DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: The Open Championship Cash and GPP Strategy

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Purse: $17M (in 2025)
Winner's Share: $3.1M
FedEx Cup Points: 750 to the Winner
Location: Southport, England
Course: Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Yardage: 7,223
Par: 70
2025 champion: Scottie Scheffler (Royal Portrush)

Tournament Preview

St. Andrews in Scotland is the crown jewel of the Open rota. To that there is no debate. After that, it can get murky -- everybody kind of has their own favorite, their own pecking order.

However, there is at least some evidence to suggest that Royal Birkdale is second on the list. It is anecdotally considered the rota's top course in England, and the Royal & Ancient (R&A) has taken a liking to it, as well.

Royal Birkdale was late to the party, not playing host to its first Open until 1954, three years after gaining "Royal" status. Since then, however, it has been the site of the most Opens of any course outside of St. Andrews.

The 154th Open Championship will be the 11th time the world's oldest golf tournament has been contested at Royal Birkdale. With the course situated hHard by the Irish Sea in Northwest England, Opens at Birkdale have been won by some of the biggest names in golf: Arnold Palmer (1961), Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976), Tom Watson capturing his fifth and final Claret Jug (1983) and, in the most recent in 2017, Jordan Spieth. It was a 23-year-old Spieth's third major, leaving golf observers with thoughts of double-digit majors dancing in their heads for golf's Golden Boy. Alas, Spieth has not won another since then.

There have been many changes to Birkdale since Spieth's memorable and miracle escape, scene of the perhaps the Most Spieth Thing ever (and there have been oh so many):

Birkdale is more straightforward than most links course, not tricky or quirky. Wind is always the primary defense in links golf, but at Birkdale the golfers are also faced with the narrowest fairways in the rota. Miss the fairway and encounter dense "vegetation." Before the 2017 Open, John Daly, of all people, stressed to Golf Channel the importance of being in the fairway. Dustin Johnson said he might hit driver on only four holes, with the rest 2- and 3-irons. (Johnson will miss a major for the first time since the 2017 Masters -- the infamous fall down the stairs -- backing out of final qualifying at the last minute.)

A Mackenzie & Ebert renovation a few years back added less than 100 yards to the course from the 2017 number. Yet other changes were significant, including rerouting of holes, and even creating a new one, on the back nine. But no change was bigger than on No. 5, which has become a potentially terrorizing risk/reward drivable par-4 at 321 yards. The green is surrounded by seven bunkers, some of them huge. Leaving your drive short brings bunkers into play, long means running off the back of the green, left means fescue trouble and right could mean outright disaster.

There are 110 bunkers in all, down from the 125ish is 2017. They are generally less severe than what we know of Open pot bunkers -- there are not a lot of sideway "outs" needed at Birkdale. The greens are a fescue/bentgrass/poa blend and average a smallish 5,200 square feet, making getting on the green in regulation harder than some other Open venues.

There are just two par-5s on the par-70 track, both late in the round at Nos. 14 and 17, with the former exceeding 600 yards. Half of the 12 par-4s are 450ish yards or longer, with three of those exceeding 500. The longest par-3 is the newly created 15th hole, a massive 241-yarder.

Turning to the field, things may have gotten a lot more interesting in the last week, after Scottie Scheffler missed his first cut in four years at the Scottish Open. And so Scheffler's disastrous season continues! Sarcasm! It may be hard to remember 12 long months ago, but Scheffler is the defending Open champion, having captured the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush. This is his last chance to win a 2026 major, after winning at least one the past two years and in three of the past four.

Last week not withstanding at the Renaissance Club, Scheffler handles links golf just fine. He tied for seventh at The Open in 2024 and had another top-10 in his 2021 debut. Dismiss him this week at your own peril.

