2026 Open Championship: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 3
The 2026 Open Championship is heading to the weekend, with Royal Birkdale setting the stage for a truly exciting finalé to the 2026 major season. Lucas Herbert took advantage of calm conditions in the morning, holding the outright lead at 8-under-par after carding a major-record-tying score of 62 on Friday. The cream has started to rise to the top to chase him, though, as Bryson DeChambeau is the live betting favorite, just one stroke off Herbert’s pace. Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, and Jon Rahm highlight the most prominent contenders within four strokes of the lead heading into Saturday.
Looking ahead, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 3 gets underway on Saturday. Conditions have been calm in the morning with wind gradually picking up in the afternoon over the first two days. The exact same forecast is in store for Saturday, giving a slight edge in round 3 to players with an early tee time. Ahead, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 2 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for the 2026 Open Championship DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 3 Open Championship Showdown Pillar Plays
No two years seem to be the same at The Open, as each course on the rota brings a unique identity. While Total Driving, distance, and short game are more essential on other Open Championship venues, Royal Birkdale has established its own unique identity as the preeminent test of accuracy. The R&A have set this course up exactly how they want to, drying out these brown fairways to make the course play firmer. That invites players to test their creativity and use the ground game more often, especially when hitting from out of position into these fescue-based greens. Going forward, it is the players who can consistently place themselves in the fairways and demonstrate skilled approach play who stand the best opportunity to contend at Royal Birkdale.
Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 3 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Rory McIlroy ($11,900)
It’s a high price in DraftKings Showdown for a player seven strokes off the lead, but an earlier tee time has proven to be a positive thing around Royal Birkdale thus far. This is a venue that baits players into playing more conservatively to take severe hazards out of play. But it is also a course that has rewarded those daring enough to play aggressively in the face of those hazards. That is why I like the position Rory is in going into moving day, as he’ll have no choice but to continue playing aggressively in search of birdies to climb the leaderboard.
McIlroy has been the best driver in the field by a significant margin thus far. Unlike at Augusta National where he prevailed in spite of having no control of his driver, Rory has been above-field average in driving accuracy, and top-2 in driving distance. As a result, he’s turned some of Royal Birkdale’s short par-4s into bona fide eagle opportunities. Eagles are a valuable commodity in DraftKings Showdown scoring, and Rory is in the best position of any player in this field to find one in his third round.
Chris Gotterup ($8,500)
It has been a whack-a-mole type of start to The Open for Chris Gotterup. he was elite off-the-tee and around the green in his first round, but average approach play and poor putting rendered him even for the day. It was the inverse for Gotterup in round two, as the irons and putting propelled him to a bounce-back round of 2-under-par.
I believe the 2-under mark may prove to be the sweet spot for challengers looking to make a run. He’ll tee off early enough to capitalize on calm morning weather, and is still within striking distance of the leaders, just six strokes off the lead. Longer hitters who have proven experience on the links have littered the top of the leaderboard thus far, and Gotterup fits that mold perfectly. Gotterup is most comfortable playing the role of chaser, as he’s proven with his come-from-behind wins at the WM Phoenix Open and John Deere Classic this season. If he can piece all areas of his game together in one round, he’s got the game needed to go low at Royal Birkdale.
Brooks Koepka ($7,600)
If the first two rounds have taught us anything, it is that Royal Birkdale is most vulnerable in the early morning before any breath of wind begins to pick up. That certainly helped Sungjae Im, Dan Brown, Sam Burns, and Lucas Herbert as they posted some of the lowest rounds of their respective days by playing from one of the first five games out. In assessing the round 3 board, the player who made the cut on the number, but stands the best chance to charge with an early tee time, is Brooks Koepka.
Brooks will be one of the first out on Saturday, but it’s not the fault of his ball striking. He ranked top-30 in SG: OTT, Driving Distance, SG: T2G, and SG: Ball Striking in his second round, but failed to move up the leaderboard due to a bottom-10 putting performance. As the best players begin to separate atop the leaderboard, there is a developing trend of veterans with elite distance who are bold enough to play aggressively who have been rewarded at Royal Birkdale. With nothing to lose and ideal conditions in store, don’t be surprised if Brooks makes a move on moving day.
Live Bets To Consider Entering Round 3
Top 20 Finish: Collin Morikawa
Best Available odds: +105
It’s been two days in a row now that Collin Morikawa has put his name on the first page of the leaderboard, only to have it come undone with a sloppy closing stretch to his rounds. Morikawa is doing exactly what you need to do to score around Royal Birkdale: Hit fairways (7th in Driving Accuracy), hit greens (3rd SG: in APP), and make putts (29th in SG: Putting). There’s just one small problem: he cannot scramble in the rare instances where he is missing greens in regulation.
Currently T25 at 2-under-par, it still feels like his best golf is ahead of him. If he can correct the scrambling issues over the weekend, the rest of his game is exactly where it needs to be to attack Royal Birkdale.
Top English Player: Tyrrell Hatton
Best Available odds: +405
Two of the biggest pre-tournament favorites in this market – Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose – are now off the board as we head into the weekend. Only Tommy Fleetwood (T8, -4) and Alex Fitzpatrick (T8, -4) are priced ahead of Hatton, who is just one stroke behind them. Matt Wallace, Dan Brown, and Jordan Smith factor into this market as well, but it’s Hatton to me who’s shown to have the highest upside going into the weekend.
Hatton is not known for his distance, but has used the firm fairways to his advantage, ranking 14th in Driving Distance for the tournament. Extra distance has proven to be advantageous at Royal Birkdale, as these firm greens have been much more receptive to spinning wedge shots. Hatton is one of the most accomplished links players in the modern game, and has looked right at home at Royal Birkdale.
Best of luck with your Open Championship DFS lineups and bets!
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