The fourth and final major of the PGA Tour season is here with the British Open Championship. As always, we can expect wind and weather to play significant roles this week. The tour returns to Royal Troon, the site of the thrilling Henrik Stenson-Phil Mickelson duel at the 2016 Open. From a DFS standpoint, the field strength gives us quality players across the salary points and plenty of value options down the board. These pay-down players could be the difference in unlocking some of the builds we want this week, and getting them correct will go a long way towards having a chance come Sunday. Let’s dive into the best PGA DFS value picks for the 2024 British Open Championship.
PGA DFS Picks: Top Values for the British Open Championship (2024)
Need more golf DFS advice? Subscribe today for access to our industry-leading resources, including our PGA DFS projections, lineup generator, contest simulator and weather splits tool.
PGA DFS: British Open Championship Tournament Preview
Royal Troon is a par-71 course that, like most links courses, doesn’t require exceptional distance to be competitive. It offers a variety of holes, including the iconic Postage Stamp par 3, which sometimes plays under 100 yards. Given the unpredictable conditions, focusing on strong short games is advisable, as this skill is valuable at all Open venues.
While a hot putter is always beneficial, predicting who will excel in putting is difficult. Therefore, I will prioritize players with strong second shot and iron play over driving abilities. Right now, the weather looks typically Scottish with rain and wind forecasted, but at the same time, nothing is set in stone. It’s hard to plan for chaos, but we also need to be aware the players might be tested with various conditions over the four days.
PGA DFS Picks: Top Values
Sungjae Im
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $6,900
FanDuel: $9,500
I would expect Im to be popular, especially on DraftKings, given his success last week in Scotland, where he finished fourth and looked ready to tackle a British Open Championship layout. The short game is leading the way right now with three straight events of gaining multiple strokes both around the green and with the putter. That is a combination that will continue to pay dividends if Im can replicate it, and it’s no surprise the results have mirrored that play. Three straight top-15s, including two top-5s, have him checking a ton of boxes heading into the final major of the season.
One area of concern is the concept of majors, as that’s been where Im has struggled the most this season. Considering how talented he is, missing the cut in all three majors this year is extremely concerning and somewhat shocking. He simply put himself out of contention, which eases some of the concerns. As long as Im is able to maintain some of the form he has had, then he should be easily in line for a quality output this week.
Alex Noren
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $7,200
FanDuel: $8,800
Noren needed a good showing last week in Scotland to even get in this field, and he was up to the challenge. He was able to finish 10th and now secures a spot in this week’s major, one where he should be more than comfortable. Although he’s played on the PGA Tour for a while, Noren did most of the damage and all of his winning in Europe, with a lot of links-style courses. Like Im, Noren leaned on his short game last week, which once again should be the formula here.
Noren has plenty of experience at Open Championships, with five top-20 finishes in his 10 appearances in this championship. He knows how to handle the wind, rain and whatever else Scotland can throw at him, and he showed signs of life last week. At $7,200 on DraftKings, Noren is a reasonable salary saver, and with so many options, ownership will not be surprising. I’ll target Noren and expect him to once again find the weekend in the major at which he seems most comfortable.
Ben Griffin
DFS Salary
DraftKings: $5,900
FanDuel: $7,500
Given how much value is out there, it’s not necessary to go into the $5,000 range if you don’t want to this week. However, with the field strength, there still are quality golfers in this last bracket, some of which deserve consideration of being in the pool this week. Ben Griffin doesn’t have a lot of major experience, but his form has been very encouraging. He spent the weekend last week in Scotland and before that was doing some serious work on the PGA Tour. Now, the level of competition is about to really take a leap forward, but he can handle it.
Griffin finished second in Canada and fifth at the John Deere, and he seems to have the irons dialed in regardless of course. His off-tee game is probably the weak link, but around Troon he should have ample options whether he wants to be aggressive or clubbing down and increase the chance of finding a fairway. I don’t know how he will react if we get crazy conditions, and the lack of experience is concerning, but for a $5,900 price tag, I have to at least consider this spot. Griffin belongs in fields and tournaments of this caliber, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him represent himself well in this Open Championship.
Stokastic’s PGA Tools & Expert Advice
Still need more PGA DFS advice? The rest of our expert articles are loaded with advice here to help, but even our experts need tools, and that’s what a subscription to Stokastic will get you! Use the tools our pros use to win contests, like our PGA DFS projections, lineup generator, contest simulator and weather splits tool.
