Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2025 Open Championship
2025 Open Championship Fantasy Preview
In some respects, Chris Gotterup beating Rory McIlroy over what was effectively 18 holes of matchplay on Sunday at the Scottish Open was a sporting upset for the ages.
The pair were locked on -11 with a round to play at the Renaissance Club, with most expecting the career grand slam winning Irishman to add yet another trophy to his collection.
Gotterup made a bogey at the first and was immediately written off by some, but three birdies on the rest of the front nine – and another three on the back – got him back into the picture.
Embed from Getty Images
McIlroy, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going, with his putter turning ice cold on the homeward stretch. So Gotterup, despite hitting just one fairway on the back nine, was able to complete the most surprising of two-shot victories.
It was his second PGA TOUR title, but without doubt his most important – Gotterup’s tears during his interview afterwards evidence of that.
He will make his debut in the British Open Championship this week. Who will get their hands on the Claret Jug in the final major of the year?
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
Last week’s shining star was Ludvig Aberg (T8) on our main picks and Nicolai Højgaard (T4) from our Tuesday Sleeper Report.
Overall, 10 of our 12 players made the cut in Scotland in the week leading up to the final Major of the year.
Embed from Getty Images
The 2025 Open Championship Field
Pretty much every player inside the OWGR top 50 will be heading to Royal Portrush this week, with two former British Open winners – McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele – leading the way alongside a man that would love to add this title to his haul, Scottie Scheffler.
Shane Lowry, an emotional home champion the last time the British Open headed to Royal Portrush, returns, while the likes of Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, and Keegan Bradley add further depth to the field.
Embed from Getty Images
Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, and Robert MacIntyre will also add their weight to the European charge, while the LIV Golf contingent of Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and former event winner Cam Smith will all have Claret Jug ambitions of their own.
A host of former British Open champions, from Henrik Stenson and Ernie Els to Justin Leonard and Darren Clarke, will also get another chance to shine on the Links.
This Week’s Course Preview
Royal Portrush has twice hosted the British Open; the first time in 1951, and the second as recently as 2019.
Shane Lowry was the victor on home soil, romping away with it at -15 in a week that no other player made it to double digits under par.
The Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush played in reasonably tough fashion in July 2019, with just six of its holes – headlined by the three Par 5s – averaging under par.
Embed from Getty Images
It’s a course of two halves, with holes two, three, five, and seven playing as some of the easiest on the real estate in 2019. But the back nine is much tougher, with particularly hair-raising holes at fourteen, sixteen, and eighteen.
The sixteenth, in particular, is a doozie. Nicknamed Calamity Corner, this is a mammoth 236-yard Par 3 that plays uphill, with 360 degrees of trouble around the green provided by ravines and closely-mown hollows.
The Dunluce Course will play to around 7,380 yards for its Par 71, and this is as classical an example of Links golf as you’re ever likely to see. It was designed by Old Tom Morris, a four-time British Open champion in his own right in the 1800s, so quintessential coastal golf was very much the order of the day.
Bumpy, undulating fairways, tiered greens, pot bunkers, fescue grass, a complete absence of trees… this is Links golf in its purest form.
Weather Forecast for Portrush, IRE
It has been a halcyon summer for much of Northern Ireland, with lots of sunshine and hotter-than-average temperatures.
But for Open week… well, it looks set to be all change.
The temperatures have plummeted in Portrush, to the point that they might struggle to even get up to 64 degrees.
There’s rain in the forecast too – how much will fall, it’s hard to say, so this could be a tough test in more ways than one.
At least the wind, which can blow hard in these parts, appears to be somewhat manageable. It could peak at 14mph on Thursday, as per the early forecast, but dip down from there to around 8-10mph.
PORTRUSH WEATHER
Last Year’s Results from the Open Championship
In howling winds and heavy rain, Xander Schauffele landed his maiden British Open title and his second major victory of 2024.
Shane Lowry, the 2019 champion at Royal Portrush, led after 36 holes, with only ten players under par – Schauffele one of them, but six behind the Irishman.
It was all change on Saturday, with Lowry making a calamitous 77, which allowed Billy Horschel to go one clear of a seven-strong chasing pack.
The wind got up and the rains fell on Sunday, but Schauffele was able to cope with the conditions – he fired a 65, which was the best round of the day by two shots, to win by two from Horschel and Justin Rose.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for this Week’s the 2025 Open Championship
It’s the fourth and final major of the year, which means that this is the final opportunity of 2025 to really get stuck into some of the meatier prize pools that DFS golf has to offer.
GOLF $2.75m Fantasy Golf Millionaire: Top of the shop, as ever, is the milly maker. This $25 entry contest boasts a top prize of a cool $1 million, with stacks of sizable payouts that will raise a smile for those fortunate enough to trouser them.
PGA $600k Drive the Green: For a lower price point, try this $5 game, which still boasts a rather handy top prize of $100k. The top 275 players will all win a minimum of $50.
This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the 2025 Open Championship
Building a fantasy lineup for the British Open is easy, in a sense: just pick those guys that have shown a real fondness for Links golf, and then hope for the best.
The Scottish Open has been a real proving ground. Last year, Schauffele won the British Open after finishing T15 at the Scottish. Before that, Brian Harman and Cameron Smith lifted the Claret Jug after finishing T12 and T10 at the Scottish Open respectively.
On top of that, Schauffele, Harman, and Smith all had a prior top-ten in the British Open before lifting the trophy. Schauffele had a prior runner-up finish, while Harman had a previous tournament best of T6.
For much of the summer, we’ve been expecting Royal Portrush to play firm and fast; at which point, finding fairways and greens in regulation – allied to an ultra-reliable chipping game – would have been vital.
But if the rain comes and slows proceedings, allied to lower temperatures and weaker winds, there will likely be more margin for error, with slightly lower scoring than otherwise expected.
Even so, you would still expect the Links specialists to prevail…
Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the 2025 Open Championship
You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.
Dominate your fantasy golf league with Golficity’s expert picks. Sign up for a Golficity Premium Membership to get full access to our weekly fantasy golf predictions segment and so much more.
Already a member? Sign in Here.
Fantasy Golf Predictions – This Season
63481926
Season Earnings YTD
Remember to visit our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2025 Open Championship with other Premium Members.
Cover Photo via Instagram
