Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – 2016 KLM Open

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the 2016 KLM Open

The 2016 KLM Open Fantasy Preview

The European Tour season is flying along and the last few weeks have seen some of the best golfers Europe has to offer taking home trophies. Two events ago it was Ryder Cup participant Thomas Pieters that was able to earn his third career victory as he ascended to 38^th in the Official World Golf Rankings and ensured his spot with the rest of the European crew on the Ryder Cup team. More recently, Alexander Noren nailed down his sixth career win at the Omega Masters, posting a score of 17-under and jumping into the top-30 of the OWGR. Next stop on the TOUR will be The Dutch in the Netherlands for the KLM Open; a tourney first established in 1912. The course features 7,128 yards of par-71 golf and will be making its debut on the TOUR after being completed just five years ago.

This event boasts a very strong list of past champions with Simon Dyson (2006, 2008, 2011), Ross Fisher (2007), Darren Clarke (2008), Martin Kaymer (2010), Peter Hanson (2012), Joost Luiten (2013), Paul Casey (2014), and Thomas Pieters (2015) all finishing with their name on top of the leaderboard over the past decade. This was Pieters second career win at the youthful age of 23 as he held off Eduardo De La Riva and Lee Slattery by a single stroke. Weekend rounds of 62 and 65 vaulted him to the top as he benefitted from a missed four-foot par putt by De La Riva which would have sent the tournament into a playoff. Also interesting for Pieters this week is that he won the Made in Denmark event two weeks previous to coming here and last year was victorious at the Czech Masters two weeks ahead of heading to the KLM Open.

Both Pieters and Noren come into the week as the frontrunners thanks to recent performances and will be joined at the top by 2015 BMW Championship winner Byeong-Hun An, four-time European Tour victor Joost Luiten, and three-time winner Bernd Wiesberger. Besides Pieters, there will be three other past champions of the KLM Open in Peter Hanson, Simon Dyson, and Maarten Lafeber. Also among the entrants will be 2009 PGA Champion Y.E. Yang.

The European Tour being added to daily fantasy sports has given a great opportunity to those of us in the United States to catch some of the talented players overseas whom we may have otherwise failed noticed. The overall knowledge of the golfers and game is somewhat limited in these parts and with a little extra knowledge you can certainly gain an edge on the rest of your competition. Below are some options to take a look at when constructing you lineups in the coming week.

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The KLM Open Fantasy Picks and Predictions

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The KLM Open Fantasy Picks

Top Option – Thomas Pieters – $12,100 – There is just too much to like about Pieters this week to not select him as the anchor on your team. Noren is certainly an enticing option below him at a slightly cheaper price ($11,500), but the Belgium-born 24-year-old comes into this week with three consecutive top-four finishes; including his third career victory at the Made in Denmark event. Let’s also not forget that he was a dominant force when he played in this tourney last season, winning with his 19-under score while shooting 68 or better in each round. The youngster began his recent run against the best in the world, just barely finishing out of the medal race in the Olympic Games with a fourth place and has now carded a score of 67 or better in six of his last 12 rounds while averaging just over 111 DraftKings points per outing in the process. Pieters will continue to find ways into the winner’s circle thanks to his massive drive (301.6 yards per, 14^th on TOUR) which has aided him in achieving a stroke average of 70.57 (7^th on TOUR) in 2016. You can watch out for him to keep his recent success going and leave the rest of the field in the dust come Sunday.

Mid-Tier – Mikko Ilonen – $8,600 – Ilonen may be 12 years older than our workhorse this week, but he is also on one of the nicer runs on the European TOUR. He has made it into the money at each of his last six events, piling up the top-25s along the way with five such outings. His best came most recently with a 12^th in the Omega Masters and he will be coming to The Dutch after putting together a pair of top-20 finishes in his past two seasons at this tournament. The Finnish golfer has five career European TOUR victories to his name, and despite not getting one since 2014, has remained one of the more consistent golfers on this circuit. Ilonen’s calling card is his ability to hit greens consistently (68.3%, 55^th on TOUR) and make his putts when he is on the flat surface (1.767 putts per GIR, 46^th on TOUR). Look for Ilonen to keep his current pace going and earn his first top-10 of 2016.

Mid-Tier – Richie Ramsay – $7,900 – Ramsay’s average finishing position of 45.29 this season is the best of his career as he has made it into the money in 13-of-17 (76%) opportunities. The three-time European TOUR winner has seen a couple of close calls this year, grabbing two sixth-place finishes at the Scottish Open and China Open while combining to go 28-under in those two tournaments. Ramsay may not be the most surefire option this week, but you can expect a player who gives himself plenty of opportunities to score low thanks to his accuracy off the tee (63.5%, 39^th on TOUR) and from the fairway (68.9% GIR, 53^rd on TOUR). Ramsay has already shown he can compete against this type of field with a ninth in 2014 installment of this event and he should have no issues making the cut, but his ceiling here is a victory and that is big for a guy in this range.

Mid-Tier – Nino Bertasio – $7,300 – After previously being one of the top golfers on the Alps and Challenge TOURs, Bertasio has taken his game the European TOUR full time and with some great results. Over 19 events played, the Italian has been able to get a paycheck 13 times and owns two top-10s. With his above-average putter (1.772 putts per GIR, 52^nd on TOUR), the 28-year-old has been able to get into the top-30 on five occasions over his last nine tournaments and has cracked 70 points on DraftKings four imtes over his last eight. As he is fairly new to the European TOUR, many people may be fading him when they are putting together their lineups as they don’t necessarily trust someone that they do not know, but Bertasio has been consistent enough at this price to be a nice addition to a cash lineup.

Bargain Buy – Justin Walters – $6,200 – Walters was overmatched plenty during the early parts of 2016, and heading into the Open de France back in early July, was riding a streak of six straight early exits from his events. That all changed with his 45^th in the Open de France as he followed that with another three made cuts; including great showings at both the Scottish Open (21^st) and Czech Masters (11^th). Walters brings a nice combo of driving distance (294.5 yards per, 45^th on TOUR) and putting ability (29.3 putts per round, 56^th on TOUR) that will allow him to improve on his missed cut in his first attempt in the KLM Open back in 2013.

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