Fantasy Golf Predictions – Rocco Forte Open European Tour Picks

European Tour Fantasy Golf Picks and Predictions for the Rocco Forte Open

The Rocco Forte Open European Tour Fantasy Preview

The European Tour is going through something of a malaise at the moment, with the Challenger Tour lite feel to last week’s Open de Portugal backed by another underwhelming effort in Italy this week.  The BMW PGA Championship, which starts May 25, cannot come soon enough.

It was a minefield for daily fantasy gamers in Portugal, although one interesting takeaway came out of it.  Matt Wallace, a prolific champion on the little-known Alps Tour, won from wire-to-wire after carding an opening round of 63.  Winning an event from Thursday to Sunday is no easy task, and so clearly this is a young man with a strong mind to go with his excellent skillset on the course.  Wallace is one to watch, for sure.

He’s in the field this week for the Rocco Forte Open, although it would be a huge ask for him to go back-to-back of course.  It’s another low-rung event, with the top five players listed on DraftKings boasting just three titles between them in as many years.  It could be another crapshoot for DFS aficionados, unfortunately.

This is the first time that the Verdura Golf Resort has hosted an event in more than five years too, so little is known about the course.  It is a composite affair made up of nine holes from both the West and East tracks, and the one thing we can say is that it looks stunning – the coastal backdrops with views overlooking the Mediterranean Sea are truly sumptuous.  Let’s hope that the golf lives up to the aesthetics.

Designed by Kyle Phillips (who is also responsible for Celtic Manor, Kingsbarns, PGA National Sweden, and a renovated Valderrama, among others), the Verdura course will play at 7,352 yards for its Par 72, and the coastal location suggests a Links-style feel to proceedings.  The winner of the 2012 Sicily Open held at Verdura, Thorbjorn Olesen, has gone on to perform well in a number of classic Links tests, so that’s our angle in this week.

So who should you be drafting for the Rocco Forte Open?  Let’s take a look at this week’s fantasy roster suggestions.

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Our Rocco Forte Open European Tour Fantasy Picks and Predictions

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The Rocco Forte Open European Tour Fantasy Picks

James Morrison – $10,900 – If the Links trend is correct, then we would expect some Brits to elbow their way into contention come Sunday, and of the UK brigade you would have to say that James Morrison is as likely as any to get into the mix.

A two-time European Tour winner, he has shown form in locations as wide ranging as South Africa (T4 at the Jo’burg Open), Malaysia (T12 at the Maybank), and Morocco (T13 at Trophee Hassan) this season already, and being back on mainland Europe will give him an added boost you would think.  It is here, in Spain and Portugal to be exact, where his pair of titles have come.

Morrison has also shown form on Kyle Philipps’ designs in the past with T13 at the Alfred Dunhill in 2015 and T4 at Valderrama a year later, and in another European event that is tough to call without prior course form, that’s enough boxes ticked to get us on board.

Scott Jamieson – $8,800 – Another who loves Links golf is Scott Jamieson, and he – like Morrison – has shown enough form this term to suggest another good week is just around the corner.

The Scot has recorded top-25s in three of his last four starts, and in this sparse field that is eye-catching indeed.  The pick of the bunch was the T3 around the tricky Indian Open.

Does Jamieson have the temperament to win tournaments?  The fact he has eight top-three finishes to his name but only one title suggests not, but nevertheless this birdie machine is a fine daily fantasy points accumulator.

Bradley Dredge – $8,200 – While 2017 has not been glittering for the Welshman so far, he has shown enough form on Phillips courses in the past to suggest he can go well here.

He was T12 at the KLM Open played at Hilversumsche in 2012, T21 at PGA National Sweden for the Nordea Masters in 2015, and has delivered back-to-back top 15 finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2015 and ’16.

Dredge showed some decent form on the Desert Swing (T19, T21, and T32 respectively), and as if to show his Links chops he also finished second at the Irish Open approximately 12 months ago.

Romain Wattel – $7,300 – The Frenchman might not be contending in events at the moment, but seven cuts made in nine starts suggests he is certainly moving in the right direction.

Wattel has finished in the top-ten of the Italian Open in the past, and he also has a stack of top-20s at Kyle Philipps courses to fall back on: T8 and T9 at Castle Stuart for the Welsh Opens of 2012 and 2014, T11 at the Nordea Masters in ’14, and T18 at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2016.

With 19 career top-tens to his name, Wattel is somebody who can go well when the course suits his eye.

Tom Lewis – $6,800 – There are only three players in this field that finished in the top 20 the last time Verdura hosted a European Tour event, and Tom Lewis was one of them.

His career since then has been a rollercoaster ride, but a T18 at last week’s Open de Portugal – where he served up four rounds under par – is intriguing.

He has a pair of top-20s to his name in Italy plus a couple of handy showings at other Philipps designs, and so at this price point Lewis really is an interesting play this week.

Mark Foster – $6,600 – For a budget play this week why not turn to a man that is in good nick and has shown ample Links form in the past.

T6 at the Open de Portugal came courtesy of a final 36 holes played in -6 and -4, so Mark Foster will be buzzing at present.  That was his first appearance since another T20 in a Challenge Tour event in April, so we can assume he is striking the ball nicely.

It’s a long time since Foster has won anywhere, but with a trio of top-20s to his name at Kyle Phillip courses, plus current form in the bank, he should far outperform this $6,600 price tag.

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Cover photo via Instagram