The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.75M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Semifinal Entry] (PGA)
The Field
The field for The Open Championship consists of approximately 156 golfers and will feature a cutline where the top 70 and ties will get to play the weekend after Friday’s round. The player pool has a lot of international qualifiers attached to it, but it still features one of the best fields in all of golf. All of the top-10 players in the OWGR will be in attendance this week, including the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 player in the world Rory McIlroy, and most of the top players from LIV, including Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.
In addition to that elite group, we have all the past Open winners from 2017-2024 playing with Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and 2019 Open winner Shane Lowry (which was played at Portrush), all in the field.
One of the more exciting features of The Open for DFS is that the salary structure on DraftKings has shifted to where you can now roster players below $6,000. With the unpredictability of links golf and a lot of players in the field who are less well-known to the casual DFS player, using one of these sub-$6,000 players could provide huge flexibility in your lineups, and for that reason, I’ve highlighted a few who could be useful in the sections below.
The Course
Royal Portrush —Portrush, Northern Ireland
Par 71—7,381 yards
Portrush is back on the Open schedule after a six-year hiatus. The venue was last used in 2019 to host the Open, the year Shane Lowry (-15) shot a course-record 63 and won the Claret Jug by six shots over Tommy Fleetwood (-9). Overall, this is one of the more visually stunning courses on the Open docket and presents players with some bigger elevation changes that they don’t often see on the links. Its mix of holes includes tight par 4s guarded by internal out-of-bounds, multiple Par 3s with big elevation changes and some risk/reward-type par 5s.
As a Par 71, it sets up as standard fare with three Par 5s and four par 3s. The par 3s won’t necessarily all be overly challenging but the Par 3 16th hole will be one of the most talked about and dramatic holes of the week. Nicknamed “Calamity,” it’s a hole that can stretch well past 235 yards and plays uphill to boot, over a huge chasm and into a diagonal green that would be hard to hit from under 200 yards. A bad bounce here could ruin a round in a hurry.
The Par 5s will all offer chances at birdies and eagles, but with pot bunkers strewn throughout the fairways and thicker hay/fescue to deal with if you are way off line off the tee, these holes can also serve up bogey or worse if you get too offline.
More than anything, Portrush looks like it will again cater to the precise ball-strikers who are also able to deal with some bigger elevation changes and its solid length. It’s not an overly short links course at 7,300+ yards, but its layout still demands a lot of precision, especially down the stretch where precise drives will be needed on 17 and 18, and a fantastic iron or fairway wood needed to survive 16.
In 2019, Shane Lowry gained over 5.0 strokes on approach for the week, but he also had a fantastic week off the tee and around the greens and hit a ton of great drives on Sunday to seal his win. That sort of effort will likely again be required this week, especially with cool weather, some rain and a few gusty spots expected for the week — aka, typical Irish weather.
The leaderboard from 2019 at Portrush can also tell us a little about the course. The first two, Fleetwood and Lowry, have a ton of links experience (and success) and are two of the most consistent strikers in the game. Names like Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka also aren’t overly shocking given the length of this course or the fact both men were in great form that season. We also had veteran names like Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Tyrrell Hatton and Patrick Reed in the top 10 that season, with Scotsman Robert MacIntyre being the only player under 27 years of age.
All-in-all, I expect veteran ball-strikers to come to the forefront this week. The elevation change and demanding shots at Portrush should make it a slightly more challenging Open venue, albeit one that sees less reliance on luck and good bounces than great ball-striking from its winner.
2025 weather outlook: As of now, the weather in Portrush looks nice to begin the week, but we are set to see things cool once the event begins. The highs for Day 1 will begin around 55-60F for the AM wave, which may also be dealing with rain. It does warm up a bit and things may get a bit calmer and dryer as the day goes. Day 2 is also set to begin cooler, but with less rain and wind. As of now, I’d rather be targeting the PM wave of players for the first two days, assuming the poor forecast for Thursday morning holds. If the Thursday late starters get a dry start and then a calm and dry Day 2, it seems like they’ll have a much better shot at putting up some decent rounds and creating a decent split from their counterparts. The weekend looks like it will have some intermittent showers and wind over the final two days so it behooves you to watch the forecast as the event wears on to see if there is an edge in targeting one wave over another.
Recent winners
2024–Xander Schauffele -9 (Justin Rose -7, Billy Horschel -7)
2023—Brian Harman -13 (over four players -7)
2022—Cameron Smith -20 (over Cameron Young -19)
2021—Collin Morikawa -15 (over Jordan Spieth -13)
*2019—Shane Lowry – 15 (over Tommy Fleetwood -9)
2018—Francesco Molinari -8 (over Justin Rose and three others -6)
2017 – Jordan Spieth -12 (over Matt Kuchar -9)
2016 – Henrik Stenson -20 (over Phil Mickelson -17)
*Held at Royal Portrush
Winning Trends
- Seven of the past 13 winners of The Open Championship have been age 35 or older; eight of the past 13 have been age 32 or older.
