Welcome back to Golf News Net's weekly fantasy golf picks. Each week of the European Tour season, we'll present our top picks for that week's tournament and make recommendations for DraftKings' one-week fantasy leagues.
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The European Tour moves to the Swiss Alps for the Omega European Masters, one of the more picturesque events in golf. The field is pretty solid this week, including Masters champion Danny Willett, Alex Noren and more European stalwarts, as well American Bryson DeChambeau before he goes to the Web.com Tour Finals.
Each week, we'll provide our picks and analysis, with our GNN Plus subscribers getting access to our searchable database of PGA Tour results from 2011-present, our top-15 finish chart and season-long trends on DraftKings valuations. They'll be available at your disposal as part of a growing set of tools to help in your research.
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Here are our top 10 picks:
1. Danny Willett -- The Masters and defending champ feasts here, with three top-15s in the last five years. A good place to reset before the Ryder Cup.
2. Alex Noren -- The Scottish Open winner deserves a good look this week with a nice European Masters record. He's a class player in this field.
3. Lee Westwood -- Westwood can cruise this week knowing he's officially on the Ryder Cup team. May lead to a little letdown, but he makes a lot of sense here.
4. Matt Fitzpatrick -- Fitzpatrick comes back after a week off following making the Ryder Cup team. This ballstriker's course should fit his game.
5. David Lipsky -- A former winner here, Lipsky (whose putting stroke is unreal) is in good form, including a T-3 at the Made in Denmark.
6. Richie Ramsay -- Total horse-for-course pick. Ramsay is dynamite here, with three top-15s in the last five years.
7. Bernd Wiesberger -- This is Wiesberger Country, and the Austrian should do well here. He has a good track record in the event.
8. Richard Sterne -- Richard Sterne is playing awesome golf this summer, and he comes off a top-10 finish at the Made in Denmark.
9. Andy Sullivan -- Sullivan's on the Ryder Cup team, and he should feel a little freed up this week. Playing steady golf overall.
10. Graeme Storm -- He finished T-7 in Prague, and he's got a modest record at Crans-sur-Sierre.
My DraftKings team for this week:
1. David Lipsky - $10,300
2. Richie Ramsay - $9,200
3. Richard Sterne - $9,000
4. Romain Wattel - $7,500
5. Paul Dunne - $7,200
6. Graeme Storm - $6,300
Finish Trends
We start by looking at the recent past, back at players who have finished inside the top 15 in the last five European Tour events. Here are the players in this week's field with the most top-15 finishes in the last five European Tour events:
- Alex Noren - 2 - T-8 French Open, WIN Scottish Open
- Andy Sullivan - 2 - T-5 French Open, T-6 Scottish Open
- Bernd Wiesberger - 2 - T-7 BMW International Open, T-11 French Open
- Callum Shinkwin - 2 - T-9 French Open, T-8 Scottish Open
- David Lipsky - 2 - 6th Czech Masters, T-3 Made in Denmark
- Graeme Storm - 2 - T-9 BMW International Open, T-7 Czech Masters
- Matteo Manassero - 2 - T-13 BMW International Open, T-3 Scottish Open
- Paul Dunne - 2 - T-13 BMW International Open, T-10 Made in Denmark
- Richard Sterne - 3 - T-11 French Open, T-13 Scottish Open, T-10 Made in Denmark
We're also interested in the players in the field that have finished in the top 15 at the Omega European Masters multiple times in the last five years:
- Alejandro Canizares - 2
- Tommy Fleetwood - 2
- Richard Green - 2
- Miguel Angel Jimenez - 3
- Rikard Karlberg - 2
- Paul Lawrie - 2
- Edoardo Molinari - 2
- Richie Ramsay - 3
- Brett Rumford - 2
- Marcel Siem - 2
- Lee Slattery - 2
- Romain Wattel - 2
- Bernd Wiesberger - 2
- Danny Willett - 3
Ideally, we want to find players who are both playing well now and have a history of playing well at this championship.
Salary Trends
DraftKings salaries change from week to week, depending on field strength and size, as well a player's recent record and their history on a course. It's in looking at how a salary changes over time that we might get some clues as to players that could be a little overrated or underrated.
We're looking here at the players who are salaried at $1,000 or more than their season average:
- Danny Willett
- Richard Sterne
- Bradley Dredge
- Richie Ramsay
- Marcus Fraser
- Matthew Fitzpatrick
- Thongchai Jaidee
- Carlos Del Moral
- Miguel Jimenez
- Andrew Johnston
- Alexander Noren
- David Lipsky
- Tyrrell Hatton
Here are players who have multiple top 15s in the last five European Tour (specific) events who are playing less than $1,000 above their average salary this week.
- Andy Sullivan - $480 BELOW
- Graeme Storm - $186 BELOW
- Paul Dunne - $280 BELOW
