It’s always fun when we head across the pond for DFS, and this time around, we will get strong fields in consecutive weeks, starting with this week’s Scottish Open. The first key thing to note is that lock time will be much earlier than we are used to. It will come at 2:15 a.m. EST, meaning you may need a long night or an early morning alarm to check for any withdrawals.
The other big key in these events is the weather. The wind is the biggest protector of this course at The Renaissance Club as if it is quiet, as is currently forecasted, we will be in for a bit of a birdie fest with the potential for winners to be 20+ under par. Keep an eye on that as things head into lock this week.
While the overall contests are a touch smaller than some of the big events, DraftKings still rolled out the typical Pitch + Putt with a $20 entry and $200,000 to first out of the $800,000 prize pool. I’ll be focused on this large GPP as we roll through the picks for the Scottish Open.
If you missed it, we added two new metrics in our PGA Models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.
The cliff notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.
And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups, or use our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.
Now, let’s get into the plays for the week.
Top Tier
Jon Rahm $11,000
It looks like ownership is going to play out relatively flat in this range from Xander Schauffele up to the top, so I will simply take my favorite play. It’s Rahm for me this week as I think he is on the cusp of breaking through for another win, and I like that it doesn’t appear he will get too chalky.
Rahm was on the verge of contending and holding the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open just a few weeks back before a disastrous final hole derailed him on Saturday. He still put together a good week, but it’s not the great play we had seen from him just over a year ago. I believe he is on the verge of finding that form again, and I will start my lineup here as I like enough players in the sleeper tier to not worry too much about price up top.
Collin Morikawa $9,400
Something has to give in the lower part of this tier, and it appears that most people will be heading to Will Zalartoris. I get it — he’s been great lately — but I don’t think he’s twice as likely to finish higher than 2021 Open Champion Morikawa. The defending Champion Golfer of the Year has shown an ability to play well on links-style courses. If you assume he will make the club changes this week that helped him win at Royal St. George’s last year, then it’s fair to expect he can produce better results this time around at The Renaissance Club. Morikawa is a guy with a ceiling to win any time he plays, and he showed that form for three of four rounds at The Country Club, but we are getting an extensive price discount and low ownership, making him an easy core play for me this week.
Mid Tier
Viktor Hovland $8,800
I plan to jam in two to three guys from Hovland up to the top for a lot of lineups this week. I’m about 50/50 between Jordan Spieth and Vik, so I’ll take the lower projected ownership on the Norwegian. He certainly hasn’t been in his best form lately, but we all know he can score in bunches when he has it. I expect birdie-or-better to be a significant aspect this week, and if he can find his game a bit with the ball striking, there is no reason he can’t be right there contending throughout the weekend.
Cameron Young $8,100
We have to take a bit of a leap of faith on this one that Young’s game will travel anywhere. He certainly has earned the benefit of the doubt, and I’m in on the player that is best positioned to be Rookie of the Year. Young continues to show up at the top of leaderboards, and I’ll continue to look for that this week after he took some time away following a missed cut at the U.S. Open. He ranks 8th in this field in SG: Tee-to-Green and tied for 3rd in Birdie-or-Better over the past six months. Sign me up for that kind of play at a modest salary and without high ownership.
Value Plays
Marc Leishman $7,500
I thought the form was returning for Leishman after he quietly posted a T14 finish at the U.S. Open. Unfortunately, he let me and many others down with his missed cut the following week at the Travelers Championship. However, I will continue to ride that train at really low ownership for a player who has posted three career top 6 finishes at The Open Championship. I’ll take that links pedigree for the Australian and hope he shows up with the game he had at The Country Club last month.
Hao-Tong Li $7,200
I expect this event will turn into a bit of a birdie fest, so we are going to want players that can go low and have the upside for a high finish. Hao-Tong Li checks both boxes, ranking 6th on the DP World Tour in birdie making and coming in off of a win at the BMW International Championship. I don’t usually buy in on guys after a first win — especially one of that magnitude — but I believe in his talent. He doesn’t even need to contend at this price tag, just go out and score.
Sleepers
Victor Perez $6,900
Victor Perez is arguably the most mispriced player in this field. He’s been playing great golf with a win and a T3 just a month ago, and he has strong course history at this event. The Frenchman has two top 30s (including a T14) and was positioned to do better than that last year before a final round 75 derailed his tournament. He had posted three rounds in the 60s over the first three days and was within the top 10 going into Sunday. Add in the fact that I know he won’t be fearful of this elite field, and it makes Perez one of my favorite plays on the entire board this week.
Alexander Bjork $6,700
Speaking of guys that faded on Sunday last year, Alexander Bjork was in the fourth-to-last pairing alongside Scottie Scheffler in the final round. He fell back to a T26 finish, but at this price, we may even be able to get away with that type of result again this year. The Swede has consistently posted similar results of late, with one T7 and three other top 25s in his past five outings. He’s a player showing form and with course knowledge, so he could produce some excellent results for us in the lowest price range.