Scheffler is one of the top storylines. There are others:

• Rory McIlroy is almost always in the mix come Sunday at The Open. He has finished in the top-10 eight times in his 16 tries, including last year's T7 and a T4 at Birkdale in 2017. More than a quarter of the 156-man field is back from nine years ago.
• There is always added focus on the Europeans this week, especially those from the U.K. Matt Fitzpatrick, having his finest overall season, heads that list, and he's coming off his finest Open with last year's tie for fourth. Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre are two others at the top of many contender lists.
• Jon Rahm, despite a roller-coaster season, can't be discounted. He's finished second, third and seventh at The Open in the past five years.
• Wyndham Clark, shot out of a cannon the past couple of months, just won his second U.S. Open at a links-like Shinnecock Hills. He was having a terrible season a year ago, when all he did was tie for fourth at The Open.
• Tom Kim has come out of nowhere. He didn't even qualify for the PGA Championship, much less the Masters. All he's done since then is finish third at the U.S. Open and win the Scottish Open. While Kim missed the cut at The Open Championship the past two years, don't forget he was shared runner-up in 2023.

As for the weather, things are looking quite favorable for the golfers. The wind is forecast to be moderate, there isn't much rain in the forecast and high temperatures will be in the 80s to start the tournament before making their way to the low 70s by Sunday. Still, this forecast comes five days before the tournament begins, so check it again before the lock. Remember, The Open starts everyone on the first tee, creating an enormously long day with some nine hours from the first group to the last. Right now, there seems to be no advantage to early or late tee times but that can change.

Royal Birkdale historical factoids: It was here in 2017 in the third round that Branden Grace shot the first 62 in major championship history. (It was his only round in the 60s!) There have been four other 62s since then: Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club and Schauffele and Shane Lowry at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla. ... While there are almost 40 golfers from the 2017 Open at Birkdale back this week, there are also seven from the 2008 Open. They are Padraig Harrington, who won that tournament for back-to-back Open titles, plus Stewart Cink, David Duval, Alex Noren, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson.

Key Stats to Winning at Royal Birkdale

The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
• Strokes Gained: Approach/Ball Striking/Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green/Scrambling
• Putting inside 10 feet
• Bogey Avoidance
• Major Experience 

Past Champions

2025 - Scottie Scheffler (Royal Portrush)
2024 - Xander Schauffele (Royal Troon)
2023 - Brian Harman (Royal Liverpool)
2022 - Cameron Smith (St. Andrews)
2021 - Collin Morikawa (Royal St. George's)
2020 - No Tournament
2019 - Shane Lowry (Royal Portrush)
2018 - Francesco Molinari (Carnoustie)
2017 - Jordan Spieth (Royal Birkdale)
2016 - Henrik Stenson (Royal Troon)

Champion's Profile

It may sounds a little weird to think of a links course as one favoring ball strikers, but that's Royal Birkdale. Keeping the ball in the fairway is first and foremost.

In 2017, in far worse conditions (some rain, wind) than are forecast this week, Spieth won at 12-under. He was the only golfer in double figures and runner-up Matt Kuchar (9-under) was the only one within six shots of Spieth. So the scoring was tight, even without drastic weather.

Spieth shot four rounds in the 60s: 65-69-65-69. He had nine bogeys but zero doubles. Kuchar had eight bogeys and one double. Everyone will make some bogeys this week; avoiding big numbers will be critical.

The fescue/bentgrass/poa green surfaces are not all that complex, but putting from inside 10 feet is always challenging at The Open.

While driving accuracy and other on-the-course factors will be paramount in determining who will hoist the Claret Jug, it's hard to ignore major experience and Open experience. That's why we put such an emphasis on major history in our Open Power Rankings. Morikawa winning in his Open debut in 2021 is an incredible outlier. Every other winner in the past 15 years had played at least four Opens before winning.

DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS

Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap

$10,000 and up

Rory McIlroy - $11,900 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +810)
It's a little hard to fathom that McIlroy now has more Green Jackets than Claret Jugs. It's been 12 years since he won his lone Open, but he has had multiple close calls. He finished top-7 six times since that 2014 win, including T4 at Birkdale in 2017 and T7 last year.

Matt Fitzpatrick - $10,000 (+1900)
The Open is made for Brits, right? Not necessarily. Sometimes the pressure is enormous. In his first eight Opens, Fitzpatrick never finished better than 20th. And then suddenly last year, he tied for fourth. And now he's having his best season ever and in the conversation for PGA Tour Player of the Year. Besides his three wins in 2026, Fitzpatrick finished top-25 or better in the first three majors.

