2026 Open Championship Sleepers: Five Potential DraftKings Golf DFS Values
The Open week is officially upon us, and we’re kicking things off with 2026 Open Championship sleepers. The fourth and final major of the year brings us to Southport, England, where we’ll see the game’s best converge at the famous Royal Birkdale for the first time since the 2017 Open Championship. I could not be more excited to discuss this field and my favorite 2026 Open Championship DFS picks.
We are three years removed from a 200-1 longshot prevailing on the Open links. Brian Harman’s victory was a surprise to many, but it still continued an active trend of 13 consecutive Open Championship winners who ranked inside the OWGR top-40. For all the volatility the Open Championship brings via uncertain conditions and unpredictable bounces, the cream usually rises to the top at this event. Royal Birkdale has been especially difficult for longshots to crack, though 2017 did welcome surprise top-5 finishers in Haotong Li and Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Ahead, we’ll go through my favorite sleeper and longshot options for US Open odds and fantasy considerations. View the players below for a selection of The Open odds if you’re looking for betting markets.
COURSE INTRODUCTION FOR THE OPEN DFS
Established 137 years ago in 1889, Royal Birkdale Golf Club holds plenty of history in the game of golf. It is set to host The Open Championship for the 11th time since 1954, and has consistently had its name called on the Open rota every 7-10 years. Situated about 20 miles north of Liverpool, Royal Birkdale is yet another example of an Open Championship venue that rests upon the English coastline, inviting the natural elements of wind, rain, and fog to intervene.
A 7,223-yard par-70, Royal Birkdale still stands as one of the shorter Open Championship venues, even after adding 70 yards to the course since 2017. Shorter does not mean easier, however, as Royal Birkdale requires absolute precision throughout.
The towering dunes at Royal Birkdale give this course a unique look and feel, and the presence of these dunes makes judging the wind ever so trickier, as players on the ground level will have less of a reference point for the wind above them. In that sense, it creates a natural swirling wind effect, similar to what we see when the winds pick up in TPC Sawgrass’ stadium setup.
All in all, Royal Birkdale is a pure ball-striker’s paradise that rewards precision over power. It is a fair test that severely penalizes big misses and appropriately rewards perfectly struck shots.
For a deeper dive into the course, read my The Open preview. Without any further delay, let’s get to our The Open DFS picks, focusing on longshots and sleepers for your lineups.
2026 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP DFS PICKS: FIVE SLEEPERS
From a DFS standpoint, I’ll try to fit in at least two top-10 players from this field into each lineup, avoiding the mid-tier range for balanced builds. That means hitting on the high upside value players in the $7K and $6K ranges is crucial.
Below, find my favorite value DFS options and longshots for the 2026 Open Championship. The Open stats pulled from across the last 36 rounds, unless otherwise noted.
Russell Henley ($7,700)
Royal Birkdale is a short course that rewards a straight ball flight. It keeps everything right in front of you, and simply asks players to execute accurate drives and consistent iron play from inside 200 yards over and over again. That is Russell Henley’s game in a nutshell, and especially with calm conditions in the forecast, this may be his best opportunity yet to claim a major championship.
Henley has proven his game can translate on the Open links, regardless of weather conditions, finishing top-10 in each of his last two starts at The Open. He is just four starts removed from beating a strong field at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which demands a similar premium on accuracy. With six top-15 finishes in the 2026 season, his game looks ready to chase his third consecutive top-10 finish at The Open this week.
Alex Fitzpatrick ($7,400)
The other Fitzpatrick brother may not be playing at the superstar level of his brother Matt at the moment, but he’s continued to be a legitimate player in his own right since winning the Zurich Classic and gaining PGA Tour status. Since his back-to-back wins at the Hero Indian Open and Zurich Classic, Fitzpatrick has been playing with pure confidence, posting six top-25 finishes over his next eight starts. A missed cut at the Genesis Scottish Open last week has been the lone blemish on his young PGA Tour career, but I believe that presents an ideal buy-low opportunity now.
The Englishman and full-time DP World Tour member over the last several years has plenty of links experience in this neck of the woods. In his only career Open Championship start in 2023, Fitzpatrick thrived on the big stage with a T17 finish. Fitzpatrick profiles as an accurate ball-striker, ranking top-10 in SG: APP and top-20 in Driving Accuracy. That is exactly the profile of player I’m looking for at Royal Birkdale, and he comes at a great discount this week.
Tom Kim ($6,800)
Tom Kim will ride a wave of confidence into Open Championship week, fresh off of a decisive victory at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Kim spoke after his victory about his love for links golf because of its forced attention to detail. The results back up that love for the links too, as Kim has now finished inside the top-20 in all five of his career Scottish Open appearances. Kim’s resumé at The Open is less perfect, but it does include the high-water mark of a T2 finish at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
Royal Birkdale, similar to most venues on The Open rota, is on the short side and favors precision off the tee and on approach. That is where Kim truly excels, as he ranks top-5 in both Driving Accuracy and SG: Approach over the last 36 rounds. The putter is the final piece of the puzzle Kim needs to figure out before he’s ready to claim his first major, but a 3rd place finish at Shinnecock Hills, in which he ranked 17th in SG: Putting, proves he is capable of dialing it in on the biggest stages.
Akshay Bhatia ($6,600)
Just add wind, and Akshay Bhatia suddenly becomes one of the fiercest competitors on the PGA Tour. His two most recent wins have come when battling difficult conditions in high winds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valero Texas Open. The results have not quite materialized yet for Bhatia on the links, but he’s improved with each year of experience, posting a career-best T30 finish at Royal Portrush last year.
Bhatia has been excellent on U.S. comp courses that reward creative shot-shaping, accurate ball-striking, and managing the wind. He finished T5 in his most recent start at the Travelers Championship. The same event Jordan Spieth won in his last start before triumphing at Royal Birkdale. He’s also finished in the top 15 in each of his last two appearances at THE PLAYERS Championship. A T17 finisher at the U.S. Open last month, Bhatia seems to be rounding into the peak form he displayed at the top of this season, which culminated in a huge Signature Event victory at Bay Hill.
Sahith Theegala ($6,200)
There are plenty of Spiethian qualities to Sahith Theegala’s game, and if you’re looking for a longshot future to hitch your wagon to, it’s conceivable to me that Theegala could follow in Jordan Spieth’s footsteps to claim victory at Royal Birkdale.
Like Spieth, it is always an exciting journey from tee-to-green for Theegala, but he prides himself on being an escape artist. With these fairways proving difficult to hold for even the most accurate players on Tour, I’m drawn to a player like Theegala, who can scramble his way to par when caught in nefarious positions. It was that escape artistry which propelled him to a T11 finish last month at Shinnecock Hills, and with five top-11 finishes and just one missed cut this season, Theegala has shown that his game is better than these odds suggest.
Best of luck if you choose to roster these Open Championship DFS picks.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
