The Tips returns this week with more expert insight to help you choose your Fantasy team ahead of the final Major of the year - The 151st Open.
How it works: Every week a panel of industry-leading golf tipsters and special guests provide their expert tips for the week ahead.
Whether it’s making picks to update your Fantasy Team or keep your eye on the betting markets, our experts provide their insights into The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool through our podcast - The Tips.
Joining regular host Ollie Silverton this week are golf writers Dave Tindall, Tom Jacobs and Matt Cooper, who outline their picks and reasons for both tournaments on this weeks podcast, which you can find here: https://linktr.ee/dpworldtour.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up to play the official 2023 DP World Tour Fantasy game and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
The 2023 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here
The 151st Open
The Open returns to Royal Liverpool for the first time since Rory McIlroy's victory in 2014, and it presents an entirely new challenge with plenty of course changes for players to tackle.
In addition to the challenge of internal out of bounds, new features include the 10th becoming a par four, new tee boxes at 18 and 15, and the new par-three 17th, which our experts believing it could be a big decider in who is crowned Champion Golfer of the Year on Sunday.
"I think it’s going to be a fiendish test," said Cooper.
"The green is perched on the dunes. Anything short will be sucked back into a wasteland bunker, anything right or left there are two pot bunkers, and anything long is more wasteland. It’s not out of the question that some player could go from bunker to bunker."
With a focus on accuracy, Jacobs opted for Collin Morikawa, Tindall for Scottie Scheffler and Matt Cooper for Viktor Hovland as their first outright picks for Hoylake.
Collin Morikawa
TJ: There’s a demand in accuracy here and that’s beneficial to him. Has only failed to gain strokes with his irons once this season, and finished 10th at the Masters, 26th at the US PGA Championship and 14th at the U.S. Open. He won his Open Championship with no form having never played it before, and I see him being right at the mix this time around. When he was second at the Rocket Mortgage a few weeks ago he looked determined and ready to win. He also adapts really quickly, is playing well with his irons again and I expect he will be in the hunt.
Scottie Scheffler
DT: If you back him you’re guaranteeing yourself interest for all four days. He’s had seven straight top fives finishes, two of them in the Majors and he finished third in Scotland last week. His strokes gained numbers are ridiculous – I don’t think we’ve seeing anything like it since those stats came to be. He’s gaining at least ten strokes on the field in his last seven starts. He also gained strokes on the greens in two of his last three events, which shows he’s better with putter than he was. I think he bottomed out at Memorial, and slowly got it back. He knows he’s got the long game to get in contention, and if you put yourself in position eventually it will fall your way.
Viktor Hovland
MC: . He got involved at The Old Course last year, got involved at The Masters, got involved at the US PGA. He won at Memorial to show he’d learned the lesson quickly. He’s also very impressive when he’s by the sea and it’s blustery. I’ve spent ten minutes watching him chipping this morning and he was putting everything to tap in range, and it’s quite interesting for a guy where that’s his weakness.
| EXPERT | PLAYER | REASON |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Jacobs | Collin Morikawa | There’s a demand in accuracy here and that’s beneficial to him. Has only failed to gain strokes with his irons once this season. 10th Masters, 26th PGA and 14th at the Majors this year. I see him being right at the mix this time around. And when he was second at the Rocket Mortgage he looked determined and ready to win. He adapts really quickly, is playing well with his irons again and I expect he will be in the hunt again. Won the Open on his debut with no form. |
| Russell Henley | You always get a rogue name at the top of the leaderboard, and I think he could be the one who fills it. The way he’s hitting the ball, the fact he is straightest driver on Tour, a win in Mexico this season and two strong Major finishes (4th at Augusta, 14th at the U.S. Open), I think he is being overlooked. He’s also been in the top five for strokes gained approach in three of his last five starts, | |
| Brian Harmon | Was 12th last week, and in the Open he’s been 19th and sixth in the last two – and 26th last time at Hoylake. Those factors and the fact he’s playing well, with three straight top 12s and a second at the Travelers. An outsider but I’d expect a top 20. | |
| Dave Tindall | Scottie Scheffler | He’s had seven straight top fives finishes, two of them in the Majors and third in Scotland last week. His strokes gained numbers are ridiculous – I don’t think we’ve seeing anything like it. He’s gaining at least ten strokes on the field in his last seven starts. He gained strokes on the greens in two of his last three events, which shows he’s better with the putter. |
| Justin Rose | He ticks a lot of boxes. He won this season at Pebble Beach, finished second in this event at Carnoustie. Nine of the last ten events he’s finished top 20. I think the course suits him too. He’s 31st in accuracy, 17th for approach, 20th around the green, 33rd putting and number one in saved saves. If you’re going to find the multiple bunkers this week – he’s the one to beat. Second Major win is definitely on the cards. | |
| Corey Conners | It’s a simple one. He either plays well in a Major or missed the cut. In the last 14 majors he’s missed seven cuts, been top 20 six times. He’s also had five top 20s in his last seven starts, including T19 at the Scottish Open. Learning towards accuracy, it plays into his hands. Second in fairways hit last week, 18th off the tee, 12th tee to green, 11th on approach. This course is a good fit for him. | |
| Matt Cooper | Viktor Hovland | He got involved at The Old Course last year, got involved at The Masters, got involved at the US PGA. He won at Memorial to show he’d learned the lesson quickly. He’s also very impressive when he’s by the sea and it’s blustery. |
| Shane Lowry | I love him at Major championships. He knows how to prepare for them, understands you have to grind. He’s had nine top 25s in his last 11 starts in the Majors. He needs his putter to get hot. 64 and 65 last week and his putter has warmed up, and game from tee to green is going to be really important – and that’s what he’s great at. His first top ten in a Major was at Hoylake in 2014, from the tougher wave of the draw. He also knows how to win a links tournament. |
To listen to the picks in full, and who else they mentioned, click here:https://linktr.ee/dpworldtour.
