Crunching the numbers

Bragging rights at stake. Daily prizes. A chance to prove your knowledge.

The 154th Open has been full of firsts, from the Last Chance Qualifier to the Heroes Classic, and another has arrived in the form of the Open Fantasy game.

An all-expenses paid trip to St Andrews for The 155th Open is up for grabs for the overall winner while daily prizes are also on offer.

Enter your team here – and read on for some key themes so far…

Rory the favourite

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rory McIlroy is proving a popular pick. The 2014 Champion is being trusted by almost one in three players (32.4%) as their category one golfer, ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick (20.4%) and Tommy Fleetwood (15.7%).

Lowry the people’s champion

Shane Lowry is in category three, from which two golfers of your quartet are selected.

The 2019 Champion finds himself in almost a third of teams to date, having been picked by more than 2,500 players.

Local knowledge

Fantasy managers are clearly favouring players with strong links to links golf and British and Irish conditions.

As well as the aforementioned McIlroy, Lowry, Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton are also well represented in teams picked ahead of the championship getting underway.

Gotterup the dark horse

Every Fantasy manager seeks a lesser-spotted difference-maker and Chris Gotterup has clearly been identified as that man by many.

The 2025 Scottish Open winner, who finished third on debut at Royal Portrush last year, has been selected by 1,470 teams from his position in pot two, making him the second-most popular player in that segment behind MacIntyre.

Creative licence

Team names are always an important part of any Fantasy sports game and it turns out golf fans enjoy a pun. There are more than 100 names based on ‘birdie’, and a similar number on ‘putt’.

Fifty are plays on Rory McIlroy’s name, including ‘Rory Macaroni’, while others have gone down a more general route, with ‘Hack Sabbath’ and ‘Shanks Very Much’ among those entered.

Billy’s picks

Anyone in need of some last-minute expert advice can turn to Billy Horschel, who gave his thoughts to The Open’s social media channels.

“I’m going to go with the hometown boy, Tommy Fleetwood, from category one,” he said.

“From category two, Aaron Rai, as I think this course will reward players who are really precise.”

Horschel picked himself from category three, along with ‘great ball striker’ Corey Conners.

Pick your team

Click here to pick your quartet – and who knows, a trip to St Andrews in 12 months could be in store…