Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – KLM Open

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2017 KLM Open

2017 KLM Open Fantasy Preview

One inch….that was all that separated us from a third consecutive winner on the European Tour at the European Masters last week.

Our man Scott Hend, who had led all week until Sunday, was forced into a playoff with fast-finishing Matt Fitzpatrick, whose final round of 64 was by far the best shot on the day. The pair thought out three playoff holes, and on the second of those Hend missed a putt by the inch to take the spoils. On the next hole….well, you can probably guess the rest.

The players make the short hop from Switzerland to the Netherlands this week for the KLM Open, an event won in fine style by local boy Joost Luiten 12 months ago.

He was never out of the picture after a second round of 64, but it was his nerveless 63 on the Sunday that secured victory for the home favorite ahead of perennial silverware challenger Bernd Wiesberger.

Joost Luiten of Netherlands celebrates after winning the KLM Open at…

Joost Luiten of Netherlands celebrates after winning the KLM Open at Kennemer G & CC on September 15, 2013 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

From a DFS perspective this is not the ideal tournament given that we have only one hosting of this event at The Dutch, this week’s course. The stats last year give little away, with the average Driving Distance rank of the first ten players home being 28.6, Driving Distance of 33.8, GIR of 22.4, and Putts per Round of 18.3.

So nothing majorly stands out (although Luiten did rank 17 for Driving Accuracy and second for GIR), and so perhaps the weather is our major angle in this week. A treacherous four days of rain are in store, with winds peaking at somewhere in the region of 20 mph. The Dutch is an inland course but one described as Links in nature due to its exposed layout, and so players comfortable in the wind are going to have a huge advantage.

For DFS gamers who enjoy potential micro-advantages, the late/early draw might just have the edge: the early forecast shows sunnier spells and lighter winds on Friday morning from 7:00 until 12:00. Obviously keep an eye on this in the coming days.

This could become something of a grind, and while Luiten’s winning total of -19 suggests a scoreable course it is interesting to note that those in T10 were some nine shots behind the Dutchman. Add a few on for the possible extreme weather this week, and a tough four days is anticipated.

Perhaps the best strategy is to draft players comfortable on Links and playing in adverse weather – current form can go out of the window when you’ve got a 20mph crosswind cutting your cheekbones to ribbons.

So who are we drafting in the Netherlands? Let’s have a look…

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This Week’s KLM Open Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s KLM Open Fantasy Picks

Ryan Fox – $9,500 – Like Jordan Smith before him, you sense that a first European Tour win is not long in the offing for Ryan Fox.

In his last ten starts, the Kiwi has registered four top-10s and four other top-30s, ad from our perspective a number of those have come in relevant events: T4 in both the Scottish and Irish Opens, sixth in the French Open and T21 at the exposed Nordea Masters.

Given his form DraftKings have taken something of a liability by only naming him as the seventh most valuable player this week – make them pay by taking full advantage.

Paul Dunne – $9,200 – There’s a whole stack of players of interest in the $9,000-$9,500 bracket, and Paul Dunne is the next of them.

The Irishman has grown up playing Links golf, and so it is no surprise he has thrived in breezy conditions. He was T16 here 12 months ago, T26 in the Scottish Open and T13 in the French, and that shows a handy upside ahead of a return to the Netherlands.

He probably should have opened his European Tour win account when finishing second at the Trophee Hassan earlier in the season, and as somebody who has been labelled as ‘the next big thing’ ever since holding the 54-hole lead in the Open Championship of 2015, it’s about time Dunne cashed in on that potential. The Dutch looks as likely a venue as any for that to occur.

Andy Sullivan – $9,100 – Our third Links specialist is Andy Sullivan, who also has something of a liking for this event as well.

A trio of relevant top-20s in the summer caught the eye (T7 at the French Open, T9 at the Scottish Open, and T20 at the Irish Open), and in his last two starts in this event he has finished third and T18 – Sullivan also won a trip to space after making a hole-in-one back in 2014!

A three-time European Tour winner, Sullivan is a Ryder Cupper and a player many expect to graduate to the PGA TOUR in the near future. Victory in events like this will hasten his ascent.

Mikko Ilonen – $7,900 – Coming from Finland, cold weather and wind don’t phase Mikko Ilonen – in fact, he’ll feel right at home in Holland this week.

He certainly enjoyed home-style conditions at the European Masters last week, finishing very strongly with 66-64 to snare a fifth-place finish. That follows a T8 at the European Open a couple of weeks prior, so Ilonen’s game is firing at present.

Two of his five European Tour wins have come in relevant events (Irish Open in 2014, Nordea Masters in 2013), and while he is hitting the ball this nicely the Finn has to be considered for windy and exposed assignments like this.

Ashley Chesters – $7,200 – This young Englishman has enjoyed a decent first year as a European Tour pro, there can be no doubt about that.

He’s recorded six top-20 finishes, including top-10s at the European Open and the Trophee Hassan, plus a last-16 berth at the Paul Lawrie Matchplay.

Particularly pleasing about Chesters’ potential for success this week is that he seems to be an excellent Links and wind player. As well as that strong showing in the Matchplay he has finishes of T18 in the Northern Ireland Open on the Challenge Tour and T20 in the Irish Open to his credit this season, and how can we forget his T12 at the British Open in 2015 to win the Silver Medal.

A two-time European Amateur champion, Chesters has the fortitude to win if he can get into contention.

Austin Connelly – $7,000 – This young man was thoroughly impressive in finishing T14 at the Open Championship back in July, and that came hot on the heels of a T8 return at the Nordea Masters – another event played on an exposed track in windy conditions.

So a profile is building of Connelly that suggests he might be a good play in these kinds of event, and we’re more than happy to plunder $7,000 of our salary cap on a guy who recorded a major top-20 just two months ago.

He is Canadian of nationality but was born in, and lived in, Texas all his life, so his ability to play in the wind comes as no surprise. Connelly could be a fantastic sleeper play this week if his game is in good touch.

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