The 154th Open Championship will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70, 7,223 yard, fescue/bentgrass greens) in Southport, England. This venue has hosted the Open Championship 10 times, most recently in 2017 and 2008. Jordan Spieth (-12) won by three shots in 2017 and Paddrig Harrington (+3) won by four shots in 2008. There will be 152 golfers competing for a $17 million purse this week and there will be a top-70 and ties cut after the first two rounds.
Royal Birkdale is a shorter links course located on the coast of the Irish Sea. This par 70 that features narrow fairways, thick rough, small greens, 110 bunkers and water only in play on one hole. This seaside venue is very susceptible to wind and being accurate at Royal Birkdale is far more crucial than being long. The putting surfaces at this track are small for a links course, putting a heavy emphasis on approach play. When Spieth won at Royal Birkdale in 2017, he finished third in GIR.
Royal Birkdale is a classic par 70 that features 12 par fours, four par threes and two par fives. As expected with this type of layout, scoring on the par fours is very important. Spieth finished third in par four scoring when he won at Royal Birkdale in 2017 and six of the top-10 finishers that week finished top-seven in par four performance. Capitalizing on the two par fives is also vital, as they are the best scoring opportunities on the course. Notably, both Spieth and Harrington led their fields in par five scoring when they won at Royal Birkdale.
Let’s dive into three of my favorite DraftKings bargain plays for the Open Championship, which all cost less than $7.5K.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Top DraftKings PGA TOUR DFS Bargain Plays for the Open Championship
Aaron Rai ($7,100) – Rai should bounce back at the Open Championship after missing the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open this past week. The Englishman was sent home early from the Renaissance Club due to some poor putting, as he lost -2.03 strokes on the greens. Conversely, Rai gained 1.12 strokes on approach, which is the eighth time in his last 10 starts that he has been positive in the category. Rai ranks 23rd in SG APP this season and before last week, he had only missed one cut in his previous eight starts with six top-30 finishes during this span.
Rai won the PGA Championship by three shots in May and he finished T11th at the U.S. Open in June. Rai has advanced through the cut at 10 straight majors and he has made 2-of-3 cuts at the Open Championship, including two top-35 finishes. Rai clearly knows how to elevate his game when the stakes are the highest and the Englishman should provide a quality finish in his home country this week.
Corey Conners ($6,800) – Conners has been reliable at the Open Championship. After missing the cut in his first attempt at this major, Conners has made five straight cuts at the Open Championship and four of these finishes have been top-30 results. Just last year at Royal Portrush, Conners had his best Open performance to date, finishing T10th, thanks to back-to-back 5-under 65s to conclude the tournament.
The 34-year-old has a knack for links golf and he brings great upside relative to his low salary in his first start at Royal Birkdale. Conners has only missed two cuts in 17 starts this season and he has finished inside the top-30 six times, including a T23 at the U.S. Open and a T7th at the Travelers Championship in the last month.
Rickie Fowler ($6,500) – Following a rough patch of missing three cuts in a row, Fowler is back to playing strong golf. In his last two starts, the veteran has finished T38th at the Travelers Championship and T15th at the John Deere Classic while shooting under par in all eight of his rounds. At TPC Deere Run, Fowler gained strokes across the board and he posted an 8-under 63 in the third round, tying his season low.
This season, Fowler has made 12-of-17 cuts and produced eight top-25 finishes. The 37-year-old ranks top-40 in both total driving and par four performance, and he has been awesome at the Open Championship throughout his career. Fowler has impressively only missed one cut in 14 starts at this major. He has finished T31st or better 10 times, including a T22 at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
