PGA First Look: The Open Championship

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The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

It’s hard to believe that the year’s third major is already upon us. Even though the PGA Tour season is technically year round, it seems to go by so fast once we leave Augusta National. The majors are everyone’s favorite, from the golfers themselves to those of us that play fantasy golf. They bring the best talent in the world to compete for the most coveted trophies and consequently, we get the biggest prize pools in DFS. Much like actual golfers, DFS players are trying to find their form right in time for the next major. This year marks the 146th edition of the Open Championship. It will be held at Royal Birkdale, which is located just north of Liverpool. The venue has already hosted the Open nine times and is always one of the favorites for golfers and viewers. The last time the venue hosted this championship was in 2008, when Padraig Harrington outlasted the field in one of the most difficult championships ever played. He won with a score of three over par. The next closest score was Ian Poulter, who shot seven over par for the week.

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As for the course itself, Royal Birkdale is a Par 70 links course that measures 7,156 yards. It is a tough test of golf that is meant to challenge every aspect of the game. The course is known for its tight fairways that are much flatter than you will see on most links courses. Rather than playing through the dunes, golfers will play between the dunes, which leads to fewer blind shots. Don’t let the flat fairways fool you though, this can be an extremely difficult golf course. Accuracy off the tee is at a premium this week. Not only is the rough penal, but there are sand dunes and fairway bunkers that are basically hazards. If you aren’t hitting fairways, you may find yourself chipping out or laying up in hopes to give yourself a shot at making par with a good approach. While you certainly need to find the fairways, most people describe this as more of a second shot golf course, so approaches will be critical. There are only two par fives on the course and both are located on the back nine, which should create a fun finish on Sunday.

As for the type of golfer that we are looking for, a strong links record and a strong Open record is important. Most of the golfers in the field have yet to play this course in a major championship setting, but looking at past Open Championship results is still beneficial. While we prefer accuracy off the tee, many golfers will choose to club down off the tee on a number of holes, so don’t automatically rule out the bombers. A strong approach game is critical here and I always like to look at par four scoring when we are dealing with a Par 70 golf course. I will also be looking at golfers that can avoid the big number (bogey avoidance), as par is often a very good score. And finally, golfers that can scramble will be at a major advantage this week, especially if the wind picks up. I prefer to look at strokes gained around the green, but scrambling is a good statistic to look at as well.

I’ve already mentioned the weather a few times and now I’m going to spend a whole paragraph talking about it. When we talk about links golf, we automatically know that weather is going to play a pivotal role in deciding the winning score and in deciding which wave of golfers will have an advantage. It’s basically useless to look at weather early in the week, but make sure to study the wind and rain in the hours leading up to lineup lock. Golfers do not go off on split tees this week, which will create an even bigger time difference than we are used to seeing in the AM/PM waves. Odds are, there will be one wave that has a big edge over the other, even if we don’t know which way it will go on Wednesday. In past editions of the Open at Royal Birkdale, we’ve seen the winning score range from eight under to three over par, which goes to show how big of an impact the weather can and will make.

Before we take a look at get to the salaries and Open Championship history, I wanted to note a few trends that I found interesting. The Open Championship tends to favor experience and that’s clearly evident when we look at the past winners. Eight of the last ten winners have been at least 35 years of age and four of the last six have been at least 40 years of age. Of the four major championships, the average age of the winner at the Open is significantly higher than the other three. Experience in terms of age is important, as is experience at the Open. Of the last five winners, all five had a finish of sixth place or better in a previous Open Championship. I am going to put a little less stock into this one, but since 2010, every winner has played in an event the week before the Open. And finally, it’s worth noting that five of the last seven winners at the Open had already won an event earlier in that season.

Cut Rule:Top 70 and ties will move on after the first two rounds. There is no MDF rule in effect this week.

