Round 4 of the Open Championship will be underway in a few hours, so let’s dive into a quick breakdown of Sunday’s Showdown slate on DraftKings.
Remember, in Round 4 will allow you to get placing bonuses for your golfers, so choosing golfers further up the leaderboard will obviously boost your chance of having a higher score.
Studs
For $9,500, it’s hard not to play Shane Lowry since he has a commanding lead in first place. He shot a bogey-free Round 3, and heads into Sunday with a four-stroke lead. Pending anything wild, it shouldn’t hard for him to hang onto the first-place bonus.
You can start your rosters with Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood ($10,400) and still have enough to almost fill out the rest of your roster with players from inside the top 12. Fleetwood has been exceptional this tournament with just two bogeys for the entire tournament. In Rounds 1-3, he gained +4.99, +4.39 and +5.07 strokes on the field.
Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Tommy Fleetwood lines up his putt during the third round of The Open Championship.
Golfers to Buy
Danny Willett ($7,300) bounced back nicely after he shot a 74 on Thursday. Since then, he gained +4.39 strokes in Round 2 and +6.07 strokes on the fiend in Round 3. At just $7,300, he’s cheap building block who is starting in eighth place.
Rickie Fowler ($8,800) is an elite player in the wind he’d fit well into any balanced builds. His 66 on Saturday was his best round of the tournament, but he’s shot under in each of his three rounds of the tournament. He’s just two strokes back from third place before things get underway.
Henrik Stenson ($8,600) is another guy I like for balanced builds. He T12, just outside of cracking the top eight. He’s one of the best links players on tour and with the wind projected to increase as the day progresses, I like targeting him here.
Golfers to Fade
J.B. Holmes ($9,000) is one of the slowest players (the slowest?) on tour and will be paired with Brooks Koepka ($10,400) who isn’t a fan of slow play, which should create an interesting dynamic. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Holmes slowly drop the leaderboard, especially since he’s historically not that great of a player in the wind, averaging just +0.56 strokes gained in the wind, per Fantasy National.
Quick Hits
- Koepka missed an abundance of short putts on Saturday, and he still found six birdies on the day. If Holmes crumbles and Fleetwood stalls out, Koepka could find his way into second place if he gets some more putts to drop.
- Dylan Frittelli ($7,900) could be a solid target with the adverse conditions. He’s averaged +1.83 strokes gained in really windy conditions. If he can shoot under par on Sunday, he should be in store for some more placing bonuses.
- On the flip side, Andrew Putnam ($7,700) is in the same range as Frittelli and Alex Noren ($7,400). Putnam has faired well so far, but there could be a reason to proceed with caution as he’s averaged -0.60 strokes gained in really windy conditions.
Good luck, and be sure to check out The Action Network if you’re looking for more golf coverage!
Note: Strokes Gained data via Data Golf and Fantasy National
Pictured above: Shane Lowry
Photo credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
