European Tour Fantasy Golf Predictions – HNA Open De France

2018 HNA Open De France Preview

The European Tour kicks into gear with four fantastic weeks of golf that will culminate in the British Open, which gets under way at Carnoustie on July 19.

Prior to that we have a trio of Links-based tests that should enable the players to become attuned to what is expected of them in Scotland in the year’s third major. The Scottish and Irish Opens follow this week’s Open de France.

This is a Rolex Series event so there’s plenty of cash on the line, but arguably even more important than that is the location: Le Golf National, this week’s host, will also be home to the Ryder Cup in September.

It’s a surprise then to see only one American, Justin Thomas, take the opportunity for a scouting operation, but plenty of Europeans will take to the tee this week with dreams of being selected by Thomas Bjorn.

Justin Thomas plays a wedge shot on the ninth hole during the second…

Justin Thomas plays a wedge shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 22, 2018 in Cromwell, Connecticut. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Rafa Cabrera-Bello are shoe-ins, you would think, and if Sergio Garcia’s form improves he will be on the team sheet. The likes of Tyrrell Hatton, Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick and, of course, Ian Poulter will also have designs on a place in the squad.

A good week at Le Golf National will help their claims massively. This is an inland layout but one which has clear Links connotations. It is almost completely tree-less, will be buffeted by winds and has pot-bunkers and a feral second cut of rough that brings to mind the classic British courses.

It’s a touch over 7,300 yards for its Par 71, but actually it seems as if length off the tee is almost wholly irrelevant, with the vast majority of players clubbing down to the extent that Fleetwood won 12 months ago averaging just 280 yards off the peg!

That brought an end to a run of four missed cuts at Le Golf National – the wonders of confidence in sport, and the Englishman will be looking to double-up after his fine showing at the US Open.

Can anybody stop him? Here’s a potential daily fantasy lie-up of six players who just might.

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This Week’s HNA Open De France Fantasy Picks & Predictions

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This Week’s HNA Open De France Fantasy Picks

Jon Rahm – $11,300 – There are a lot of options at the head of the market this week, but with such an incredible strike rate as Rahm’s in European Tour events the Spaniard is unmissable.

Rahm has won three times in his last five European Tour starts, including the Open de Espana in April and the Irish Open last summer. It’s as if the psychological boost of stepping down in class makes Rahm strut and puff his chest out even more than normal!

He missed the cut in the US Open last time out, but you sense that difficult courses are going to be the bane of his career given his short temper.

Le Golf National is a lot more forgiving than Shinnecock Hills or Valderrama, where he also missed the cut last year, and having won on the Links at Portstewart last year we have no doubt in Rahm’s credentials to add yet more silverware to his collection in France.

Sergio Garcia – $9,000 – A major winner little over a year ago, we have to take a chance on Sergio at this price point.

He’s had a horrible few months out on the course, granted, but there were signs he’d found a little something at the BMW International Open last week.

Finishing T12, he also ranked third for Greens in Regulation, and those are positive signs as the conditions at the Gut Larchenhof course were not always friendly.

Trying to ‘jump the gun’ and pre-empt a star’s return to form is dangerous, but we know that Sergio has the game for Links golf, and with a Ryder Cup spot on the line – he won’t be picked unless his form improves – there is plenty of motivation for the Spaniard this week.

Russell Knox – $8,000 – Over on the PGA TOUR, Knox tends to serve up his best performances on short, windy layouts like the one we can expect this week.

Top-10s at the OHL Classic and Sony Open were followed by T15 at the AT&T Pebble Beach, and those results suggest a possible correlation with Le Golf National even if Mexico, Hawaii and California are miles away from France both geographically and in spirit.

The Scotsman has been playing well lately too, with top-20s in the AT&T Byron Nelson and Fort Worth Invitational followed by T12 at the US Open.

There is one reason and one reason alone why Know is playing this week: he wants a place on the European Ryder Cup team. Winning would be some reminder of his talents….

Austin Connelly – $7,300 – If it’s a short, wind-prone examination, we almost reach for Austin Connelly by default.

T11 and T13 in Sicily and Morocco this term, you may just recall the Canadian challenging at the British Open last summer, where he carded rounds of 66 and 67 on his way to a T14 finish.

It’s not a big surprise that someone raised in Dallas, Texas is a strong wind player, and Connelly has a habit of showing well in this type of event.

Justin Walters – $6,900 – The South African is playing some excellent golf at the moment, and you suspect he has been criminally undervalued by the DFS salary-deciders this week.

T3 at the Shot Clock Masters two weeks ago, Walters followed up with T9 at the BMW International Open; a performance pepped up by a stunning final round of 64.

It’s strange looking at his record, but we reckon Walters quite fancies Le Golf National as well. He was at level par after his first round 12 months ago before a poor Friday saw him miss the cut, and if his third round here in 2016 had been, say, 71, rather than 77, the South African would have finished T16.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda and all that, but backing a sub $7,000 player with a pair of top-10s in his last two starts is a no-brainer.

Seungsu Han – $6,400 – Han has been consigned to the dustbin after one missed cut!

To completely write off a player who has two European Tour top-10s to his name this season, one on the PGA TOUR and who has won on the Japan Golf Tour in the past couple of months, is sacrilege.

Okay, so the American perhaps hasn’t been exposed to Links golf before, but having spent his formative years at the University of Las Vegas a bit of wind won’t scare Han!

If you are trying to shoehorn some big players into your team at hefty prices this week, Han – the world number 94 no less – is an absolute steal at this price.

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