$9,000-$9,900

Xander Schauffele - $9,800 (+2500)
In eight career Opens, Schauffele has never finished worse than 20th. That came in his debut in 2017 at Birkdale. He won The Open in 2024, then tied for seventh in his title defense -- no easy task. In the four biggest tournaments so far this season -- PLAYERS, Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open -- Schauffele has finished no worse than T11.

Justin Rose - $9,100 (+4200)
About to turn 46 on July 30, Rose is still among the sport's elite. He finished T3 at the Masters, T10 at the PGA Championship and T11 at the U.S. Open. He has 11 top-25s in The Open Championship, including last year's tie for 16th. Not only did Rose play in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, he's one of seven golfers who played there in 2008.

$8,000-$8,900

Collin Morikawa - $8,700 (+3400)
Morikawa has missed the cut in three of four Opens since his surprise win as a first-timer in 2021. What we like about Morikawa this year is that on a course that puts a premium on accuracy, and not on distance or necessarily shot-making imagination, he's ranked seventh on Tour in driving accuracy and first in Strokes Gained: Approach. And he's a much better putter from inside 10 feet than he is overall.

Wyndham Clark - $8,200 (+4300)
We all can see with our own two eyes how hot Clark is right now. There's been nobody better over the past two months. But even last year, amid a brutally bad season, he still delivered at The Open with a tie for fourth. It was his best result of the season.

$7,000-$7,900

Sam Burns - $7,800 (+4600) 
Burns was not at the Scottish Open with he and his wife reportedly expecting a child. So this pick does not come without some concern -- how much he's practiced, how much he's slept, etc. But Burns has been great all season, especially in the biggest tournaments -- seventh at the Masters, runner-up at the U.S. Open. He has been merely okay at The Open, with four made cuts in five tries but without a high finish. This is a different Burns this season, however.

Russell Henley - $7,700 (+5300)
Any time we hear there's a course requiring getting the ball in the fairway, our Henley radar perks up. He has become a big player in majors the past few years, with top-10s in five of his last nine. They include the past two Opens --T10 in 2025, solo fifth in 2024). This is a helluva price for those types of results. Henley leads the PGA Tour in driving accuracy.

$6,000-$6,900

Hideki Matsuyama - $6,900 (+8600)
Matsuyama probably has the best cut-make percentage in majors of any golfer since he debuted in them as an amateur in 2011: He's made 48 of 54. This season, he's a perfect 16 for 16 on Tour with eight top-25s. In his 11 Opens, Matsuyama has five top-25s. He could be highly owned, but we doubt it. There are too many other guys in the same range who will draw interest, namely Si Woo Kim, Min Woo Lee and, especially, Tom Kim.

Maverick McNealy - $6,700 (+11000)
McNealy has made 15 of 16 cuts this season with nine top-25s. He's made the cut in the past seven majors, including a tie for 23rd at last year's Open. McNealy had top-20s at the Masters and PGA Championship this year. We just don't see such quality golfers in the $6,000s very often.

Nicolai Hojgaard - $6,600 (+9600)
Now 25, Hojgaard might finally be developing into the player many people though he would. He has eight top-25s and four top-10s in 16 starts on the PGA Tour this season. He has a ton of major experience for someone his age. This will be his 16th. He's made the cut in the past four Opens, with a tie for 14th a year ago.

$5,000-$5,900

Sam Stevens - $5,700 (+30000)
We picked Stevens at the Masters. He tied for 24th. We picked him at the PGA Championship. He made the cut (T65). We were idiots and didn't pick him at the U.S. Open. He tied for seventh. Stevens has never missed a cut in a major, going a perfect 9-for-9. Where else can you find that in the $5,000s? This will be his first Open, so it's not a slam dunk. Stevens has made 17-of-19 cuts this season with seven top-25s.

Andy Sullivan - $5,500 (+60000)
Now 39, Sullivan was once ranked in the top 30 of the OWGR. But he fell on hard times and plummeted outside the top 300 four years ago. Now he's back at No. 127 thanks to a good season on the DP World Tour that has featured a runner-up and a third-place finish. This will be Sullivan's first Open but first since 2021. He just tied for 30th at the Scottish Open.

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