Daily Fantasy Golf Expert PGA Picks This Week

The PGA stops in Sandwich, England, this week for the British Open. This event was canceled in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions, so Shane Lowry has remained the defending champion from his 2019 win in Ireland. This year the event will be played at Royal St. George’s Golf Club, a par 70 that measures just over 7,200 yards and was last seen on the British Open rotation in 2011. Darren Clark won as a complete dark horse that season at the age of 42; he and Ben Curtis (2003) being the last two winners of the British Open at this venue suggests that this course may not cater to just the most elite ball strikers. As always with majors, the field will be chock full of the best players in the world — though a handful have had to withdraw recently — making finding the DFS golf strategy extremely important when making daily fantasy golf picks on DraftKings and FanDuel.

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St. George’s is a shorter course, and its vicinity to the sea certainly will make it volatile given how quickly winds can change. Rain is expected early in the week but should mostly stop by Thursday. Winds are expected to be over 20 mph on the weekend, which could make things extra difficult given that this venue has some of the largest pot bunkers of all the British Open courses. Age usually prevails here, and the more experience one has playing these kinds of venues will often determine what kind of success is possible at this major.

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Royal St. George’s Stats and Info

Par 70, 7,204 yards; will be played as the British Open host for the 15th time this season and was last seen in 2011 and 2003.
Contains 11 par 4’s that measure in between 400 and 500 yards; the most popular grouping is 400 and 450 yards, making length less of an issue than normal.
The field had some of the worst greens in regulation in the British Open rotation when it was last used in 2011 and 2003.

Be sure to check out today’s PGA Strategy Show, live at 1 p.m. ET for expert advice on the British Open DFS strategy and daily fantasy golf picks for DraftKings and FanDuel!

Daily Fantasy Golf Picks for DraftKings & FanDuel

*Grades are ordered DraftKings, FanDuel. Initial grade indicates a player’s strength of output for the week with the value grade indicating their strength as a play in relation to their salary.

Xander Schauffele: Grades: A+, A Values: A, A

Xander Schauffele enters the British Open having finished 14th or better in five of his last six starts. He has had an eventful season that includes a near win at Augusta and runner-up finishes at Phoenix and the Farmers. He has looked very sharp in his last two starts as well, as he posted a seventh at the U.S. Open and a 10th last week at the Scottish Open. The run up to British Open could not have gone better for Schauffele, who will be playing in the event for the fourth time this year and was second at this event in 2018, just his second appearance.

From a form perspective, Schauffele appears like he is peaking at just the right time. His ball striking has been phenomenal in his last two starts, as he gained over five strokes on approach alone at both the U.S. Open and the Memorial. One of the steadier players off the tee and also very capable on the greens, he enters this Open with something to prove, as he has gone winless on tour since his 2019 Tournament of Champions triumph. In Awesemo’s Golfer Projections Schauffele has the second-best pure points projection and the best value score of anyone above $10,000 on DraftKings. He is discounted compared to the other elite studs and is a high-end target here for those looking for the balanced daily fantasy golf approach this week.

The Stats:

Third at the Masters and seventh at the U.S. Open this year; will be playing the British Open for the fourth time in his career and landed a second at this event in 2018.
Ranks sixth in strokes gained putting over the last 50 rounds and is 20th in strokes gained on approach over the last 24 rounds; has gained five strokes or more on approach in his last two PGA starts.

Projected PGA DFS Ownership: DraftKings: 17.8%

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Webb Simpson: Grades: A, A Values: A, A

Webb Simpson is likely going to be a polarizing figure this week. His salary is down to $8,300 on DraftKings, which marks a season low for him. There is a reason for the discount here, though, and that is due to both his lack of play and lack of results since posting a 12th at the Masters in April. Simpson has only teed it up four times since Augusta, and his last two starts have resulted in missed cuts. While gamers can forgive the missed cut at the long Torrey Pines, his lack of play and results after that event do not inspire confidence.

Still, Simpson ranks 11th in strokes gained around the green and 22nd in strokes gained putting over the last 50 rounds. He should be very well suited to the tricky par 70 that is Royal St. George’s, a course that has rewarded a couple of light-hitting veterans in the past. From a British Open perspective, Simpson has made the cut in this event in five straight starts as well, which inspires more confidence at this rock-bottom price. His price makes him a glaring value on Awesemo, where he has the seventh-best points projection despite being 18th in salary and the second-best value score of anyone in the field.

The Stats:

Eleventh in strokes gained around the green over the last 50 rounds; has made the cut in five straight British Open appearances.
Has not missed three cuts in a row on tour since 2009.

Projected PGA DFS Ownership: DraftKings: 7.8%

Awesemo's Top Golfer Tool is an Ace Since golf performances are largely uncorrelated between one golfer and the next, aside from weather impacts, a good way to view a PGA DFS lineup is as a parlay, where you have to hit all 6 picks to hit. The Awesemo Top Golfer Tool gives you the probabilities that each golfer will finish top 6, as well as their 25%, 50%,and 75% results as a benchmark for how you can expect each golfer to perform at the tournament.

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Rickie Fowler

This event is one where veteran experience and savvy often pays off; seven of the last nine winners of this have been 32 or older. Enter Rickie Fowler, who fits both these veteran criteria and is one of the more underrated British Open players of his era. In 10 previous British Open appearances Fowler has only missed the cut at this event once and has career-best placing of fifth (2011) and second (2014). The fifth from 2011 also came (interestingly enough) at this same venue in Royal St. George’s, where he was playing in just his second Open.

While his form has been spotty the last two years, Fowler has been better of late and comes in having made three of his last four cuts on the PGA. That includes an eighth at the year’s second major on Kiawah Island in May, and he was one short putt on 18 away from a top-five there. With his irons showing better of late and his scoring increasing, he looks great as a daily fantasy golf pick at under 10% ownership.

Projected PGA DFS Ownership: DraftKings: 7.7%

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DraftKings Top Three Under 5%

I am targeting three players here that will end up under (or close to) 5% ownership in bigger DraftKings GPPs. We are searching for boom/bust players here with an almost 100% focus on upside.

Jason Day ($7,700)

Day underwent a putter change at the Travelers, and it has really paid off for him. He has gained over three strokes putting in his last two starts (10th and 14th). Obviously his back issue is a major concern, but he looks to be improving in that regard and has gained strokes ball striking in his last two events as well despite not being 100%. He could be under 2% owned in big GPPs this week and has a solid British Open course history.

Russell Henley ($7,200)

Henley has finished 19th or better in his last three starts, including an 11th last week at the John Deere Classic and a 13th at the U.S. Open. He has gained over 3.3 strokes on approach in each of his last three starts and will be playing in his seventh British Open.

Kevin Kisner ($6,900)

Kisner has really started to pick up his game of late. He has grabbed back-to-back top-10 finishes on the PGA and looks to have finally gained the confidence in his long game. He ranks seventh in strokes gained putting over the last 50 rounds, has made the cut in four straight British Opens and finished second at this major in 2018.

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