For the men’s golf competition of the 2024 Paris Olympics, we head to the Albatros course (par 71, 7,174 yards, bentgrass/poa annua greens) of Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France. This venue also hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup—which was won by Team Europe in dominating fashion—and has hosted the French Open since 1991. This week’s Olympic field consists of 60 golfers and each country is only allowed a maximum of four players to compete. This will be a standard 72-hole competition that features no cut and the top-three finishers will be rewarded medals.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: INTL GOLF $250K DRIVE THE GREEN [$50K TO 1ST]
The Albatros course is a challenging venue that features narrow fairways, thick rough and water on 10 holes. The greens at this par 71 are on the larger side, but their size and volatile complexes make them a difficult test. The Albatros course is a track where keeping your driver in the bag on most holes will be a common strategy to improve your accuracy, as finding the fairway at this short par 71 is far more critical than being long. Of the last five French Open winners, three finished the event top-six in driving accuracy at the Albatros course. Being in terrific form with your irons is also a must at this par 71, with four of the last five French Open champions ranking top-five in GIR% during their victories. Finally, as a standard par 71 with 11 par fours, scoring well on the par fours is extremely important at the Albatros course. When Ryo Hisatsune won the 2023 French Open by two shots at this venue, he led his field in scoring on the par fours by four shots. Overall, three of the past five winners at Albatros course have finished the event top-three in par-4 efficiency.
Below, I have featured three of my favorite sub $7.5K bargain plays for the 2024 Paris Olympics on DraftKings.
Christian Bezuidenhout ($7,300) – This is a great time to buy low on Bezuidenhout. The South African should get overlooked coming off a missed cut at the Open Championship and there is certainly reason to expect a bounce back performance from him. The 46th ranked golfer in the world only missed the cut at Royal Troon by one stroke and before this, Bezuidenhout had only missed one cut in his previous 11 starts excluding his withdrawal from the Genesis Scottish Open. Bezuidenhout has supplied 10 top-25 finishes in 19 starts this season and ranks top 10 in both SG: Approach and SGP when we analyze this field’s last 24 rounds. Bezuidenhout finished T16th at the 2021 Olympics in Japan and is simply underpriced for his talent. On the DraftKings Sportsbook, Bezuidenhout carries +6500 odds to take home the gold medal this weekend, which are the best odds among all the players priced under $8K for DFS.
Thorbjorn Olesen ($7,200) – Olesen has a ton of merit at this salary. The eight-time DP World Tour winner is currently in the midst of his first full-time season on the PGA TOUR and has played well on the circuit, advancing to the weekend in nine of his last 11 starts. Olesen ranks ninth in SGP when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds and he has plenty of experience at the Albatros course. Olesen was a member of the European Ryder Cup team that dominated the United States at this par 71 in 2018, plus he won his lone singles match during that event. As a former DP World Tour member, Olesen has competed as an individual at the Albatros course nine times and has carded four top-20 finishes at the tricky track, including a T10 just last season. Very few players in this field know the Albatros course better than Olesen and the Dane’s upside isn’t reflected in this cheap price tag.
Shubhankar Sharma ($6,500) – Sharma is a compelling, cheap sleeper pick this week. As a full-time player on the DP World Tour, the Indian professional should naturally come with low ownership. Also, as a member of that circuit, Sharma has competed at the Albatros course three times for the French Open, making the cut in two of those starts—most notably with a T27 in 2018. More importantly, Sharma is in terrific form, missing only one cut in his last 10 starts with his two most recent finishes being a T39 at the Genesis Scottish Open and a T19 at the Open Championship. Impressively, Sharma led the stacked field at the Genesis Scottish Open in SG: Approach. In the difficult conditions at Royal Troon for the Open Championship, the 28-year-old finished the major third in SGP and 21st in SG: Approach. These past two starts have moved Sharma up 29 spots in the world golf rankings and he is a real threat for a top-20 finish this weekend if the elite ball striking continues.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: INTL GOLF $250K DRIVE THE GREEN [$50K TO 1ST]
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
