It’s that time of year again. It’s The Open Championship and this year the world’s best head to Angus, Scotland and the links of Carnoustie. Known as one of the hardest tests in The Open rota, players have been greeted with hard and fast conditions and relatively calm conditions for this part of the world.
When it comes to filling out your Fantasy Teams, good ball strikers and strong putters should be favoured considering the way Carnoustie is playing. Not many drivers will be in play this week with the fairways playing so hard and the ability to two-putt from distance and take chances when they come on the greens will again be vital.
With that in mind, here’s the three players our stats guru thinks you should consider for selection this week.
Favourite: Alex Noren
Alex Noren comes into the week fully rested, having taken two weeks off following his dramatic win at the HNA Open de France. The World Number 11 will fancy his chances this week on a course he has had success on before. In 2016, Noren opened the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship carding a bogey-free round of 64 at Carnoustie to tie the course record at the time. After the round he said it was “one of the best rounds I’ve ever played.” Having won on a Scottish links course before, winning the 2016 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, Noren has proven his ability to play the oldest form of the game. A tied sixth finish at The Open twelve months ago was his best finish in the tournament so far in his career, but with five straight top 25s finishes entering this week, he has to be considered among the favourites at Carnoustie. Interestingly, he leads the European Tour in three-putt avoidance in 2018, a skill that will be much tested this week.
Form horse: Russell Knox
It was 19 years ago that “a local boy” won the Claret Jug at Carnoustie, as Paul Lawrie famously came back to win in a play-off. This year, that local boy could be Scotland’s Russell Knox. Growing up two hours from Carnoustie, the 33 year old has shown his ability to win on a links course, taking home the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open title two weeks ago. With a runner-up finish in France the week before and a strong showing in his home Open last week, Knox is one of the most in-form players on Tour and will relish the chance to compete in a Major championship on home turf. He ranked eighth on Tour in 2018 in Scoring Average and third in Greens in Regulation. His game from tee-to-green matches up with just about anyone on Tour and riding a hot putter from the last few weeks could be his ticket to success at Carnoustie. He finished in the top 15 in his last Major outing at Shinnecock and will hope to get back into contention again this weekend in front of his friends and family.
Wildcard: Ryan Fox
The man that Knox defeated in that play-off in Ireland is New Zealand’s Ryan Fox. The long-hitting Kiwi is enjoying a career season so far in 2018, with three top tens in his last five starts. Coming into the week, he is 28 under par for his last eight rounds on links courses, thanks to strong form in Scotland and Ireland. If conditions play calm this week, no one may be better positioned to take advantage than Fox. He led the European Tour in Driving Distance in 2017, averaging eight yards farther than anyone else with a staggering 318.4 average drive. He ranked seventh on Tour in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green and has been putting well on links greens so far this month.
Click here to pick your team.