Recent Winners of this Event:Henrik Stenson (2016), Zach Johnson (2015), Rory McIlroy (2014), Phil Mickelson (2013), Ernie Els (2012)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Driving Accuracy
3) Par 4 Scoring
4) Bogey Avoidance
5) Scrambling (or Strokes Gained Around the Green)

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2012-2016)

Golfer DK Salary FD Salary FDRFT Salary OWGR Odds DK Odds FD Odds FDRFT Odds Cuts 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Dustin Johnson $12,000 $10,400 $18,400 1 16 0% 0% 0% 5/5 9 49 12 32 9
Jordan Spieth $11,600 $10,100 $18,000 3 16 0% 0% 0% 4/4 30 4 36 44 500
Jon Rahm $11,400 $10,000 $17,500 7 18 -33% -33% 0% 1/1 59 500 500 500 500
Rory McIlroy $11,000 $9,800 $18,000 4 20 -50% -50% -200% 3/4 5 500 1 116 60
Sergio Garcia $10,600 $9,400 $17,100 5 19 0% 17% 0% 4/5 5 6 2 21 84
Justin Rose $10,300 $8,700 $16,800 12 20 -17% 22% -17% 3/5 22 6 23 97 84
Jason Day $10,000 $9,200 $16,500 6 34 -71% -71% -9% 4/4 22 4 58 32 500
Tommy Fleetwood $9,800 $8,100 $16,600 14 24 -13% 36% 0% 0/3 101 81 116 500 500
Henrik Stenson $9,600 $8,700 $16,600 8 27 -11% -11% -11% 4/4 1 40 39 2 500
Hideki Matsuyama $9,500 $9,000 $16,800 2 22 20% 0% -33% 3/4 111 18 39 6 500
Rickie Fowler $9,200 $9,600 $16,800 10 16 73% 40% 50% 4/5 46 30 2 116 31
Brooks Koepka $9,000 $8,500 $16,000 11 34 -8% -8% -8% 2/3 500 10 67 132 500
Phil Mickelson $8,700 $7,600 $15,700 26 42 -15% 21% -7% 4/5 2 20 23 1 146
Adam Scott $8,500 $8,600 $16,000 15 29 21% 0% 8% 5/5 43 10 5 3 2
Thomas Pieters $8,400 $7,400 $15,400 30 50 -33% 9% -18% 1/1 30 500 500 500 500
Louis Oosthuizen $8,300 $7,800 $14,900 23 45 -6% 0% 15% 3/4 143 2 36 500 19
Justin Thomas $8,200 $8,300 $15,100 13 64 -35% -77% -21% 1/1 53 500 500 500 500
Paul Casey $8,100 $7,800 $15,500 16 35 22% 18% 7% 2/4 122 74 47 500 146
Branden Grace $8,000 $7,500 $15,500 35 48 5% 10% -20% 5/5 72 20 36 64 77
Tyrrell Hatton $8,000 $7,400 $14,500 24 106 -100% -73% -52% 1/4 5 93 131 150 500
Shane Lowry $7,900 $7,400 $14,600 72 70 -24% -18% -8% 2/4 101 81 9 32 500
Patrick Reed $7,900 $7,900 $14,700 22 66 -19% -56% -14% 2/3 12 20 110 500 500
Marc Leishman $7,800 $6,800 $14,900 34 48 22% 47% 10% 3/5 53 2 5 85 84
Alexander Noren $7,800 $8,000 $15,200 9 43 30% -7% 11% 2/2 46 500 500 500 9
Lee Westwood $7,700 $7,000 $14,700 57 75 -8% 7% -23% 4/5 22 49 73 3 45
Martin Kaymer $7,700 $7,300 $14,300 61 89 -36% -36% -26% 4/5 36 12 70 32 109
Zach Johnson $7,600 $6,500 $13,900 71 84 -15% 23% -3% 5/5 12 1 47 6 9
Bernd Wiesberger $7,600 $6,500 $13,200 29 128 -52% -3% -3% 2/4 122 68 121 64 500
Ian Poulter $7,500 $6,200 $13,700 78 76 3% 38% 13% 2/4 500 107 73 3 9
Si Woo Kim $7,500 $5,700 $13,000 32 193 -110% 2% -49% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Matthew Fitzpatrick $7,400 $7,200 $14,400 40 85 -3% -23% -23% 1/2 138 500 500 44 500
J.B. Holmes $7,400 $6,800 $12,900 52 132 -35% -24% 2% 1/3 3 107 121 500 500
Francesco Molinari $7,300 $6,900 $13,400 19 100 -12% -16% -6% 5/5 36 40 15 9 39
Charl Schwartzel $7,300 $7,000 $14,100 21 81 12% 0% -4% 4/5 18 68 7 15 84
Matt Kuchar $7,200 $7,500 $14,100 18 55 40% -5% 25% 5/5 46 58 54 15 9
Padraig Harrington $7,200 $5,600 $13,300 134 62 37% 67% 41% 4/5 36 20 131 54 39
Emiliano Grillo $7,100 $6,000 $12,700 46 183 -51% -10% -12% 1/1 12 500 500 500 500
Bubba Watson $7,100 $6,100 $12,700 49 181 -49% -12% -10% 3/5 39 107 89 32 23
Andy Sullivan $7,000 $6,400 $13,300 66 100 8% 18% 3% 2/2 12 30 500 500 500
Russell Henley $7,000 $5,700 $13,000 53 170 -36% 15% -29% 2/4 111 20 143 73 500
Andrew Johnston $7,000 $5,800 $12,500 112 151 -28% 14% 15% 1/1 8 500 500 500 500
Thorbjorn Olesen $7,000 $5,300 $12,900 83 141 -18% 43% -7% 2/4 122 500 64 116 9
Jimmy Walker $7,000 $6,700 $12,600 38 201 -62% -75% -19% 2/4 130 30 26 85 500
