winner of the event.
Fantasy Golf Picks This Week for the British Open
Studs: $9,000 and Above
- 12 Golfers
As the case has been on DraftKings for majors, 12 golfers roam the top of the pricing board. Of those 12, only one is trending to be owned below 10%, and he is currently projected at 9.1%: Rory McIlroy. Rahm’s form is the opposite of McIlroy’s — maybe a little too predictable, but not anything great. No matter the event, he has been around the leaderboard for a few months now. Xander Schauffele checks in next, as many think this could finally be his time. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas both are projected in that area as well given their salary and expected performance. Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Tyrrell Hatton and Collin Morikawa all come in with mild ownership between 12 and 17%.
Don’t miss Jason Rouslin’s Top 5 PGA DFS Sleeper Picks for the British Open at Royal St. George’s this week with players like Justin Rose and Adam Scott.
Mid-Range ($8,900-$7,500)
- 20 golfers
The number of withdrawals hurt this section, which usually has 23 to 25 golfers in it. That spreads out ownership to the point that few of them are going to be under 5%, if any at all. The highest owned will be Patrick Cantlay, who might be the best value on DraftKings this week. He, along with Patrick Reed, are trending between 15 and 20% owned. Matthew Fitzpatrick is not far behind on the heels of a second-place finish at last week’s Scottish Open. Others that will be owned between 10 and 15% in this range include:
- Paul Casey
- Scottie Scheffler
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Shane Lowry
- Cameron Smith
- Marc Leishman
Of these golfers, Scheffler projects the highest with 48.5 points. Click here to see the full field.
Then the rest of the golfers priced in this range will be between 5 and 10% owned. The Awesemo Ownership projections show Phil Mickelson coming in at 3.1% owned, but public perception should move him high as it did for the U.S. Open. He will come in around 5% as well.
Top Against the Grain Fantasy Golf Picks
The 5-7% ownership range is what won someone two millionaire makers at the U.S. Open with the same lineup, and it could prove to be pivotal again here this week. The best candidates from this range are Adam Scott and Lee Westwood.
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The Rest ($7,400 and Below)
- 120-plus Golfers
Of the 120 golfers left in the field, there are a handful of bigger names being talked about way more than others, both at the top and bottom of this price range. At the top Daniel Berger will draw plenty of attention, as will Harris English. The latter is coming in off of a win at the Travelers Championship, a third at the U.S. Open and a 14th the week before that at the Palmetto Championships. Branden Grace is another name that is being talked about a lot this week, as he looks to put a cap on a great comeback season by winning the major in which he holds the record for lowest 18-hole score: 63. Rickie Fowler and Robert MacIntyre are also trending towards that 10% mark.
Then at the bottom of the salary list this week comes Sam Burns, who likely had a pricing error. That should lead to at least 10% ownership, especially in the higher dollars as gamers try to cram in two or even three stars into their lineups.
After these six, however, there is a bit of a drop to the next batch of golfers that are going to be between 3 and 7%:
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Garrick Higgo
- Jason Kokrak
- Ian Poulter
- Alex Noren
- Corey Conners
- Ryan Palmer
- Stewart Cink
- Kevin Kisner
- Charley Hoffman
Be sure to check out how all of the Awesemo experts are ranking these golfers in the Pro Plays tool by clicking here.
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