The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for this year’s fourth and final major. Last year’s Open Championship winner, Xander Schauffele, is set to defend his title as a top five betting favorite.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the outright betting favorites ahead of Round 1. McIlroy’s last outing at Royal Portrush, a course he set a record on as a teenager, proved difficult, as Northern Ireland’s star golfer shot +8 in the opening round to wind up missing the cut in 2019.
Irishman Shane Lowry won the 2019 Open Championship by six strokes, earning his lone major title. As a result, he’s got a mural painted at Royal Portrush to celebrate his victory.
Last week’s Genesis Scottish Open PGA DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Primer saw Harry Hall and Jordan Smith perform the best, logging T17 and T22 finishes at the Renaissance Club. Brian Harman and Ryan Fox made the cut, however, neither finished inside the top 50, wiping out any gains from Hall and Smith.
Let’s try to improve with four quality finishes in PGA DFS contests at Royal Portrush this week. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more PGA free picks and analysis.
2025 The Open Championship DFS Primer
Previous Winners
- 2024 – Xander Schauffele (-9)
- 2023 – Brian Harman (-13)
- 2022 – Cameron Smith (-20)
- 2021 – Collin Morikawa (-15)
- 2019 – Shane Lowry (-15)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Driving Accuracy
- Driving Distance
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Sand Save Percentage
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Proximity
- Scrambling
Course Overview
Royal Portrush is a par 71 links course that runs 7,381 yards along the coastline of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This major will be played on the Dunluce Links, featuring undulated fairways and greens comprised of fescue surfaces.
The Stimpmeter is expected to measure up to 11 feet for putting velocity. Greens measure under average size in regulation, while fairways aren’t obstructed by trees but fairly narrow, with undulations leading to potentially tricky lies.
Pot bunkers are cavernous, yet small in size. The primary defense will be the coastal cross-winds, creating obstacles from tee-to-green. Distance off-the-tee and scrambling will go a long way at Royal Portrush. Possessing a hot putter is another way to climb the leaderboard, although the undulated, slower-paced greens are a big adjustment from courses stateside.
Recommended Plays: DraftKings
DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000
Russell Henley: $7,900
Russell Henley’s a value play at under an $8,000 salary at Royal Portrush this week. He’s an elite ball-striker, ranked fifth in total strokes gained, including 15th SG: Approach, first proximity, 14th driving accuracy and 34th SG: Putting.
Henley is a master at avoiding bogeys, ranked 16th on the PGA Tour this season. He didn’t play in Scotland and should be well-rested to record his ninth top 10 finish of the year at the Open Championship.
Matt Fitzpatrick: $7,800
Despite Matt Fitzpatrick elevating his game in recent events, logging back-to-back top 10 finishes, including a T4 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, he’s still available to roster at $7.8K on DraftKings. The Englishman averages 65.1 FPPG in 2025 and has 14-20 birdies in each of his last three outings.
Ranks 50th total driving, 14th on approach shots from 200+ yards and 15th sand save percentage. He’s also capable of performing well in big events, with one of two career wins coming at a major during the 2022 U.S. Open. Fitzpatrick warrants consideration in all lineups at a discounted price.
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Recommended Plays: FanDuel
FanDuel maximum salary is set at $60,000
Harris English: $8,900
At some point, we’re going to have to put more respect on Harris English. He won the Farmers Insurance Open in tough conditions at a notoriously challenging Torrey Pines course back in January. In 2025, English has three top 10 finishes, while sitting eighth in the FedExCup standings.
Coming off of a T22 finish in Scotland last week, Harris shot 65-66 in the second and third rounds to surge up the leaderboard, while going over par in the first and final rounds to prevent serious contention. He’s 24th SG: Putting, 48th total driving and 47th scrambling.
In English’s last seven PGA Tour events, he’s logged at least 72.9 fantasy points. Three top 25 finishes across his previous five outings and showed he can score birdies in bunches while playing on a links course.
Harry Hall: $9,000
Arguably the best putter on the PGA Tour in 2025, Harry Hall available at a $9,000 salary on FanDuel feels like a mispriced line. The Englishman has a fantastic short game, ranked third SG: Putting, eighth scrambling, second putting average and one-putt percentage, while leading all golfers in putts per round.
The downside to rostering Hall is his inability to consistently hit good drives and approach shots. It forces him to scramble more than other golfers, while leaning on his putter for lengthy birdies and par saves.
Despite his tee-to-green struggles, Hall’s current form is encouraging. Last five finishes entering the Open Championship go T6-T24-T9-T13-T17, carding a third straight top 20 finish at the Renaissance Club on Sunday.
His ability to make birdies, ranked third in birdie average per round (4.47) is enough to recommend backing Hall at $9K in FanDuel PGA DFS contests.
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