Steve Stricker $6,900 $6,500 $12,200 75 126 9% 0% 43% 2/2 4 500 500 500 23
Soren Kjeldsen $6,900 $5,800 $12,500 76 137 -2% 22% 24% 1/2 9 118 500 500 500
Pat Perez $6,900 $5,500 $11,900 42 282 -93% -21% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Ryan Moore $6,900 $6,200 $12,300 44 242 -64% -60% -11% 3/4 46 107 12 32 500
Brandt Snedeker $6,800 $7,100 $13,800 33 81 38% -11% 3% 4/5 22 93 58 11 3
Tony Finau $6,800 $6,900 $12,600 64 186 -21% -81% -9% 1/1 18 500 500 500 500
Webb Simpson $6,800 $5,600 $12,200 59 246 -52% -9% -4% 3/4 39 40 137 64 500
Chris Wood $6,800 $6,500 $13,700 63 114 19% 3% -22% 2/2 500 500 23 64 500
Gary Woodland $6,800 $6,000 $12,300 48 250 -54% -45% -14% 4/4 12 58 39 500 34
Brendan Steele $6,800 $5,700 $12,400 51 233 -40% -8% -10% 0/2 101 500 140 500 500
Martin Laird $6,800 $5,700 $12,400 89 278 -71% -32% -34% 2/2 500 500 500 44 72
Russell Knox $6,800 $5,800 $12,400 47 236 -48% -22% -16% 1/2 30 93 500 500 500
Peter Uihlein $6,800 $5,900 $12,900 88 167 -8% 4% -21% 0/1 500 500 148 500 500
Adam Hadwin $6,800 $5,900 $12,000 54 272 -67% -48% -7% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Brandon Stone $6,800 $5,300 $12,000 94 354 -115% -29% -37% 0/1 122 500 500 500 500
Daniel Berger $6,700 $7,100 $13,400 20 86 44% -22% 6% 0/1 500 127 500 500 500
Kevin Kisner $6,700 $6,700 $12,900 25 136 25% -22% -2% 1/2 76 81 500 500 500
Rafael Cabrera-Bello $6,700 $7,000 $13,600 17 66 59% 17% 29% 4/5 39 40 73 21 81
Ross Fisher $6,700 $6,200 $13,300 43 96 41% 22% 5% 2/4 101 68 89 500 45
Byeong-Hun An $6,700 $6,000 $12,900 60 143 20% 8% -9% 2/3 59 93 26 500 500
Charley Hoffman $6,700 $6,200 $12,900 39 146 17% -9% -14% 2/3 77 138 67 500 500
Kevin Chappell $6,700 $5,900 $12,600 28 189 -2% -11% -13% 1/1 53 500 500 500 500
Bryson DeChambeau $6,700 $5,400 $12,600 81 187 0% 20% -11% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Hideto Tanihara $6,700 $5,800 $12,900 50 185 3% 2% -33% 0/1 122 500 500 500 500
Joost Luiten $6,700 $5,200 $12,100 80 235 -19% 18% 3% 1/4 101 93 151 500 45
Dylan Frittelli $6,700 $5,200 $12,000 82 268 -31% 9% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Jason Dufner $6,600 $6,600 $12,700 31 146 31% -23% 4% 5/5 22 58 51 26 31
Bill Haas $6,600 $6,700 $12,600 37 135 39% -19% 19% 3/5 9 127 51 85 19
Kyle Stanley $6,600 $5,900 $12,400 58 195 11% -15% -2% 1/2 500 500 500 85 39
Brian Harman $6,600 $6,100 $12,600 27 151 27% -4% 4% 1/2 500 81 26 500 500
Charles Howell $6,600 $5,200 $12,300 55 223 7% 24% 0% 1/1 500 500 500 500 64
Ryan Fox $6,600 $5,200 $11,900 95 180 23% 36% 33% 1/1 500 49 500 500 500
Wesley Bryan $6,600 $5,200 $11,300 36 277 -16% 5% 19% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Anirban Lahiri $6,600 $5,300 $12,000 67 253 -7% 6% 0% 3/4 68 30 116 500 31
Richie Ramsay $6,600 $5,400 $11,900 169 269 -11% -5% 3% 2/4 82 68 500 58 84
Pablo Larrazabal $6,600 $5,100 $12,100 102 317 -36% 1% -32% 1/3 500 81 131 500 45
Fabrizio Zanotti $6,600 $5,200 $11,900 97 361 -50% -24% -31% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Kevin Na $6,500 $5,700 $11,900 70 300 -14% -48% -15% 3/4 22 58 54 500 141
Xander Schauffele $6,500 $5,600 $12,300 84 228 19% 1% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Callum Shinkwin $6,500 $4,900 $11,900 158 234 15% 38% 14% 0/1 101 500 500 500 500
Sung Kang $6,500 $5,000 $11,600 87 281 -4% 18% 10% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Thongchai Jaidee $6,500 $5,400 $11,600 100 312 -15% -26% 0% 5/5 22 65 39 32 77
David Lipsky $6,500 $5,200 $11,900 119 317 -16% -11% -18% 1/1 500 58 500 500 500
Danny Willett $6,500 $5,400 $12,100 41 293 -12% -23% -26% 3/4 53 6 89 15 500
Robert Streb $6,500 $5,200 $11,600 139 322 -19% -13% -3% 1/2 82 18 500 500 500
