Fantasy Golf: The British Open Preview

After last week's announcement of my intention to attempt to qualify for the club championship, I feel compelled to provide a brief account of how it went down. The format was two days of stroke play from the back tees competing for fifteen spots. I was the second oldest player in a field of about thirty (uh oh this feels like a preemptive excuse). Also, worth noting that they're playing the Maryland Open on the same course from the same tees as we speak and, the last time it was held there, some kid from UVA named Denny McCarthy won it. 

I opened relatively strong with a first round 79 that threatened to go off the rails after the 8th hole until I hit a 5-iron to six feet on the 9th for a birdie. The back nine was following a similar pattern but then ended with a pretty classy check and roll chip-in from ten yards off the 18th green for another birdie. Overall I putted like hot garbage and made three brain dead doubles but still found myself alone in 9th place. As I left the scorer's table to go downtown and watch the Orioles flounder while drinking celebratory beers in 90+ degree heat, I let the worst imaginable thought creep in . . . "I got this."

The thing you need to know about individual stroke play events if you've never played one is that they're hard as shit. Twenty foot birdie putts that have you licking your chops in a 5-5-10 suddenly become wars of temptation v. restraint as one side is telling you how sweet a birdie would be while the other is warning against a four foot comebacker for par. Legit plus handicaps regularly struggle to break 80 because all it takes is a couple wayward tee shots and a few missed putts to ruin your day. Everyone who fancies themself a real player should try it at least once just to feel the joy of standing over a four foot bogey putt after you've missed a three foot part putt. It's positively fucking scintillating.  

With whatever all of that was being said, I figured an 80 on Sunday would be a lock to get me qualified and I could probably get away with an 81 or 82. I was paired with a younger guy playing to a 1.2 index and another kid who had at least DI college level ball speed as evidenced by the one driver he hit on the front that carried over 300 in the air. To put our age difference into perspective, he was two years younger than my son when they played high school soccer together . . . four years ago.  

The gameplan was holding-up pretty well on the front with four bogeys through the 7th hole and a "makeable" straight downhill birdie putt on the 8th. And then the horn blew. The delay lasted about an hour which was just enough time for two cocktails and three putts to prepare for the one I was going to have to go out and hit. I promptly rolled out to the 8th green and three-whacked it. Then I made an inexcusable double on the 9th. Then the horn blew again and we sat for another hour. When I slid off the barstool for the second time, I felt like I'd just been riding a donkey down a mountain for six hours. 

The back nine eases you in with four relatively easy holes before hitting you with the hardest stretch on the course from 14-17 so I got through the 13th ok at one over with a birdie on the 12th. Then the wheels came flying-off thanks in part to a drive we all thought flew straight down the middle of the 14th that we never found. Maybe the soggy fairway swallowed it or maybe it ran out of gas and caught the creek but the result was a deflating triple. 

I'm going to go ahead and kill any drama. Next came an uninspired bogey followed by a string of doubles so it was +10 on the last five holes after playing the first thirty-one in +16. I think I was more exhausted than angry. One could say that I misjudged the finish line and there is some truth to that but the fact is they kept moving it back on me which is brutal for an old grinder just trying to scratch and claw his way back to the house.  

In the end I missed the playoff by four shots but the crazy part is that I ultimately came out of it feeling optimistic. I don't think I've played nine respectable holes in a row this year much less thirty-one under those conditions so it really ended-up being a positive experience. At least that's what I keep trying to tell myself . . .      

GOLF ANALYSIS

I'm sticking with the Jon Rahm strategy this week despite the fact that I still have Xander Schauffele available. And speaking of Schauffele, I just learned that my one and done season ends at the Wyndham Championship which means that this guy who writes a golf blog as one way to sustain his passion for life will have failed to pick the third ranked player in the world this season. Not that he's done anything to make me regret it but I still think that might rise to the level of fantasy golf guru malpractice. 

The fact is that Rahm would be the pick no matter who I had available. It feels like we're due for another LIV major winner and Rahm's British Open record over the last five years is stellar including a T11 the last time it was held at Port Rush. My next two options would be Russell Henley and Robert MacIntryre who have both been buzzing around the edge elite player status for over a year now.