- Ten of the past 12 winners of The Open Championship had recorded a T-20 or better in one of the year’s first two major championships in the year of their victory. Five of the past seven winners had recorded a T-11 or better in one of the year’s first three majors.
- Sixteen of the past 19 winners of The Open Championship had a T-9 or better finish at this event in a previous year.
- Six of the past seven winners had played in The Open Championship at least four times prior to winning.
- The last four winners of the Open all played the Scottish Open the week before.
- The last three winners of the Open finished T-15 or better at the Scottish Open the week before winning.
Winners Stats
2024 Winner: Xander Schauffele (9-under par)
2024 lead-in form (T15-T13-T7-T8-win)
- We don’t have a ton of past strokes gained data to look back on since The Open site itself doesn’t track Strokes Gained data. That being said, certain trends among winners and high finishers are out there.
- The past six winners have all ranked 23rd or better in the year of their win in Strokes Gained: Approach, with 2017 winner Jordan Spieth ($7,700) ranking first in this category and 2018 winner Francesco Molinari ($5,600) ranking 10th. Last year’s winner Xander Schauffele was sixth in this category for 2025.
- Brian Harman came into this major in 2023 having gained over 4.0 strokes on approach in each of his last two starts and by all accounts, he was one of the best in the field with his irons at Hoylake.
- Links golf often isn’t as much about length off the tee as placement, so emphasizing great iron players this week seems like a solid start. 2021 winner Collin Morikawa ranked top five in Greens hit in 2021 and Cameron Smith ranked fifth in SG: APP stats at this event in 2022.
- The past few Open Championship winners have also emphasized how important scrambling can be, and is, at this event. Shane Lowry ($9,300) led the field in SG: OTT stats at the 2019 Open, but he was also second in scrambling for the week.
- Morikawa was first in scrambling for the week of his win at St. George’s.
- In terms of leadup, the last five winners all came in with signs they were playing well. Each of the last six winners gained 4.0 strokes or more on approach in at least one of their previous five starts before winning this event.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them. This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value comparative to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Jordan Spieth +5500 and $7,700
Comparables:
Viktor Hovland +3000 and $8,300
Comparables:
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
HORSES FOR COURSES
**With the course being played on this week only being used every 10 years or so, we’ll be looking instead at past Open Championship form instead.
1. Rory McIlroy ($11,500; best finishes: win-2014, T2-2018): McIlroy has racked up lots of top finishes at this event over the past five years. The winner of the 2014 Open at Hoylake has six finishes of T-5 or better over his past 10 Open starts, including a T-2 in 2018 and another in 2022. Over 13 career Open Championships, McIlroy has only missed the cut three times and one was at Carnoustie in his first Open in 2007.
2. Jordan Spieth ($7,700; best finishes: win-2017, T2-2015): The 2017 winner of this event has finished T-4 or better at this championship in three of the past nine years and has never missed a cut in 11 Open Championship starts (T25 in 2024). He is second in strokes gained total stats at this major over the past five seasons.
3. Adam Scott ($7,300; best finishes: second-2012, T3-2013): After a T-10 finish last season, Scott has now made the cut in 13 of the past 14 Open Championships — and has five top-10 finishes to his credit over that span. That includes a second-place finish in 2012 when he famously bogeyed the last four holes to lose by a shot. He did MC at this event in 2019 when last played at Portrush.
4. Tommy Fleetwood ($9,500; best finishes: T2-2019): The Englishman finished second at this major in 2019 (Portrush) and T-10 at Hoylake in 2023. Despite missing the cut at Troon last year, he is again one of the leaders in the field in strokes gained total stats at the Open over the last five seasons and is just a couple starts removed from nearly winning at the Travelers.
5. Louis Oosthuizen ($6,500; best finishes: win-2010): Oosthuizen dominantly won this event in 2010 at St. Andrews, and he also finished T-3 in 2021. The veteran South African has looked good at times on LIV this year but this will be his first major of the season. He grabbed a T-2 playoff loss finish in Dallas (LIV) just three weeks ago.
RECENT FORM
1. Rory McIlroy ($11,500; T2-T6): McIlroy came up short last week, losing out in a great final round duel with Chris Gotterup. Still, he’s now finished T-6 and T-2 in his last two starts and looks primed for a run at the Claret Jug in his home country.
2. Kristoffer Reitan ($5,900; T13-T4): Reitan continues to impress. The Norweigan struck the ball beautifully in Scotland, and he was also T-4 in his start before that in Germany. A winner in Europe just a couple months ago, he’s a legit sleeper to consider for DFS this week.
3. Cam Smith ($6,800; T7-T13): Smith is starting to play better. He missed the cut at the US Open but posted a T-13 on LIV in Dallas and a T-7 in Spain last week, where he posted two under par rounds on a tough course.
4. Matt Fitzpatrick ($7,800; T4-T8): Fitzpatrick brings in solid form to this year’s Open. He did regress a little with the ball-striking in Scotland but still managed a T-4 finish and has reeled off consecutive top-10 finishes.
