The Open Championship is special but the Open at St Andrews is extra special. For a player, winning the Claret Jug at the home of golf is the ultimate achievement. But who will etch their name into golfing history this week? Our stats guru has crunched the numbers and chosen five European Tour players that you should add to yourFantasy Race To Dubaiteam this week.
Louis Oosthuizen
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Louis Oosthuizen broke onto the scene here in 2010 when he dominated the field to win The 2010 Open Championship by seven strokes. Since then he has continued to improve and is now one of the top players in the game armed with a silky smooth swing, prodigious length and a delicate touch around the greens. In six European Tour starts this season, Oosthuizen has placed in the top 20 each time including five top seven finishes. The South African has two top six finishes at the last four Dunhill Links Championships and is 43 under for his last ten rounds at the Old Course including a course record 62 here last year.
Tommy Fleetwood
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There is perhaps no one else in the field who has performed better on the Old Course in recent years than Tommy Fleetwood. The Englishman is an amazing 26 under par for his last four rounds at the Home of Golf (65-67-62-68). In four appearances at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Fleetwood has finished inside the top five three times including a runner-up finish last October. He arrives in St Andrews off the back of a top ten finish at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open last week and will feel he has the all-round game to compete for the Claret Jug.
Branden Grace
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Branden Grace will be a popular pick this week and rightfully so. The South African has become known as a links specialist due to his low ball flight and success on links courses. He has fond memories of the Old Course having won the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship here in 2012. A top five finish at the US Open Championship last month proves he’s not shy on the big stage and with two wins and six other top 20 finishes in 11 European Tour starts this season, few have better form coming into the week. Of all the players that have played more than 15 rounds this season, Grace has the lowest European Tour stroke average at 69.92.
Bernd Wiesberger
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The Alstom Open de France winner took a week off last week after his heroics in Paris and will tee it up in St Andrews rested and full of form. The Austrian has more top five finishes on The European Tour than anyone else this season (six) and he has also finished inside the top 15 at the last two Dunhill Links Championships. The 29 year old is also one of only two players this season to rank in the top 20 in Stroke Average, Greens in Regulation and Putts per GIR.
David Howell
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Three of the last four Open Championship winners were over the age of 40 and if there is one man who could continue that trend this week it could well be David Howell. The Englishman has come close on several occasions already this season with three runner-up finishes on The European Tour at the Joburg Open, Volvo China Open and the Open de España and three other top tens. Howell finished in the top ten last week in Scotland and has performed impressively in this part of the world since turning pro in 1995. In 14 appearances at the Dunhill Links, Howell has five top tens, a win in 2013 and is 31 under par for his last seven rounds at the Old Course.
Make sure andpick your Fantasy Race To Dubaiteam before the opening round kicks off Thursday morning.
