This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Open Championship
Portrush, Northern Ireland
Royal Portrush Golf Club - Par 71 - 7,344 yards
Field - 156 Entrants
Purse - $10.75M
The Preview
A sold-out Royal Portrush Golf Club positioned along the North Atlantic Coast of Northern Ireland invites a collection of the world's best players for 2019's final major, as the Open Championship is played on this 19th-century gem for the first time since 1951 after decades of turmoil. It's setting up to be another classic Open experience with a lethal combination of chilly temps, distressing rain showers and ruthless wind gusts appearing on the menu in Portrush. A batch of entrants attempted to acclimate to European golf by playing in last week's Scottish Open, but a birdie fest broke out and provided a possible contrast as to what should be expected this week with iffy scoring conditions rolling into Northern Ireland. Jamie Donaldson managed to reach 18-under-par en route to his four-shot victory at the 2012 Irish Open held at this course, though, so there may not necessarily be a scarcity of red numbers.
Recent Champions
2018 - Francesco Molinari
2017 - Jordan Spieth
2016 - Henrik Stenson
2015 - Zach Johnson
2014 - Rory McIlroy
2013 - Phil Mickelson
2012 - Ernie Els
2011 - Darren Clarke
2010 - Louis Oosthuizen
2009 - Stewart Cink
Key Stats to Victory
GIR percentage - This trusty metric is an informant of general ball-striking proficiency while monitoring the accumulation of scoring opportunities as birdies and eagles provide additional boosts in DFS formats
Driving accuracy - Elevation changes and uneven fairway lies will force players to be precise with their preferred positioning off the tee
Scrambling - A slick short-game skill set is essential on an annual basis at the Open Championship as tricky green-side challenges await
SG: Putting - The greens at Royal Portrush are relatively flat and should run much slower than we're used to seeing in the United States
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Rory McIlroy - $49
The Northern Irishman set the course record at Royal Portrush when he fired a 61 at just 16 years old, a feat that certainly played a factor in McIlroy overtaking Brooks Koepka in terms of betting odds despite the latter's preposterous run in major championships. McIlroy hasn't won a major in five years now, and the pressure will be palpable on his native soil this week, but he's already notched a pair of victories at the RBC Canadian Open and PLAYERS Championship in 2019, and is leading the PGA Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Total. He tied for 10th here at the 2012 Irish Open and has placed top-5 in four consecutive Open Championship appearances.
Jon Rahm - $43
On the heels of back-to-back missed cuts at the PGA Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge, Rahm has reversed course in extreme fashion by strolling to finishes of T3-T2-Win from the U.S. Open to the Irish Open. The Spaniard, who is back in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, gained over 11 strokes from tee-to-green during his last major appearance at Pebble Beach, and he's fourth on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee for the season. Rahm has yet to finish an Open Championship in red numbers, but his recent form is inspiring.
Xander Schauffele - $40
The 25-year-old deserves more recognition for placing top-10 in half of his 10 career major championship performances, which have included runner-up honors at the 2018 Open and 2019 Masters. Schauffele constantly exceeds expectations on the grandest of stages and he's currently fourth in the FedExCup Standings thanks to 12 top-25s in 16 events. In addition to his ball-striking prowess, Schauffele gained over five strokes putting during his most recent start at the U.S. Open.
Glue Guys
Adam Scott - $39
Ranking 27th or better in every Strokes Gained subcategory and with six top-10s in just 13 starts, Scott has surpassed the $3M mark in seasonal earnings for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. The Aussie has placed no worse than T18 since the PLAYERS and went T8-2-T7 from the PGA Championship through the U.S. Open. Scott gained a colossal average of 8.2 strokes from tee-to-green over his past five tournaments.
Hideki Matsuyama - $36
Matsuyama ranks first on Tour in consecutive cuts made with 25, but he's also strung together six straight top-25s after adding yet another respectable finish at the 3M Open, where he tied for seventh. As one of the world's best ball strikers, he's due for a win, as he is currently experiencing a drought dating back to the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational despite ranking sixth and now second in SG: Approach the past two seasons. Matsuyama missed the cut at the 2018 Open Championship, but he's posted a trio of top-20s in six career attempts.
Henrik Stenson - $31
This pedestrian price for Stenson is more so a reflection of his disappointing play earlier in the year, but he's rebounded of late with three straight top-10s, culminating with a T4 at this past week's Scottish Open, where he racked up 21 birdies and going over par on just one hole. The 2016 Open champion has made the cut in 12 of 14 appearances at the event, including a quartet of top-10s. Stenson's iron play has been first-class, as he has gained at least 2.5 strokes on approach shots in nine consecutive measured tourneys.
Bargain Bin
Rafa Cabrera Bello - $30
Cabrera Bello is fostering plenty of attention this week, not only for his T2 at the 2012 Irish Open, but also for a brilliant stretch of recent play that includes finishes of T3-T4-T9 from the BMW International Open to the Scottish Open over on the European Tour. He's missed only two cuts worldwide throughout his entire 2019 campaign, gathering 10 top-25s along the way.
Bernd Wiesberger - $21
Wiesberger's measly $21 price tag was already determined before he won the Scottish Open and skyrocketed from 83rd to No. 40 in the OWGR, and he also tied for second the week prior in Ireland not long after winning the Euro Tour's Made In Denmark in late May as well. Overseas the Austrian ranks 19th or better in GIR percentage, SG: Approach and greens under regulation.
Danny Willett - $20
Willett became the subject of infamy among the fantasy golf community when he fell into a deep regression following his unlikely 2016 Masters victory, but he won the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai just prior to the turn of the calendar year and he's now back inside of the OWGR's top 75. The Englishman came back to life in the states as he tied for 12th at the U.S. Open, gaining strokes across the board after notching a top-10 at the RBC Canadian Open one week prior. Willett actually leads the PGA Tour in proximity from 150-175 yards and ranks 35th in SG: Approach.
Strategy Tips on Yahoo this week
Per usual in a foreign event like the Open Championship, you're able to snag a handful of international players at discounted prices in an effort to spread out ownership percentages, as many American gamers in the beginner levels of DFS competition strictly target the household stateside names. Getting crafty in the lower price ranges will allow you to remain greedy at the top of the board and potentially include several popular plays, like McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, while still maintaining deviation from the chalk elsewhere.