Ernie Els $6,500 $5,100 $11,800 417 282 -6% 10% 3% 3/5 82 65 131 26 1
Paul Waring $6,500 $4,900 $11,200 246 351 -25% 9% 0% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Jamie Lovemark $6,400 $5,400 $11,700 85 217 30% 14% 30% 0/1 147 500 500 500 500
Billy Horschel $6,400 $5,500 $12,300 45 233 25% 3% -5% 1/4 130 30 89 116 500
William McGirt $6,400 $5,300 $11,600 56 291 1% -13% 3% 0/1 82 500 500 500 500
Cameron Smith $6,400 $5,300 $12,000 161 279 9% -4% -11% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Alexander Bjork $6,400 $5,000 $11,400 116 336 -8% 4% 0% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Hao-Tong Li $6,400 $5,200 $11,800 107 287 2% -5% 0% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Roberto Castro $6,400 $4,900 $10,600 130 519 -27% -5% 3% 0/1 500 500 143 500 500
David Horsey $6,400 $5,000 $10,900 124 356 -14% -2% 4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Mike Lorenzo-Vera $6,400 $4,600 $10,900 150 383 -20% 13% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Austin Connelly $6,400 $4,700 $10,700 524 562 -31% 2% -5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Stewart Cink $6,300 $5,500 $11,600 171 253 25% -9% 18% 3/4 500 20 47 26 101
Alexander Levy $6,300 $5,500 $11,900 79 286 13% -26% -10% 0/1 500 81 500 500 500
Sean O’Hair $6,300 $5,400 $11,900 74 271 22% -7% 1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Matthew Southgate $6,300 $5,200 $11,800 172 284 14% -2% 2% 1/2 12 500 148 500 500
David Drysdale $6,300 $5,100 $11,200 263 333 4% -1% 4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Scott Hend $6,300 $5,100 $11,200 106 379 -6% -11% -6% 1/2 72 93 500 500 500
Andrew Dodt $6,300 $5,000 $11,400 154 339 2% 3% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Richard Bland $6,300 $4,900 $11,000 145 352 -1% 8% 4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Jeunghun Wang $6,300 $5,200 $11,100 65 369 -5% -25% -2% 0/1 111 500 500 500 500
Younghan Song $6,300 $4,600 $10,700 115 565 -20% 3% -7% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Paul Lawrie $6,300 $4,800 $10,800 350 524 -16% 0% -4% 4/5 63 40 140 26 34
Kyung-tae Kim $6,200 $4,900 $10,700 103 490 -1% -2% 0% 2/2 53 500 500 73 500
Matthieu Pavon $6,200 $4,800 $11,100 133 343 11% 15% 4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Julian Suri $6,200 $4,800 $11,000 218 381 4% 8% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Jhonattan Vegas $6,200 $5,000 $10,900 73 393 2% -8% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Maverick McNealy $6,200 $4,800 $10,700 462 1% 5% 2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Aaron Baddeley $6,200 $5,000 $10,900 152 467 0% -10% -4% 1/1 500 500 500 500 69
Yusaku Miyazato $6,200 $5,100 $10,600 126 510 -2% -19% 4% 0/2 111 500 110 500 500
Sebastian Munoz $6,200 $5,100 $10,700 562 -6% -24% -5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Yuta Ikeda $6,200 $5,000 $10,600 62 517 -3% -13% 3% 1/2 72 118 500 500 500
Shiv Kapur $6,200 $4,900 $10,700 300 531 -5% -6% -4% 1/1 500 500 500 73 500
Michael Hendry $6,200 $4,600 $10,600 110 648 -11% 1% -4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Jbe Kruger $6,200 $4,700 $10,600 598 -9% -1% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Prayad Marksaeng $6,200 $4,500 $10,500 216 700 -13% 5% 0% 0/1 500 500 500 500 141
Phachara Khongwatmai $6,200 $4,600 $10,600 196 648 -10% 2% -3% 0/1 130 500 500 500 500
Mark Foster $6,200 $4,500 $10,600 560 683 -12% 7% -5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Darren Fichardt $6,200 $4,600 $10,600 234 695 -13% -1% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Tom Lehman $6,100 $4,600 $10,500 769 0% -2% -1% 1/3 500 118 500 58 101
