DraftKings are offering $3M in prize money for Fantasy Golf Millionaire centered on the Open Championship at St Andrews. The first prize is a cool million and the entry fee is just 20 dollars. There is a $50,000 salary cap for a team of six players with salaries ranging from $12,700 to $5,800. However, the whole contest could dramatically change if Rory McIlroy does not play and it looks a long shot that he will be fit for the Open.
In DraftKings fantasy golf games points are awarded for scoring on each hole from double eagle to double bogey or worse. Anything worse than par means negative points. Points are also earned through tournament finishing positions and scoring streaks. The site displays strike averages, top 10s and cuts made for each player and average fantasy points per game. All four days of the tournament are included in this fantasy contest and here is our team of six players displayed with their salary:
Open Championship Fantasy Picks
Sergio Garcia ($9,500) finished tied 14th in the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews so has some decent course form to his name. He has never won a major despite some near misses and maybe he will always come up just short in his quest to win one of the four most prestigious prizes in the sport. He was second behind McIlroy at Royal Liverpool last year and seemed philosophical about the outcome whereas in the past he would be raging against his bad luck. He has a decent skills profile in the context of the challenge and he can contribute some points.
Paul Casey ($9,200) returned the same score as Garcia five years ago and has game suited to the unique demands of St Andrews. The par is 72 (36-36) but unusually it has just two par 5s and two par 3s. The fairways are very generous so the longer hitters have an advantage. The double greens are very large so quality long putting is needed. The par 4 17th, the dreaded road hole, provides a really severe test. The key to success is to avoid disasters on that hole and to stay out of the cavernous bunkers. Casey is now playing at the level that took him to number three in the world in 2009 and he should be a factor in the Open.
Branden Grace ($8,100) loves links golf and also has form at the venue. He won the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in 2012 and lost in a playoff to Phil Mickelson for the Scottish Open a year later. He was on the winning score in the US Open on the 16th tee with two birdie holes ahead. Despite driving out of bounds and blowing his chances Grace showed he could compete at the highest level and now looks a future major champion. He played a great deal of junior golf in South Africa where he was born so windy conditions will not be a problem.
Lee Westwood ($8,000) is the only player ever to finish in the top three of all four majors without winning one. He is now past the age of 40 so his chances of winning a major are receding but it could be at the home of golf this year. In 2010 he finished second after four solid rounds below par but never looked overhauling Louis Oosthuizen at the top of the leader board. Tee to green Westwood is one of the best players in the world and just needs a good putting week to contend again.
Byeong-Hun An ($7,600) is now challenging Hideki Matsuyama as a potential major winner from Asia. He was an impressive winner of the BMW Championship in May, the tournament that attracts the strongest field in Europe after the Open. He has the game to get in the mix at St Andrews even though his major championship experience is limited. He was 26th at Hoylake last year but missed the cut in the last St Andrews Open in 2010 but he has since taken his game to a new level.
Zach Johnson ($7,400) always plays in the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour in the week before the Open. He is a former winner of that tournament and brings an excellent short game to Scotland. He has figured in the Open in the past proving that his skills are transferable from an inland course in America to a links course in Britain which always stages the Open. He has made the cut in the last eight Opens and finished in the top ten in 2012 and 2013 so he can play links golf.
TOTAL SALARY: $49,800
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