Fantasy Golf Picks & Predictions – Porsche European Open

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

The 2016 Porsche European Open Fantasy Preview

Last week we were privileged to watch some impressive golf at the Italian Open where Francisco Molinari, a player who hails from Italy, was able to come away with a victory for the second time in the tournament. He did so with a tremendous amount of scoring, defeating current Race to Dubai leader Danny Willett by a single stroke at 22-under-par. Now the European Tour will head to Germany for the 34^th installment of the European Open. First being played in 1978, the event has called plenty of different venues home over a few different countries, and now will look to conquer the Golf Resort Bad Griesbach, a par-71 layout which features 7,188 yards of play.

Unlike last week, this event has typically not allowed a ton of scoring, but Thongchai Jaidee was able to earn 17 strokes under par in his victory here last season. It was his seventh career win on the European Tour and he has since won on eighth time with a four-stroke domination of the field at this year’s Open de France. He will be aiming to break his own record as the oldest winner here, coming into the outing at 46-years-old with his birthday just around the corner. The score of 17-under was the second-best mark since 1999 as only Ross Fisher’s win behind a score of 20-under-par in 2008 was better over that stretch. He will be looking to join a few others with a second victory in the tournament, as Gordon Brand (1984, 1993), Bernhard Langer (1985, 1995), Per-Ulrik Johansson (1996, 1997), and Lee Westwood (1999, 2000) have all done so previously.

A few big names will be in attendance at Bad Greisbach this week, including two Ryder Cup teammates out of Germany in Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters. The pair will attempt to grab a victory in their home country as they warm up for one of the biggest golf events and are the clear favorites as they both reside in the top-55 of the Official World Golf Rankings and top-16 in the Race to Dubai. Kaymer and Pieters will be looking to fend off the likes of Bernd Wiesberger, Alejandro Canizares, Richard Bland, Rikard Karlberg, and last year’s winner, Jaidee, who are all getting nice odds out of Vegas to earn a victory this week. One surprise name to see on the entry list is Ernie Els; a four-time major winner who owns a total of 47 trophies between this TOUR and the PGA TOUR. He has not played this particular event since 1994 and has not competed in a European Tour event since February.

The introduction of golf overseas to the daily fantasy world has certainly made for an exciting endeavor for those who may not know much about their players. This article should allow you to get more in depth with a few players we feel are worth your time when constructing a roster this week. As a caveat, there will be all different price ranges represented so that you can begin putting together your teams with some background information.

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The Porsche European Open Fantasy Picks and Predictions

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The Porsche European Open Fantasy Picks

Martin Kaymer – $12,000 – Kaymer will look to make it back-to-back weeks in which a player who calls the country where they are playing home takes the trophy in front of his fellow country mates. He’s had absolutely no issue getting into the money each and every week, riding a streak of 12 straight visits to the weekend while also doing well in the WGC Match Play (18^th) and Olympic Games (15^th) during the stretch. Kaymer has posted the 26^th-best scoring average (70.95) on TOUR thanks to nailing 70.3% of greens in regulation (40^th on TOUR), and is tremendous from the sand (68%, 8^th on TOUR) when he does happen to hit an errant shot. Neither of the top two this week, Kaymer and fellow German Thomas Pieters, played in this event last year, and while both are fantastic picks, Kaymer has been more consistent and should give your DFS team a strong floor.

Alexander Levy – $9,000 – Levy looked like a breakout star a few years ago when he pulled down two victories and a runner-up during the 2014 season; finishing in ninth for the Race to Dubai. That does not seem to be the norm now, though, but he continues to put up solid numbers each time out and seems due for his third Euro win. Since the beginning of February, Levy has made the cut in all but one of his 14 outings and managed five top-15 performances; including nearly getting a trophy with a runner-up in the Perth International. His showing here last year was less than stellar, finishing in 55^th, but his hand should be hot with the recent stretch of checks coming his way along with a great short game that has him scoring at the 22^nd-best pace (70.92). Watch out for Levy to set his sights on a third career victory and extend his streak of 12 straight rounds at 72 or better.

James Morrison – $7,600 – Morrison is not going to wow anyone with his length off of the tee or career record, but he has improved over the last three seasons after a dreadful stretch and has slowly become one of the more undervalued, consistent players out there. Coming into this week he is 16-for-22 (73%) at making it into the money and is ranked 53^rd in the Race to Dubai; a mark which would be second-best in his career if the season ended today. Minus his victory last year, 2016 is very similar in how Morrison did during that campaign, and he had a great week in Germany then, finishing in 12^th-place behind four rounds at 70 or better. The ceiling is there for the 31-year-old who has 21 finishes in the top-10, two being wins, over 205 starts on the European Tour and I believe he can improve on his nice 2015 showing.

Chris Hanson – $7,300 – Hanson has been a great choice all year, but is just recently putting four top notch rounds in each week and seeing his name towards the top of the leaderboard. On the season he is 15-for-19 (79%) in made cuts and has carded seven top-25s; three of which have come during his past three tournaments. Between the Made in Denmark, KLM Open, and last week’s Italian Open, Hanson is averaging a finish of 15^th and is a combined 29-under-par. This will be only the 29^th career event played on the European Tour for the 31-year-old, but he is proving that he will be competitive each time he hits the links and this week should be no different.

Bernd Ritthammer – $7,100 – While Kaymer and Pieters are clear favorites to represent Germany with a win at Bad Greisbach, Ritthammer will look to put his name in as a German to watch while taking time away from the Challenge TOUR for a second visit to this course. In his first attempt last season, the then 28-year-old failed to make the cut by a single stroke, coming in at two-under despite a nice 67 start on Thursday. Now that he knows the course, he should feel more comfortable in this event, and will also have a little bit more confidence after handling his recent Challenge TOUR competition with ease. Ritthammer earned his second win of the year just two weeks ago at the Volopa Irish Challenge, bringing his total to six top-10 finishes over 15 events. He has also done well in his limited time on the European Tour, and most recently raked in a tie for 16^th at the BMW International Open thanks to a six-under score. Ritthammer will get more time against the players on the European Tour and certainly looks as if he belongs.

Mikael Lundberg – $6,800 – Overall, Lundberg has never been considered one of the better golfers on the European Tour, but he has still managed to squeeze in three victories over his 324 career events. Despite this, he has never finished better than 63^rd in the Race to Dubai and has only twice had an average finish better than 70^th over a full season. In 2016, Lundberg has split time between the Challenge and European TOURs, and that has allowed him compete in some of the events with a little easier fields and show what he can do in those situations. Over nine starts, the 43-year-old has made it into the money six times and has an average position of 48.89. His last two outings have been a few of his best, as both were on the European Tour and resulted in a tie for 19^th at the Czech Masters followed by a tie for 10^th at the Made in Denmark. Half of his eight rounds during that stretch were at 69 or better as he was able to use his impressive putting skills (1.752 putts per GIR, 9^th on TOUR) to keep pace with the field. At this price, Lundberg could prove to be just the right guy to plug into your lineup along with a Kaymer or Pieters at the top.

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