I’m pretty happy about last week and my picks’ play at Grenbrier, for I actually finished atop the crowd of the Triple Up, but this week brings on Carnoustie — or, as I understand it, “Carnasty” much of the time — located in Angus, near the east coast of Scotland. It’s the longest and toughest of the Open Championship courses and arguably among the hardest set of links on the planet.
With a storied history that dates back to the early 16th century, Carnoustie, my brother Eric Hedgecock pointed out, was where French golfer Jean van de Velde could not double-bogey the 18th hole on his final round to grab the title, making for a three-way playoff that eventually went to Paul Lawrie in 1999.
Carnoustie claims 7,402 yards, with the weather for the weekend ranging between the high-50s and low-70s, with a chance of sprinkles come Saturday. Living in a similar climate of the Bay Area, I can guess the wind will similarly kick up without much warning, giving the players all kinds of grief.
Carnoustie boasts just a pair of fives — #6 at 580, and #14 at 513 yards — along with only three par threes ranging from 175 yards to 248.
That means 13 par fours make up the balance with just three holes under 400 yards, while seven log at longer than 460. That tells me the big hitters are the guys to go with, so for the most part that is where I went.
This week I’m playing the $1 Triple Up at FantasyDraft, a format I really like because they drop the low score from your seven-man roster ($100K cap) for the weekend, so sign up and see if you can beat me!
Rickie Fowler ($16,800): Coming off a strong Scottish Open, Fowler has four top 10s this year and is poised for a first win, with six straight top-25 finishes — three in the top 10 — his last six Majors. Fowler is averaging 118.3 FPPT.
Rory McIlroy ($16,200): Rory is a three-time runner up at Dunhill Links, which includes Carnoustie as well as St. Andrews, meaning he knows the course and of course he is dangerous with 106.09 FPPT, three top 10s, and a win this season.
Mark Leishman ($14,900): Per Donovan, “try and catch the wind.” Well, if anyone can — and I expect there will be wind this weekend, like it or not — it is Leishman who does have six top 10s this year as well.
Phil Mickelson ($14,400): What can I say, Phil’s a fave. He is also good, having made 14 of 16 cuts this season, averaging 130.62 FPPT.
Stewart Cink ($12,000): Cink, who ranks #7 in GIR between 125-150, can also give the ball a good ride, making for a nice value pick. Cink has made 14 cuts in 20 tries and is averaging 100.85 FPPT with a pair of top 10s.
Emiliano Grillo ($11,900): At this price, Grillo is nearly a steal. The Argentinian has 18 cuts made over 19 tries, averages 115.05 points per tourney, and ranks third in GIR nailing the green from 125-150 at a 79.5% clip.
