The 2023 British Open Championship looks set to deliver some high drama. There are multiple top names trending with great form coming into an event and a course that seems likely to offer both low scores (if the wind stays down) and the potential for self-destruction for those who get too lackadaisical in their rounds. Royal Liverpool will play as a short-ish par 72 at 7350 yards, but it takes players around a winding route that offers doglegs, exposure to multiple internal out-of-bounds areas and fickle seaside weather.
DraftKings has also introduced a new tier of pricing for the week, with players available at under $6,000. With two players also priced well above $11,500, it could offer the chance to create some unique and lower-owned lineups.
Below we will go through some of the best under-the-radar pivot plays at various price points for the British Open. We will also look at some names that are perhaps trending too hot in the ownership department and may warrant a fade in larger GPPs. As always, we will use Stokastic’s PGA DFS projections and PGA DFS ownership projections to help make our decisions. But first, make sure to read on and see which players have made fade/pivot list for the final major.
PGA DFS Fades & Pivots | British Open Championship
Royal Liverpool Stats and Info
- Par 72, 7350 yards; set along the sea outside of Liverpool, Royal Liverpool plays as a mostly flat course with smaller greens and several doglegs.
- Hosted 2014 and 2006 British Opens, contains four par 5’s and four par 3’s. Three par 3’s play between 185 and 200 yards, while the par-3 15th is the shortest hole on the course but features traps and potential penalty areas on all sides.
- The course is littered with internal out-of-bounds areas, gorse bushes and pot bunkers that could act to punish wayward shots; players will have plenty of high-pressure shots down the stretch, with out-of-bounds stakes on numerous holes and the short par 3.
- 2014 saw four former TPC Sawgrass winners inside the top 5 for the week.
2023 British Open Championship PGA DFS Fades and Pivots
High-Range PGA DFS Fade: Rickie Fowler
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 16.4%
Fowler comes in as one of the more sentimental picks to win the 2023 British Open, which means he will also be a popular week in DFS. Despite cooling down a touch in Scotland and ending his event with a slightly ugly 76, Fowler did not see his price drop for the British Open at all. In fact, he is nearly $10,000 on DraftKings in this field, which prices him well above other names that he has been lagging behind all season. As great as Fowler’s story is, as is the fact he performed well at Royal Liverpool in 2014, it is hard to justify him at this price for DFS, especially with 15%-plus ownership projected on him. Stokastic’s PGA DFS projections are also cooling on him a touch, as his value score is one of the worst in the $9,000 range. There are simply too many quality names lurking nearby to consider Fowler a true smash, which banishes him to the fade pile for the last major of the year.
High-Range Pivot: Dustin Johnson
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 15.4%
One of the big names lurking underneath Fowler at this year’s British Open is Dustin Johnson. He has been doing his LIV Golf thing for most of 2023 but has shown in the majors that he is still an elite name. Johnson soared out to a solid start at the PGA Championship before fading and then landed a solid 10th at the U.S. Open, where he also opened with a round of 64. Johnson has a win over on LIV already and finished a tidy fifth in his final LIV start prior to the British Open. While he may not be a true links aficionado, Johnson has a stellar record at this event, which includes five top-10 finishes over 13 career starts. The British Open often rewards such veteran status, and the PGA DFS projections see Johnson as a strong play, giving him the exact same top-6 projection as Fowler but a far better value score given his $9,200 DraftKings salary. Johnson will carry some ownership, but with under-the-radar form and a great price, he makes for a great pivot option in larger-field GPPs.
Mid-Range PGA DFS Fade: Tony Finau
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 16.4%
It is hard to argue with the price on Tony Finau, who will cost just over $8,000 on DraftKings. He has proven he can handle himself at the majors but enters this year’s British Open likely to be an extremely popular pick given his price — and the fact both of the top two players are well over $11,500, on DraftKings. With Finau already projecting to be above 15% owned for the week, there will be tons of lineups with Finau and Rory McIlroy in the Millionaire Maker and other large contests. There is also the recent form to worry about. Finau has failed to land a top-10 since his win in Mexico in April, and he has lost multiple strokes putting in four of his last five starts. If Finau were coming in with lower PGA DFS ownership projections, it might be a different story, but there are other names in this range with better form and lower sentiment. That makes him a fade for British Open week.
Mid-Range Pivot: Max Homa
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 9.7%
Homa had a lull between the West Coast swing and the U.S. Open, but he has appeared to snap himself out of the drought over his last few starts. A 21st at the Rocket Mortgage saw him gain over seven strokes ball striking, and he posted a solid ninth in Scotland last week with a solid final round despite the poor weather. Despite the improved play and Stokastic PGA DFS projections that put him right on par with Finau, Homa’s sentiment has stayed low enough that his PGA DFS ownership projections are under 10%. His lack of British Open success (two starts, a career-best 40th place) likely has something to do with that, but his improved play over the last year or so should be getting more respect. Regardless, Homa’s lower ownership and strong PGA DFS projections make him a solid pivot option who looks ready to finally make some noise in a major.
Low-End PGA DFS Fade: Brian Harman
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 13.4%
Harman can often be a tough player to gauge, as he is capable of gaining an obscene number of strokes with his putter nearly any week, regardless of the setting or venue. Lately, he has been racking up strong finishes because his putter has been mashing, as have his approaches. Prior to Scotland, Harman gained over four strokes on approach in three straight events and has nabbed a second, ninth and 12th place finish over his last three starts. As always, with a player of his ilk, it is tough to say when this hot run will burn out. However, with the public becoming interested and Harman’s ownership for major week rising into the 12% range, it may be time to see if there are other options lurking around him that have similar upside.
Low-End Pivot: Si Woo Kim
Projected DFS Golf Ownership at DraftKings: 5.2%
All due respect to Brian Harman, but in terms of overall talent, Si Woo Kim has him covered in spades here. Kim is a former winner at TPC Sawgrass who had a decent breakthrough at this event last season, posting a career-best British Open finish of 15th place at St. Andrews. Given its technical nature, Liverpool should play more up to Kim’s strengths as well. On top of winning THE PLAYERS, he has also won seaside in Hawaii and at another softer venue in Sedgefield where scoring can get exceedingly low. Kim has been one of the most consistent iron players on the PGA all year — gaining strokes on approach in seven straight starts to enter the week — and while his putter has been an issue, his $7,300 DraftKings price feels far too cheap for a player with his level of pedigree and ball striking. Projecting in the 5% ownership range, Kim makes for a great upside pivot in a range where a couple of names figure to soak up a ton of the popularity.