What makes me nervous this week is that, when I look at the picks, I keep picturing Cole Hauser saying "it's a good caaah . . . engine's good, engine's good." The list just feels solid from top to bottom with Matt Fitzpatrick finding his groove lately, Sepp Straka and Cameron Young being undervalued, and Jordan Smith looking like a strong sleeper even though I'm not really sure who he is. Sure it may turn out to be the ugliest fucking car I've ever seen in my life but let me have my day.       

Place	Player	Odds
Winner	Jon Rahm	+1200
Top 5	Xander Schauffele	+450
Top 10	Cameron Young	+600
Top 10	Russell Henley	+400
Top 20	Jordan Smith	+360

One and Done Pick: Jon Rahm

Settle down big boy. This in no
way means that I like you again.

Other Guy I'd Pick: Russell Henley

Sleeper Pick: Jordan Smith

DraftKings Top Ten Values

Rory McIlroy	$11,500
Jon Rahm	$10,400
Xander Schauffele	$9,700
Robert MacIntyre	$9,000
Russell Henley	$7,900
Matt Fitzpatrick	$7,800
Sepp Straka	$7,400
Cameron Young	$7,200
Laurie Canter	$6,200
Jordan Smith	$5,900

Email the Fantasy Golf Report here.

Last week was the 40th anniversary of Live Aid which took place simultaneously in London and Philadelphia and, with all due respect to Woodstock, will go down as the greatest lineup in the history of rock and roll. The Who, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Elton John . . . the list goes on but most agree (with me being one of them) that Queen stole the show (full performance here). I know I'm an easy mark for chill inducing inspirational movie scenes but damn the end of Bohemian Rhapsody absolutely nailed what close to 2 billion of us experienced live in 1985. 

THE FREDDY FREAKIN' MERCURY

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE CHART 

The obvious omission this week is Tommy Fleetwood, especially considering he was the runner-up here in 2019. This will probably come back to bite me as these things often do but so often in golf, when all signs point towards success, it delivers the opposite because expectations tend to be the great equalizer (see Rory at Quail Hollow). I frankly hope he wins the thing because he's as classy as they come but I don't see it this time.  

