PGA DFS: Top Cash Game Picks for The Open Championship

Royal Birkdale Golf Club (par 70, 7,223 yards, fescue/bentgrass greens) in Southport, England, will host The Open Championship for the 11th time this week. In the new millennium, this par 70 has hosted the Open Championship twice. Padraig Harrington (+3) won by four shots in 2008, and Jordan Spieth (-12) won by four shots in 2017. This week’s field consists of 152 players, and there will be a top-70 and ties cut after the first two rounds.

The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.

I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.

My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.

Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.

There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:

• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
• Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
• Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
• Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green

Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.

PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts

DraftKings $10,000 Range

Rory McIlroy ($11,900)

Anchoring your cash game lineup with Rory McIlroy is a smart move this week. The Irishman finished T4 at Royal Birkdale in 2017, which is one of his 8 top-7 finishes at The Open Championship, including a two-stroke win at Royal Liverpool in 2014. McIlroy has made 13 of 16 cuts at this major, and he ranks 3rd in this field in strokes gained per round at courses in Europe. McIlroy finished T7 at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, and he closed the event with a 6-under 64 at the Renaissance Club. McIlroy hasn’t missed a cut in 10 starts this season, and he has produced 4 top-10 finishes, with his second straight win at the Masters being the highlight. McIlroy has finished inside the top 7 at 4 of 7 majors over the last two years, and he shouldn’t disappoint at Royal Birkdale.

Now available: our PGA DFS SimLabs Lineup Generator that creates advanced DFS lineups using the power of simulation.

DraftKings $8,000 Range

Collin Morikawa ($8,700)

The $9,000 range this week is filled with riskier plays that are better suited for tournaments. Conversely, the $8,000 range is stacked with appealing options that are worthy for cash games, and you can build a very compelling lineup with a few of these players around McIlroy.

Collin Morikawa is a former Open Championship winner who enters this major in excellent form. The Cal product has made 11 of 13 cuts with 6 top-10 finishes this season. Morikawa won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, finished T7 at the Masters in April, and he is coming off a 3rd-place finish at the Travelers Championship. Morikawa ranked 2nd in SG: Approach and 15th in SG: Putting at TPC River Highlands, and he matched his career low with a 9-under 61 in the final round. Now, heading to a links course where approach play is most important, Morikawa should flourish. When Spieth won here in 2017, he ranked 3rd in GIR.

Wyndham Clark ($8,200)

Clark has been on an incredible run, finishing 1st, 3rd, T11, 1st, T5, and T13 in his last 6 starts. Those wins came at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and the U.S. Open, which marked his second win at that major. Clark ranks 1st in SG: Total when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, and he has made 3 of 4 cuts at The Open Championship, with his best outing coming last season at Royal Portrush, when he finished T4. Clark has similar upside at Royal Birkdale, and this $8,200 is inexcusably low for him.

Robert MacIntyre ($8,000)

MacIntyre has been great at The Open Championship, never missing a cut in 6 starts and carding 3 top-8 finishes. The Scot loves links golf, and this was on full display at the Renaissance Club last week, when he finished T3. MacIntyre won at this venue in 2024, and he ranks 11th in this field in strokes gained per round at courses in Europe. Last week marked MacIntyre’s 3rd top-15 finish in his last 4 starts, and he easily led the field in SG: Approach. In fact, MacIntyre had a career-best outing in the metric. This bodes extremely well for Royal Birkdale, and MacIntyre is a tough value play to avoid at only $8,000.

DraftKings $7,000 Range

Russell Henley ($7,700)

This salary is crazy low for Henley. This is the 19th-highest salary in the field, but Henley is the No. 5-ranked player in the world. The veteran has made 12 of 15 cuts this season with 10 top-25 finishes. Henley won the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May, and he is coming off a T12 finish at the Travelers Championship last month. Henley posted a 6-under 64 in the final round, and he has gained strokes on approach at 4 straight events. Henley has missed 6 of 11 cuts at The Open Championship, but he has finished 5th and T10 at this major the last two years. Plus, he finished a respectable T37 at Royal Birkdale in 2017. Henley is a far better player 9 years later, and it’s safe to expect a higher finish.

Patrick Reed ($7,000)

Reed has been great in 2026, making 10 of 12 cuts and finishing T13 or better 7 times. Reed won twice on the DP World Tour, he finished inside the top-12 at both the Masters and PGA Championship, and he just finished T13 at the Genesis Scottish Open last week. Reed gained strokes on approach and with his putter, and he shot under par in all 4 rounds at the Renaissance Club. Reed missed the cut at Royal Birkdale in 2017, but he has made 6 of 10 cuts at this major with 4 top-30 finishes. Reed should redeem himself at Royal Birkdale this week, and he is a steal at this low salary, which is the cheapest he has been on DraftKings in over a year.

DraftKings $6,000 Range

Hideki Matsuyama ($6,900)

Seeing Matsuyama priced under $7,000 is shocking and something that needs to be taken advantage of. The former Masters champion hasn’t seen a sub-$7,000 salary on DraftKings since the 2014 season, and it’s not like he’s playing poorly right now. Matsuyama has made a whopping 29 straight cuts, and he has racked up 8 top-25 finishes, most recently with a T14 finish at the Travelers Championship. Matsuyama shot at least a 3-under 67 in every round at TPC River Highlands, and now he makes his way to Royal Birkdale, where he finished T14 in 2017. Matsuyama shot a 4-under 66 in the third round that week, and overall at The Open Championship, he has made 8 of 11 cuts and finished inside the top 20 5 times.

Tom Kim ($6,800)

Kim is one of the best values we have seen on DraftKings this season. He has only missed 2 cuts in 17 starts this season, and in his last 3 starts, Kim has finished T3, T46, and 1st. The win came at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and marked Kim’s 4th victory on the PGA TOUR. The 24-year-old ranked 2nd in SG: Approach at the Renaissance Club, and he ranks 5th in the metric this season. This isn’t the first time we have seen Kim thrive at a links course, either, as he finished runner-up at Royal Liverpool for the 2023 Open Championship. Kim ranks 7th in this field in strokes gained per round at tracks in Europe, and he should build off his win in Scotland with a strong finish at Royal Birkdale.

Kurt Kitayama ($6,500)

Kitayama has made the cut in his last 3 starts at The Open Championship, and he has been excellent this season. Kitayama has made 15 of 17 cuts and finished inside the top 25 9 times, including a runner-up at the Genesis Invitational and a T10 at the PGA Championship. Kitayama ranks top 25 in SG: Approach, total driving, and par-4 performance. The two-time PGA TOUR winner has the tools to succeed at Royal Birkdale, and Kitayama is simply too cheap for his talent.

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Pictured: Rory McIlroy
Photo credit: Imagn