Fantasy Insider: Fantasy golf tips for The Open and Barbasol Championship

My Power Rankings for The Open Championship include all 156 golfers in the field, so this Fantasy Insider column is abridged. The Wild Card, Draws and Fades will return for next week’s RBC Canadian Open. Segment 4 of PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO begins at Carnoustie. When you’re thrown a bone, you take it. Just make sure to take a bite out of it, too. There are only nine tournaments to go in the Roster game – the One & Done will include all of the remaining 11 on the schedule – but navigating the final phase is tricky. The Open is the last tournament for which ShotLink is not used to measure performance, so you can get away with stowing two probable contenders for the bonus points on your bench at least until the 36-hole cut falls, but if neither is in the mix for the Claret Jug at the midpoint, consider keeping at least one benched until the conclusion of the third round, and then decide whether it’d be worth burning a start for potentially modest bonus points instead of holstering it for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship or any of the four Playoffs events. Yes, this strategy would mean swallowing a zero (or two), but to pay off losing the start, your guy might need a podium finish. Otherwise, you’re losing points later for mild returns now. PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO My roster for The Open Championship (in alphabetical order): Tommy Fleetwood Rickie Fowler Dustin Johnson Rory McIlroy Alex Noren Justin Rose You’ll find my starters in Expert Picks. Others to consider for each category (in alphabetical order): Scoring: Jason Day; Zach Johnson; Brooks Koepka; Marc Leishman; Hideki Matsuyama; Phil Mickelson; Jon Rahm; Justin Thomas Driving: n/a Approach: n/a Short: n/a Returning to Competition Nate Lashley … The rookie is scheduled to compete at the Web.com Tour’s Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Heartland Chevy Dealers. He had been sidelined for a month after having knee surgery. This week’s return qualifies as a rehab start in advance of a medical extension on the PGA TOUR for 2018-19 (assuming he doesn’t play the TOUR again this season and finish inside the top 125). Currently 162nd in the FedExCup standings, he’ll be eligible for the Web.com Tour Finals on merit. Notable WDs Bernd Wiesberger, Paul Lawrie and John Daly … All withdrew from The Open Championship due to injury. Alex Cejka … Out at the Barbasol Championship. It’s his second consecutive early withdrawal and fifth on the season, but we see this coming almost every season. As evidenced by a T13 in his last start at Greenbrier, he still delivers when his 47-year-old body allows for it. Currently 89th in the FedExCup standings. Denny McCarthy … Fell to 144th in the FedExCup with a T34 at the John Deere Classic, but he’s been in that vicinity for months. If he doesn’t make the FedExCup Playoffs, he’s still a good bet to survive the Web.com Tour Finals given he’s risen to his current position after an awful first nine events of his rookie campaign. Brett Stegmaier … He was a surprising removal from the Barbasol field. He’s 190th in the FedExCup standings and has ripped off three straight cuts made. Power Rankings Recap – John Deere Classic Power Ranking  Golfer  Result 1  Zach Johnson  T16 2  Bryson DeChambeau  WD 3  Francesco Molinari  T2 4  Steve Stricker  T43 5  Kyle Stanley  MC 6  Joaquin Niemann  T23 7  Ryan Moore  T55 8  Chesson Hadley  T72 9  Austin Cook  T34 10  Scott Stallings  MC 11  Kevin Tway  T50 12  Kelly Kraft  T63 13  Brian Gay  MC 14  Joel Dahmen  T2 15  Scott Brown  T12 Wild Card  Chris Kirk  T23 Sleepers Recap – John Deere Classic Golfer  Result Wesley Bryan  MC Peter Malnati  MC Trey Mullinax MC C.T. Pan  T34 Daniel Summerhays   MC Birthdays among active golfers on the PGA TOUR July 17 … none July 18 … Brendon de Jonge (38) July 19 … none July 20 … Conrad Shindler (30) July 21 … Robert Gamez (50); Paul Casey (41) July 22 … Brendon Todd (33); David Lingmerth (31) July 23 … Craig Barlow (46); Boo Weekley (45); Kevin Tway (30); Harris English (29); Kiradech Aphibarnrat (29); Tom Lovelady (25)

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