	DK Price	2024	2023	2022	2021	2019
Scottie Scheffler	$14,200	T7	T23	T28	T8	DNP
Rory McIlroy	$11,500	MC	T6	3rd	T46	MC
Jon Rahm	$10,400	T7	T2	T34	T3	T11
Bryson DeChambeau	$10,100	MC	T60	T8	T33	MC
Xander Schauffele	$9,700	1st	T17	T15	T26	T41
Tommy Fleetwood	$9,500	MC	T10	T4	T33	2nd
Shane Lowry	$9,300	6th	MC	T21	T12	1st
Ludvig Aberg	$9,100	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Robert MacIntyre	$9,000	T50	T71	T34	T8	T6
Tyrrell Hatton	$8,900	MC	T20	T11	MC	T6
Collin Morikawa	$8,700	T16	MC	MC	1st	DNP
Justin Thomas	$8,500	T31	MC	T53	T40	T11
Viktor Hovland	$8,300	MC	T13	T4	T12	DNP
Joaquin Niemann	$8,200	T58	MC	T53	T59	MC
Patrick Cantlay	$8,100	T25	T33	T8	MC	T41
Brooks Koepka	$8,000	T43	T64	MC	T6	T4
Russell Henley	$7,900	5th	MC	T62	MC	DNP
Matt Fitzpatrick	$7,800	T50	T41	T21	T26	T20
Jordan Spieth	$7,700	T25	T23	T8	2nd	T20
Justin Rose	$7,600	T2	MC	DNP	T46	T20
Hideki Matsuyama	$7,500	T66	T13	T68	DNP	MC
Sam Burns	$7,400	T31	MC	T42	T76	DNP
Sepp Straka	$7,400	T22	T2	MC	DNP	DNP
Adam Scott	$7,300	T10	T33	T15	T46	MC
Ben Griffin	$7,300	MC	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Cameron Young	$7,200	T31	T8	2nd	DNP	DNP
Corey Conners	$7,200	T25	T52	T28	T15	MC
Jason Day	$7,200	T13	T2	DNP	MC	MC
Ryan Fox	$7,100	T25	T52	MC	T67	T16
Patrick Reed	$7,100	DNP	T33	T47	MC	10th
Brian Harman	$7,000	T60	1st	T6	T19	MC
Thomas Detry	$7,000	DNP	T13	T34	MC	DNP
Min Woo Lee	$6,900	MC	T41	T21	MC	DNP
Sungjae Im	$6,900	T7	T20	T81	DNP	MC
Aaron Rai	$6,900	T75	DNP	MC	T19	DNP
Cameron Smith	$6,800	MC	T33	1st	T33	T20
Tony Finau	$6,800	MC	MC	T28	T19	3rd
Wyndham Clark	$6,700	MC	T33	T76	DNP	DNP
Akshay Bhatia	$6,700	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Si Woo Kim	$6,700	T43	MC	T15	DNP	MC
Keegan Bradley	$6,700	MC	MC	MC	MC	MC
Marc Leishman	$6,700	DNP	DNP	MC	MC	MC
Sergio Garcia	$6,700	DNP	DNP	T68	T19	T67
Tom Kim	$6,600	MC	T2	T47	DNP	DNP
Sahith Theegala	$6,600	MC	MC	T34	DNP	DNP
Dean Burmester	$6,600	T19	DNP	T11	T40	DNP
Daniel Berger	$6,600	DNP	DNP	DNP	T8	DNP
Louis Oosthuizen	$6,500	MC	T23	MC	T3	T20
Nicolai Hojgaard	$6,500	T66	T23	T53	DNP	DNP
Rickie Fowler	$6,500	71st	T23	DNP	T53	T6
Rasmus Hojgaard	$6,500	T60	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Lucas Herbert	$6,500	DNP	MC	T15	MC	DNP
Taylor Pendrith	$6,500	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Davis Thompson	$6,400	T66	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Byeong Hun An	$6,400	T13	T23	DNP	T26	T32
Harris English	$6,400	T50	MC	MC	T46	DNP
Thriston Lawrence	$6,400	4th	74th	T42	DNP	DNP
Harry Hall	$6,400	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Dustin Johnson	$6,300	T31	MC	T6	T8	T51
Lee Westwood	$6,300	DNP	DNP	T34	T59	T4
Matthew Jordan	$6,300	T10	T10	MC	DNP	DNP
Aldrich Potgieter	$6,300	DNP	DNP	MC	DNP	DNP
C. Bezuidenhout	$6,200	MC	T49	T68	T53	MC
Denny McCarthy	$6,200	MC	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Thor Olesen	$6,200	T43	MC	DNP	DNP	T57
Matt Wallace	$6,200	T41	MC	DNP	T40	T51
Andrew Novak	$6,200	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Laurie Canter	$6,200	T25	T17	79th	DNP	DNP
Chris Kirk	$6,100	T31	MC	T42	MC	DNP
Lucas Glover	$6,100	MC	DNP	DNP	MC	T20
Maverick McNealy	$6,100	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Nick Taylor	$6,000	MC	MC	DNP	DNP	DNP
Jordan Smith	$5,900	MC	T41	T47	DNP	DNP
Matteo Manassero	$5,900	T31	DNP	DNP	DNP	MC
Max Greyserman	$5,900	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Phil Mickelson	$5,800	T60	MC	MC	MC	MC
Padraig Harrington	$5,800	T22	T64	MC	72nd	MC
Guido Migliozzi	$5,800	T31	T64	MC	MC	DNP
Daniel Brown	$5,800	T10	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Mackenzie Hughes	$5,700	T16	DNP	MC	T6	DNP
Jason Kokrak	$5,700	DNP	DNP	T42	T26	T32
Francesco Molinari	$5,600	MC	MC	T15	MC	T11
Stewart Cink	$5,300	MC	T23	MC	MC	T20
Zach Johnson	$5,200	MC	T55	MC	DNP	MC