Harry Ellis $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 952 -5% -1% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Paul Broadhurst $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 881 -2% 3% -2% 0/1 500 500 500 500 151
Adam Bland $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 279 924 -3% 1% -4% 0/1 500 127 500 500 500
Chan Kim $6,100 $5,000 $10,500 170 857 -1% -26% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Connor Syme $6,100 $4,600 $10,500 976 -10% -13% -11% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Shaun Norris $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 277 929 -4% 1% -5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Toby Tree $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 627 905 -2% 2% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Ashley Hall $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 373 1000 -12% -7% -13% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Luca Cianchetti $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 940 -5% 0% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
John Daly $6,100 $4,600 $10,500 957 -7% -10% -8% 1/4 122 81 89 500 81
Stuart Manley $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 520 964 -8% -3% -9% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Laurie Canter $6,100 $4,500 $10,400 852 1000 -12% -7% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Robert Dinwiddie $6,100 $4,500 $10,500 752 990 -11% -6% -12% 0/1 500 138 500 500 500
Matthew Griffin $6,100 $4,700 $10,400 464 964 -8% -14% 3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Giwhan Kim $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 561 952 6% -1% 5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Yikeun Chang $6,000 $4,500 $10,500 364 975 2% -4% -10% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Darren Clarke $6,000 $5,000 $10,400 1025 1095 -3% -44% -4% 3/5 30 93 26 21 120
Ryan McCarthy $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1226 -5% -12% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Haydn McCullen $6,000 $4,600 $10,400 1024 -2% -17% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Kent Bulle $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 632 1155 -4% -11% -5% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Joe Dean $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1100 -3% -10% -4% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Nick McCarthy $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1022 1500 -8% -15% -8% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Mark O’Meara $6,000 $4,700 $10,400 1476 -7% -26% -8% 3/3 63 78 500 58 500
Alfie Plant $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1000 0% -7% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Todd Hamilton $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1595 -8% -16% -9% 1/5 89 147 121 73 109
Adam Hodkinson $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1238 -6% -13% -6% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
David Duval $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1429 -6% -13% -7% 1/4 500 49 131 126 101
Sandy Lyle $6,000 $4,500 $10,400 1714 -9% -16% -10% 1/5 154 107 154 84 109

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend

Term Description
Site Odds The percentage differential between a golfer’s salary rank and odds rank. The higher the %, the better.
OWGR Official World Golf Ranking
Cuts Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons.
2012 – 2016 Columns Course history at this event in the last five seasons.

About the Author

Notorious
Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master’s Degree from the University of Utah. When he’s not busy providing content, he’s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on Twitter – @RG_Notorious