PGA DFS Golf: 2018 Open Championship DRAFT Rankings (DRAFT.com)

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Welcome to this edition of PGA DFS Golf rankings for DRAFT.com from FantasyCPR, covering the 2018 Open Championship, the third major championship of the season. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.   

I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, for PGA, you simply roster five golfers. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 8-man drafts that start upon filling. In the DRAFT lobby, you will find me in the six-man and eight-man contests, which payout to the top two spots.

My goal here will be to give you my targets in tiers, based upon their DRAFT projections. Followed by that, will be my top 40 overall rankings. The strategy of course here, is that 40 golfers will be drafted for 8-man contests, and these rankings will have you covered. After having completed my rankings for this week, and having completed a few 8-man drafts, let’s talk about the course for a second before we move on to the targets.

About the Event:

Teeing off in the late evening / early morning hours on July 19th, will be the 147th Open Championship. For a long time known as the prestigious British Open, this will be the last season The Open will be the third major of the year. Starting in 2019, The Open Championship will move to the season’s final major. The reason for this, is that next year will mark the first time the PGA Championship will be held in May, instead of its traditional early August date.

The Open Championship is a rotating course event. This year it will take place in Angus, Scotland, at historic Carnoustie Golf Links. 2018 will mark the eighth time the Open will be played at the Championship Course at Carnoustie, which is known as one of the hardest links style courses in the world. Thick rough and incredibly tough bunkers are a couple of examples of its difficulty. If the strong winds off of the Angus coast are blowing as well, it will prove incredibly difficult. One thing going for the players this week, are the courses dry conditions. The word is this is making fairways and greens fast. Players that keep it in the fairway and are good around the greens should succeed here this weekend. The Championship Course at Carnoustie Golf Links will play at par 71, and measures 7402 yards.

We do have an earlier lock time than normal, obviously because this event takes place on the other side of the world. The official first tee times listed are at 12:35 CST, right as the calendar hits Thursday. All of the stars will be out trying to compete for a major, but before we move on to the targets, let’s briefly touch on the recent history of The Open.

Event History:

The Open Championship has long been known as one of the toughest events of the year. It takes place at the most difficult links style golf courses, at a different venue every year. This makes tracking any history here almost worthless, as the last time The Open was played here at Carnoustie was in 2007. Pradraig Harrington won that one, holding off Sergio Garcia in a  playoff. Since we have no real course history here, consistency and recent form are the two top factors for my rankings this week.

Last years event was held at Royal Birkdale in the United Kingdom, and Jordan Speith was able to defeat Matt Kuchar by three strokes, marking the last time Speith has won on tour. Previous champions include Henrik Stenson, one of my top targets this week, and Rory McIlroy, who won it in 2014 at Royal Liverpool with a score of -17. Scores will be tough to predict this year, as the noise from the players practicing is that the golf balls are traveling well. I think if the speed of the greens and the fairways stays consistent for four days, and the worst of the winds hold off, we will see a winning score somewhere between -10 and -15 or so. Now click below to move on to the targets!

PGA DFS Golf High Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 70-85)

Justin Rose – (75.3)

Of course Dustin Johnson is the favorite this week, and he will likely be the #1 pick in most of your drafts. But right after him in my rankings this week is Rose. A model of consistency on tour, Rose comes into Scotland fresh, having not competed on the PGA tour since the U.S. Open. Many of the top players are in this same position as Rose, as most have not played the smaller events in the last month or so either. He won the Fort Worth open at the end of May, and followed that with a T-6 at the Memorial. A couple of wins, seven top tens, and a T-10th and T-12th at the two previous majors this year, I look for Rose to be right in the thick of things all weekend.

Brooks Koepka – (73.2)

Koepka is actually kind of a gamble for his draft position when you think about it, but he is the most recent major champion, so I see no hesitation here. He obviously proved his game is among the best, as he navigated his way to being champion of the treacherous conditions at the U.S. Open. Prior to that, Koepka had four top-10’s, including a 2nd place just behind Rose at the Fort Worth Invitational. He has played on tour once since the U.S. Open, tying for 19th at the Travelers Championships, despite shooting all four rounds under par. Koepka is well worthy of a mid-first round pick this week.

Jason Day – (70.7)

A surprising target of mine as he has had an off year at times, but I like Day this week. He has been mostly avoided by me all season, and his game is just not where it was a couple of years ago. Day has been here before though, as he has five top-5’s in majors going back to 2011. It was back in 2015 already, when Day broke though, and finally won his first major at the PGA Championship.

Day should be hungry and rested, after missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He is still one of the best putters in the game, and if he gets hot with it, he will be in contention. His one tune-up before The Open was also at the Travelers Championship. He, like Koepka also shot all four rounds under par, and finished T-12th. Let’s also not forget Day has won this year at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May as well. I am not sure why Day isn’t getting much love this week, but I am glad to draft him early second round.

PGA DFS Golf Mid Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 60-70)

Henrik Stenson – (66.5)

Still seeking his first victory this season, despite five top-10’s in 10 events played, Stenson comes in as a top target of mine. He is always dangerous, but I think his recent shoulder injury is scaring off many drafters. I think if he was fully healthy and did not withdraw from the Scottish Open last week, he would be a sure-fire top eight pick. He withdrew prior to the event starting, citing elbow soreness.

