Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report -The Open Championship

2019 Open Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

We’ve come to that point of the year that bettors love: the British Open.

Every week when we handicap a golf tournament we draw up a list of players we think can win it, those shades of grey who *could* win it if they bring their absolute A-Game for 72 holes, and those who simply don’t have a prayer.

When it comes to Links golf, as we will enjoy this week at the Royal Portrush club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the nature of those shortlists changes even further: there are fewer players who can win the even, and many more who don’t have a chance!

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Why is that? Well, it’s down to the unique conditions of Links golf courses. The rough is left to grow wild, long and bushy, and at Royal Antrim there is a heather-type grass that is a nightmare to play from, according to reports.

The greens are small and firm too, so approaches have to come in from a high angle or players have to feel comfortable in hitting little bump-and-run chips from the run-off areas around the greens.

In short, it doesn’t suit everyone.

Take Dustin Johnson, for example. He’s won 27 times worldwide, and yet only has one finish better than T9 in the British Open. The conclusion? He isn’t too fond of Links golf, and so can be discounted from our thoughts this week – along with about 100 others.

Anyway, that gives you a flavour of why the British Open is so eagerly anticipated by bettors.

Royal Portrush is your classic Links set-up too, so we can pin our hopes on a variety of sleepers that should hopefully contend given that they have previous on these stretches.

Found on the Atlantic coast of Northern Ireland, Portrush has that Pebble Beach look to it with the dramatic coastline and strong winds buffeting the players. But there is something typically British about the sand dunes that decorate the layout, and we do expect the European players to thrive as a result – it’s almost got a Ryder Cup 2018 feel to it in how we expect the Europeans to enjoy the conditions more.

One thing that is noticeably absent from Portrush are the deep pot bunkers we might otherwise expect. And with just a handful of holes playing along the coast, the dangers of disappearing into the drink are limited too.

Padraig Harrington, a former two-time British Open champion, has described Royal Portrush as fun, and what we can usually deduce from that is that he means there are plenty of birdie opportunities to be had and not too much to worry about in terms of on-course hazards.

And with a fairly benign weather forecast – wind speeds of around 10-13 mph are predicted – in the offing, there could be some low scores made this week.

With all of the above in mind, who makes the shortlist for our British Open 2019 sleepers?

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Open Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Matt Wallace – 50/1 – The Englishman won three times on the European Tour in 2018, and there is just something about his swaggering machismo on course that suggests he will soon enough be competing in majors.

Indeed, he’s already banked a T3 in the PGA Championship and T12 at the US Open, so Wallace has already offered a glimpse into his major pedigree.

He’s just starting to cut his teeth out on the Links too, with that T12 at Pebble Beach matched by T14 in last week’s Scottish Open warm-up.

One day, Matt Wallace will be among the favorites to win a British Open – that’s just a hunch. Get him at 50/1 while you still can.

Ian Poulter – 75/1 – After a brilliant start to 2019, it’s been a fairly torrid time for Poults of late.

But he’s very comfortable out on the Links, with T10 at Harbour Town earlier in the season backed by a trio of British Open top-10 finishes.

The Englishman showed signs of life in finishing T14 at the Scottish Open last week, bookending his effort with rounds of 65 and 66, and even at his ‘advanced’ age the motivation of winning a major still burns brightly.

Webb Simpson – 85/1 – The British Open has never been an event that Webb Simpson savors.

And yet, oddly enough, his T12 return at Carnoustie 12 months ago was his best effort in this tournament.

Has the Links penny dropped? Perhaps, and he routinely plays well at Pebble Beach and Harbour Town, so there’s no reason why he can’t thrive at these tree-less layouts.

A proven player in the wind and in converting red numbers on Par 5s, Simpson has the profile we need this week as a former US Open champion and PLAYERS Championship winner.

Could he make hay in the Northern Irish breeze?

Thorbjorn Olesen – 110/1 – After his involvement in the triumphant European Ryder Cup team, we expected Olesen to kick on and establish himself as one of the finest continental players around.

It hasn’t worked out that way, and in fact the Dane has probably regressed.

But improvements at the Irish Open a two weeks ago in a T15 finish bode well, as does a win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2015.

T9 and T12 finishes in the British Open confirms his love of this type of golf, and as somebody with a fine pedigree of winning tournaments we should have no concerns about his fortitude under pressure.

Dylan Frittelli – 175/1 – What a couple of weeks this would be for the South African!

A maiden PGA TOUR win at the John Deere Classic punched his ticket to Portrush, and given his history these are conditions which should suit.

Schooled in Texas, the wind won’t worry a player who has won the Mauritius Open and lost in a play-off at the Australian PGA Championship.

We always like the ego trip that winning a PGA TOUR event brings, and it might just spark a boost in confidence that Frittelli needs to cash in on his undoubted talent.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Open Championship here.

Sleeper Report Predictions This Season (2018-2019)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”6.36%” bar_text=”11 out of 173 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”15.60%” bar_text=”27 out of 173 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”33.53%” bar_text=”58 out of 173 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”5.71%” bar_text=”2 out of 35 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”20.00%” bar_text=”7 out of 35 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”63.58%” bar_text=”110 out of 173 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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Cover photo via Instagram