This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
The Open Championship
Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland
Royal Troon Golf Club - Par 71 - 7,385 yards
Field - 158 entrants
Purse - $17M
The Preview
For those of us stateside, the nostalgic overnight viewing experience that accompanies the PGA Tour's voyage from the Genesis Scottish Open to the Open Championship annually provides one of the greatest stimulations in the golf pocket of the brain, while a true links test awaits in South Ayrshire as Royal Troon hosts The Open for the first time since 2016. Expanded to a nearly 7,400-yard, par-71 layout, wet and lush conditions should have Royal Troon playing even longer with rain showers blanketing these grounds in recent weeks, thickening the already penalizing rough that lines the rolling fairways. In typical Open Championship fashion, however, this venue's most stress-inducing defense figures to be the chilly wind gusts that irritatingly arrive each afternoon. One thing's for certain, a worthy champion will hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday.
Recent Champions
2023 - Brian Harman (Royal Liverpool)
2022 - Cameron Smith (St. Andrews)
2021 - Collin Morikawa (Royal St. George's)
2020 - None
2019 - Shane Lowry (Royal Portrush)
2018 - Francesco Molinari (Carnoustie)
2017 - Jordan Spieth (Royal Birkdale)
2016 - Henrik Stenson (Royal Troon)
2015 - Zach Johnson (St. Andrews)
2014 - Rory McIlroy (Royal Liverpool)
Key Stats to Victory
Total driving
SG: Approach
Scrambling
Bogey avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
Continuously priced about $10 shy of where he should be perched atop the salary board, a $45 Scheffler is a no-brainer as a lineup anchor, with a ton of room leftover to build formidable lineups. The No. 1 player in the world is coming off his sixth win of the season at the Travelers Championship in late June, confidently remaining on this all-time tee-to-green heater.
Bryson DeChambeau - $41
Not a single soul, even the aforementioned Scheffler, has been collectively better than DeChambeau throughout the first three majors contested in 2024, with the latter posting finishes of T6-2-Win from the Masters to the U.S. Open where he emerged victorious at Pinehurst. Following his second career U.S. Open win, DeChambeau tied for third at LIV Nashville before adding another top-10 result this past week in Spain.
Glue Guys
Tom Kim - $37
Kim led this past Sunday's final round at the Genesis Scottish Open in both SG: Approach and driving accuracy on the way to a six-under 64 and T15 finish, and he's now gained at least 1.5 strokes off the tee in seven of eight starts dating back to the PGA Championship, thanks in large part to his driving precision. Over his past 24 rounds, Kim sits top-5 in both overall proximity and Opportunities Gained. As a 21-year-old, he tied for second at the 2023 Open Championship when he racked up 15 birdies and an eagle at Royal Liverpool.
Tyrrell Hatton - $35
Placing T5 or better in three of his last four LIV outings, Hatton has risen to fourth in the season-long standings, most notably winning by six shots in Nashville on the heels of a top-30 effort at the U.S. Open where he gained nine strokes from tee to green, but lost 3.8 strokes with the putter. The Englishman tied for fifth when The Open was last held here in 2016, pacing the difficult event in total pars made with 57.
Shane Lowry - $30
The 2019 Open champ still hasn't missed a cut since his 2024 season debut at The American Express in January, and he most recently tied for ninth at the Travelers Championship where he ranked top-3 among the field in SG: APP, excelling especially from the 125-175 yard range. Lowry has been a top-25 machine in majors since the beginning of 2021, and he somewhat surprisingly putted extremely well in his last two appearances at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
Bargain Bin
Brooks Koepka - $26
Well known for his alpha mentality on golf's biggest stages, Koepka actually hasn't notched a top-15 finish in five consecutive major championships dating back to the 2023 U.S. Open, but a $26 Yahoo salary still doesn't sniff the market value he retains this week. He gained a combined 14.1 strokes from tee to green across eight rounds at this year's U.S. Open and PGA Championship en route to a pair of top-30s, and despite lousy results in his last two LIV showings, I doubt gamers are ready to give up on Koepka exposure at this price.
Cameron Smith - $22
Smith's driving accuracy concerns are always frightening, and they crushed him again at Pinehurst where he lost 5.4 strokes off the tee, but his otherworldly short game is such an advantage when GIR rates are deflated and scoring conditions are tough, though he also won an Open Championship at 20-under-par just two years ago. The Aussie gained a collective 10.3 strokes around the green at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship this season, and he's coming off back-to-back top-10s at LIV Nashville and Liv Andalucia.
Joaquin Niemann - $20
LIV's No. 1 player in the 2024 standings by a wide margin, Niemann recorded a T3-T6 stretch in Nashville and Andalucia after gaining 10.1 strokes from tee to green at the PGA Championship, though a brutal showing with the flat stick limited him to a T39 at Valhalla. His major resume is underwhelming, but Niemann's enjoying too strong of a season to be priced down here at the minimum $20, so don't expect the Chilean to fly under the radar from an ownership perspective.
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