Welcome back to Golf News Net's weekly fantasy golf picks, presented by DraftKings.com. Each week of the PGA Tour season, we'll present our top picks for that week's tournament and make recommendations for DraftKings' one-week fantasy leagues.
Have you ever played one-week fantasy leagues? Play with us this week! Get a free $2 entry with your first deposit and have a chance to win $1 million with a win in the $3 million British Open contest!
Well, gang, it's time to make some history this week. The British Open is at St. Andrews and Jordan Spieth is going for a third-consecutive major in 2015...with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy on the shelf. There are 155 golfers vying to be the guy to stop the single-season Grand Slam at the Home of Golf, and we're ranking the top 14 players to challenge Spieth for the Claret Jug.
Of course, we had Spieth last week, as you should have. We also had Zach Johnson in there, too. But not Tom Gillis. Never Tom Gillis.
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On to the picks!
1. Jordan Spieth -- C'mon. Did you expect someone else at the top spot? Spieth has won four times this year, including in a pair of playoffs. He's won the Masters and U.S. Open. The Old Course isn't playing too firm, so luck may be less of an issue. He's aggressive off the tee and can hit a cut. What isn't there to like except that only one guy has done this in the modern construct of the Grand Slam?
2. Dustin Johnson -- The scar tissue is deep in the majors, but it's awfully difficult not to like the bombing South Carolinian. Four top-15 finishes in his last five Open Championship starts, including a T-14 in 2010 at the Old Course.
3. Rickie Fowler -- The last five Open champions have played the Scottish Open the week prior, so why not love the guy who won it? Gullane was playing a little soft, but Fowler showed he has the full complement of shots required to handle links golf well. Three top-15 finishes in five Open starts, including a pair of top-five efforts.
4. Brandt Snedeker -- Top-10 finishes in his last four starts, including a rather quiet eighth-place effort at the U.S. Open. Dealt with some heartbreak at the 2012 Open after a blistering first 36. Look for low scores from Sneds.
5. Hideki Matsuyama -- Matsuyama is incredibly consistent. He's only finished outside the top 25 twice this PGA Tour season. He was fifth at the Masters and T-18 at the U.S. Open. Had his international breakout party at Muirfield with a T-6 effort in 2013.
6. Sergio Garcia -- The window is closing for the Spaniard, but if Sergio Garcia is going to win a major, it has to be the Open. He's had his biggest heartbreaks here. T-5 here in 2005, T-14 in 2010, joint runner-up last year.
7. Kevin Kisner -- Kisner is making his Open Championship debut. So why is he seventh? Three playoff losses, including at The Players. He played the Deere and took the free charter, but in his prior four starts, he was in the top 12 in all of them.
8. Louis Oosthuizen -- The Open champion from five years ago has found his game again. If he could have dropped his worst nine holes, he would have won the U.S. Open. He's been so-so since the Open, but his best golf this season has been in the biggest events. What bigger stage than the Old Course?
9. Adam Scott -- Based on 2015 form, this is a terrible pick. Based on his last three Opens -- all top-five finishes -- this is brilliant. With Steve Williams back on the bag, Scott was T-4 at the U.S. Open with a Sunday flurry. That band is a good one.
10. Francesco Molinari -- Molinari has back-to-back top-15 finishes in the Open Championship, so he's riding a bit of a heater in this major. He's also fifth on the PGA Tour in three-putt avoidance from outside 25 feet -- key on slow greens like at the Open. Was T-3 at Memorial and top 25s in two of his last three starts.
11. Paul Casey -- Casey is the only other guy on the PGA Tour this year to lose multiple sudden-death playoffs and has enjoyed a career resurgence in 2015. He has a modest Open record with a pair of top-seven finishes.
12. Henrik Stenson -- Maybe the window has closed on Stenson getting a major, but he has three top-three finishes in this championship in his last six starts, including a T-3 effort at St. Andrews in 2010. Played his best golf at the start of the season, but could be due now.
13. Ian Poulter -- If Ian Poulter is going to win a major, like Sergio Garcia, it's going to be the British Open. He hasn't done much special this year, but he has been solid with four top-six finishes, including at the Masters. Was T-11 at the 2005 Open and in the top nine in 2012 and '13.
14. Tommy Fleetwood -- The Englishman is a combined 26 under par in his last four European Tour rounds at the Old Course in the Dunhill Links Championship. C'mon! He's enjoying his best season on the European Tour, including a T-10 finish in the Scottish Open and a T-21 effort in the windswept Irish Open.
15. Martin Kaymer -- Martin Kaymer has been an utter flop this year. Why pick him? This one is based on how well he plays at the Old Course in the Dunhill Links Championship, which has two rounds at St. Andrews each year. Just a hunch. That's it.
My DraftKings team for this week:
1. Dustin Johnson -- $11,400
2. Rickie Fowler -- $9,700
3. Francesco Molinari -- $7,500
4. Tommy Fleetwood -- $7,300
5. Kevin Kisner -- $7,000
6. Miguel Angel Jimenez -- $6,900
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