The final men’s major of 2023 is here. The Open Championship returns to Royal Liverpool Golf Club (often referred to as Hoylake). Hoylake presents a proper links golf exam as it will test every area of a player’s skillset and allow a player multiple options with each shot. The par 71 layout stretches out beyond 7,300 yards and we will see a significant variation in scores this week.

If players are hitting the ball well, I can see some very low scores as the course is soft and the forecast calls for a little bit of rain with winds no more than 20mph this week. If players aren’t striking the ball well, Hoylake will expose them in multiple aspects. The bunkers are more penal than most other links golf courses. There is in-course out of bounds in play on multiple holes and the greens are elevated with large runoffs that will make it very difficult to save par for those who don’t have their irons dialed.

Let’s take a look at a few of the top players to target for our DraftKings lineup this week:

Jon Rahm $11,200

With Rahm taking the last few weeks off, we are seeing his price drop well below Scottie Scheffler ($12,500) and Rory McIlroy ($11,900) all of a sudden. Let’s not forget that Rahm has won six times in his last 19 events, including the Masters! He has finished 11th or better in two of the last three Opens. He makes for a great value play that will also probably come at reduced ownership with everyone clamoring toward Scottie and Rory.

Jordan Spieth $9,700

This is a great buy-low spot for Spieth. He has missed the cut in four of his last six events. Many people will pass over Spieth at this price based on that current form. Historically, no matter how bad of form Spieth has as he enters the Open, he plays well. He has finished 44th or better in all nine of his appearances, including five top-10 finishes. Jordan plays well on links golf course because it brings out his creative side and allows him to showcase his world class around-the-green game.

Tony Finau $8,200

Here is another great buy-low spot. Finau has not finished better than 32nd in his last five starts. Let’s not forget that Finau is the 16th ranked player in the world. Prior to this recent five event “slump,” he finished 31st or better in fourteen straight events, including two wins. Most of these recent lackluster results were due to a balky putter, but Finau has shown better putting form historically on slower greens. His game fits links golf well as he can flight the ball low and he has an underrated around-the-green game. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he has finished 28th or better in all six appearances at the Open.

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