Each week, Dave Tindall and Matt Cooper will give their picks for the two main European Tour options – DraftKings and the official season-long 2019 Fantasy Race to Dubai game run by europeantour.com.
The latter is yet to kick off in 2020 – we’re expecting a start at the Masters.
The DraftKings lineups will be entered into a large-entry Guaranteed Prize Pool. That means we need to take a risk or two, in order to separate ourselves from the field.
The idea is to provide you a list of names to consider. We would not recommend copying these teams, golfer for golfer. Duplicate teams are no fun and don’t help anyone.
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Dave Tindall
@DaveTindallGolf
DraftKings
Martin Kaymer ($10,200) – From not knowing what he might serve up, Kaymer has found a streak of impressive consistency with six top 25s in his last seven starts. 8-16-13 in this year’s three Middle East events.
Joost Luiten ($9,500) – Luiten has been even more reliable over an extended period and this looks a likely place for him to pop up on the leaderboard. Two starts at Al Mouj have yielded a win and T12.
Dean Burmester ($8,000) – The big-hitting South African is in a groove after third in Dubai and a pair of tied 11ths (Saudi International and his home Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Sunshine Tour). I’ll follow the hot hand.
Jeff Winther ($7,300) – Course horse. 24th and 3rd here on the Challenge Tour and has again shown his liking for Al Mouj with 21st and 12th in the two editions of the Oman Open. He’s also 4-for-4 in the new decade.
Connor Syme ($7,200) – The Scotsman had a strong finish to the 2019 Challenge Tour season and a bright start to the current European Tour campaign with 9th in Mauritius and 22nd in South Africa. T37 here two years ago.
Jack Senior ($7,200) – Once beat Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the 2011 U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills and now finding his feet as a pro with a nice run of 4-30-17 in 2020. Played here in the 2015 Challenge Tour Grand Final, posting T26.
Total salary: $49,600
On the cusp: Thomas Pieters ($10,600), Adri Arnaus ($9,400), Jordan Smith ($9,000), Justin Harding ($7,800), Darren Fichardt ($7,500), Stephen Gallacher ($6,800)
Matt Cooper
@MattCooperGolf
DraftKings
Joost Luiten ($9,700) – Won the first edition and was T12 on defense. Hasn’t missed a cut since the Scottish Open in July and this is the ideal spot for him to improve on T10, his best effort in that run.
Andy Sullivan ($9,500) – Six of his last seven completed starts (he had a DQ after a terrible R1 in Dubai) have been T23 or better. T16 on the course in 2018.
Jordan Smith ($9,000) – On a run of 11-for-11 and returns to a spot where he’s landed two top 20s in three starts. Strong form in the desert in the third, second and first tiers.
Matthieu Pavon ($7,700) – Has finished T11 in his last two starts and is 5-for-5 in the 2020 season. He was T3 on the course on the Challenge Tour and led at halfway in 2018.
Alexander Bjork ($7,600) – His form is finally heading in the right direction (MC-69-45-27) and he has three top 25s in four course appearances, including T12 in 2018.
Matthew Southgate ($6,800) – T9 in the tournament in 2018, contending through 54 holes. The linksy nature of the track suits him and allows me to overlook the three MCs he’d started 2020 with (good links performers come to life with the test, not form).
Total salary: $49,900
On the cusp: Min Woo Lee ($9,500), Adri Arnaus ($9,400), Gavin Green ($9,200), George Coetzee ($8,500), Romain Langasque ($8,300), Ashun Wu ($7,900)