By no means a stranger to big moments and pressure, Stenson won the Open Championship in 2016 at Royal Troon. This years majors have resulted in a T-5th at the Masters and a T-6th at the U.S. Open. If he is in fact fully rested and healthy for this, he should easily achieve another top-10. He is falling down to the end of the second round, and I think he will turn out to be a great pick in that slot.

Patrick Reed – (65.5)

Another top-tier player falling way down draft boards is Reed, who has been magical in both majors this season. After winning the Masters, Reed came up just short at the U.S. Open, finishing alone in fourth place. He played the Travelers as one of the favorites in a weak field, and failed to make the cut by one stroke. DFS’ers who rostered him will no doubt show resistance here remembering that fact, but with what he has done in majors this year, he makes for a great third round pick. He will be an absolute steal at where he is getting drafted if he drops a top five again.

Rory McIlroy – (68.3)

Somehow there are 14 golfers with higher projections than McIlroy this weekend. I believe he is vastly under projected, and a case can be made for drafting him as high as four overall. McIlroy doesn’t quite have a home course advantage, but growing up in Northern Ireland, he does have more experience than his peers on the Euro links style courses.

His recent form has not been the greatest, going back to the tough U.S. Open, where he missed the cut. He did bounce back well from that disappointment however, finishing T-12 at the Travelers Championships while shooting all four rounds under par. His foundation hosted the Irish Open on the European Tour last week, and McIlroy competed and finished T-28. He is seeking his fifth major championship, and his second Open Championship. I will have a lot of McIlroy this weekend, as I seem to be a little higher on him than most.

PGA DFS Golf Low Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 30-60)

Tommy Fleetwood – (41.7)

Some of the recent buzz surrounding Fleetwood over the last few hours has certainly been interesting. He has been quoting saying he feels like his “distance gauge” is off, and that his course record 63 he shot here at Carnoustie just nine months ago gives him no advantage. I think he is just being humble, as he is as professional as they come. If you look at his recent majors results, Fleetwood has gotten better at each one. He tied for 17th at the Masters, and just missed his first major victory at the U.S. Open. He shot a final round -7, but had to settle for a lone 2nd place finish. Fleetwood is ending up a late second / early third round pick, and he can end up giving you great value at that range.

Alexander Noren – (57.8)

Another solid third round target for me will be Noren. The 35-year-old Swede will be seeking his first major championship, with his best finish coming at this event last year at Royal Birkdale, where he finished T-6. Noren tied for 25th at the Masters, and has since only competed on the European Tour. Just a couple of weeks ago, Noren held off Russell Knox, Julien Suri, and Chris Wood to win the French Open by one stroke. I have not seen him make it out of the third round in my drafts, so I am comfortable drafting him where I have him ranked.

Tiger Woods – (39.3)

I didn’t expect the day to come again that Tiger was a potential top 10 draft pick in a major, but here we are. Woods is a legit threat this week, as he was on with the putter at the Quicken Loans National. He surged up the leaderboard as the tournament progressed finishing 4th, which was his best finish since his 2nd place at the Valspar Championship. Woods is getting the treatment like he will not make the cut at this projection, but don’t let that fool you in to waiting to draft him if you want him. He has not made it out of the second round at this point in any draft of mine, so if you want him plan accordingly.

PGA DFS Golf DRAFT Rankings: Top 40

My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 40 overall. Following each golfer is their DRAFT fantasy point projection in parenthesis.

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1. Dustin Johnson – (82.5)

2. Justin Rose – (75.3)

3. Justin Thomas – (79.3)

4. Rory McIlroy – (68.3)

5. Jon Rahm – (78.4)

6. Brooks Koepka – (73.2)

7. Rickie Fowler – (78)

8. Jason Day – (70.7)

9. Paul Casey – (75.7)

10. Jordan Spieth – (79.2)

11. Henrik Stenson – (66.5)

12. Patrick Reed – (65.5)

13. Hideki Matsuyama – (78.4)

14. Tommy Fleetwood – (41.7)

15. Alexander Noren – (57.8)

16. Tiger Woods – (39.3)

17. Patrick Cantlay – (73.5)

18. Francesco Molinari – (66.7)

19. Matt Kuchar – (67.2)

20. Sergio Garcia – (63.1)

21. Marc Leishman – (70.8)

22. Tony Finau – (71)

23. Kevin Na – (61.6)

24. Phil Mickelson – (72)

25. Webb Simpson – (66.4)

26. Ian Poulter – (61.8)

27. Emiliano Grillo – (63)

28. Branden Grace – (61)

29. Beau Hossler – (38.7)

30. Rafael Cabrera-Bello – (59.5)

31. Stewart Cink – (61.9)

32. Tyrrell Hatton – (53)

33. Brendan Steele – (65.5)

34. Charley Hoffman – (64.3)

35. Pat Perez – (65.2)

36. Louis Oosthuizen – (62.9)

37. Jorge Campillo – (39.3)

38. Ryan Armour – (52.3)

39. Bryson DeChambeau – (56.8)

40. Bubba Watson – (59.3)

Next: Don't Miss DraftKings PGA Open Championship Picks!

That is all for this weeks PGA DFS Golf DRAFT rankings for the 2018 Open Championship. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing. I more so hope I guided us all to some success on DRAFT! If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Good luck this weekend, enjoy your golf, and happy drafting on DRAFT!