5. Adam Scott ($7,300; T17-T30-T12): Scott remained steady last week in Scotland. He gained multiple strokes on approach for the third straight event and posted a solid top-20 finish.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Scott and Hovland look cheap
Adam Scott ($7,300) is mentioned a lot in this article. He’s a veteran Open player who has made the cut in 13 of his last 14 Opens and brings in very solid form to this year’s final major, having gone off in the final group at the US Open in June. At $7,300, it’s hard to argue against using him in core lineups given the lead-in he’s had. Viktor Hovland ($8,300) doesn’t have the same extensive Open record Scott does but he does bring in some great form to this year’s Open. He grabbed a T-3 at the US Open in June and has gained over 6.0 strokes on approach in each of his last two PGA starts. At just $8,300, he also looks quite underpriced and a player you should feel good about building around this week.
Tournaments: Lots of options under 7k
Let’s start with the LIV Tour and mention former Open winner Cam Smith ($6,800), who has seen his price drop this week under 7k despite landing a top 10 last week in Spain. The Aussie still has an immaculate short game and can get hot with the putter anytime, so a wet and windy Open should benefit him. Wyndham Clark ($6,700) played well last week and has done well at coastal courses throughout his career. However, lower-owned options like Harris English ($6,400) and Nick Taylor ($6,000) have a lot of appeal as well. Taylor played well at the US Open and gained a bunch of strokes on approach last week. He’s never made a cut at the Open (two attempts) but his T-23 at the US Open was his best-ever finish in a major.
MY PICK: Jon Rahm ($10,400)
This week does feel like a solid Open course for a big hitter like Rahm. Portrush sits at over 7,300 yards and has elevation changes and bigger holes that many of the other links courses on the Open rota do not, something that should give an advantage to someone who is so consistent with his approaches and off the tee play, like Rahm.
The Spaniard is also a talented links player to begin with, as he’s already managed three Open top-10 finishes (all coming over the past four seasons) and also finished T-11 at Portrush back in 2019. The 30-year-old is also coming in with singeing-hot form, having finished T-8 and T-7 at the last two major championships. With his runner-up last week in Spain on LIV, he’s also now managed four top-10 finishes on LIV in his last five starts.
While I’d much rather see Rahm warming up in Scotland against PGA pros on a link venue, Valderrama (the LIV host course last week) is one of the most difficult courses in the world, and we have a very short break between the Open and US Open–where Rahm gained over 11.0 strokes ball-striking for the week. In short, I’m not sure if Rahm will be as negatively affected by not being on the PGA rotation going into the year’s last major as he may have been at the early majors. He’s already played in three majors this season anyway and has been busy with two LIV events played over the last three weeks.
For DFS, his price slots him at a very affordable $10,400, a range that doesn’t handicap you from many builds given the sub-$6,000 pricing in play this week. For betting, his +1200 outright price on DraftKings Sportsbook isn’t huge, but it’s still nearly double Rory McIlroy’s and triple Scottie Scheffler’s, who is at an experience disadvantage this week to Rahm in terms of overall links play and results.
MY SLEEPER: Patrick Reed ($7,100)
The Open has never been Reed’s best major, but at the same time, he’s not exactly embarrassed himself at this event either. He was top 20 in the Open Championships twice between 2014 to 2017 and was also T-10 at Royal Portrush in 2019, which is his best finish at this major to date.
Trends-wise, he fits a lot of criteria for me as he’s 34 (Eight of the last 13 Open winners have been 32 years or older), was T-10 at Portrush in 2019 (16 of the past 19 winners have all recorded a top 10 at the Open in a previous season), and was T-3 at Augusta in April (Five of the last seven Open winners had finished T-11 or better at one of the first three majors of the season).
For $7,100, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t offer the best upside at this range. He won in Dallas a few weeks ago and finished T-10 on LIV last week in Spain. At the US Open, he also gained strokes across the board on his way to a T-23 finish. He may not win, but given the tougher course and the focus he’s shown this season, another top-10 finish wouldn’t shock me in this spot. He makes for a great value to use in core lineups and a solid Top 20 (+250) / Top 10 (+550) target for betting.
Sub $6,000 Hero Play: Jordan L. Smith ($5,900)
Smith is a solid ball-striker who has two runner-up finishes already on the European Tour this season, including one just a couple of weeks ago in Germany where he shot -20 and made 27 birdies. The Englishman had a solid T-22 finish in Scotland last week as well, gaining over 9.0 strokes tee to green while only being hampered by his putting, where he lost an atrocious -4.7 strokes for the week.
Putting on the links can be volatile, so the change in venue (and country) should hopefully help Smith in that department, who also finished T-7 at the Irish Open a couple of years back. Overall, with his ball-striking in such good form, this feels like a great price to use him for boom-or-bust type lineups in big field GPPs. He’ll be playing the Open for the fourth time in a row this season (fifth overall) and while he’s yet to crack the top-20, his recent form and added experience suggests this could be the year he delivers a better finish and ends up being the player to target for DFS at these levels.
