Hello and welcome to the first edition of RotoBaller's DraftKings DFS Euro Tour picks! DraftKings will not be offering contests for this week's Zurich Classic due to the team format. In order to help our readers get their weekly DFS golf fix, we will take a look at some picks for this week's European Tour event.
This week's Euro Tour stop takes us to China for the Volvo China Open. The Volvo China Open is the country's largest and most prestigious golf event. Beijing's exclusive Topwin Golf and Country Club will be hosting the Volvo China Open for the third consecutive year. DFS players will be able to find a bit of course history this week, since the tournament has been held at the same course for the last two years.
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Elite Tier
Alexander Levy - DraftKings - $11,700: Alex Levy is the highest priced golfer in this week's Volvo China Open with good reason. The 27-year old Frenchman is the defending champion after winning this tournament on this course last year. Levy has captured the Volvo China Open title in two of the last four years, so the country of China definitely agrees with his game. In case his stellar track record in this event isn't enough for you, let me mention that Levy won this past week's European Tour Event in Morocco, the Trophee Hassan II. Levy also has four Top-10's in the six European Tour events he's played this year. As if he needs any extra motivation, Levy is also trying to make the European Ryder Cup team that will be taking on the U.S. in his home country of France later this year.
Hao-Tong Li - DraftKings - $11,300: Coming in just $400 under Alex Levy, Li is the second-highest priced golfer on DraftKings this week. The young 22-year old won his country's championship at this course in 2016. Li has flashed enormous potential and talent over the last couple of years. We saw glimpses at the 2017 Open Championship when Li fired a brilliant final round 63 to finish in a tie for 3rd at Royal Birkdale. An opening round 69 at this year's Masters grabbed the attention of many in the golf world. Li has as much upside as any young golfer in the world. We aren't used to seeing Li at this price point, but his talent is undeniable and he will be motivated to win his country's most prestigious tournament this week.
Mid Tier
Jorge Campillo - DraftKings - $8,700: The 31-year old Spaniard is primed for a breakthrough. He has already notched three Top-5 finishes on the European Tour in 2018. Campillo owns some impressive stats for the 2018 season as well: ranking 5th in Driving Accuracy, 13th in Driving Distance, and 8th in Greens in Regulation on the European Tour. We also have to love Campillo's course history at the Topwin Golf and Country Club, he finished tied for 9th in 2017 and tied for 34th in 2016. He can be paired with Alex Levy or Hao-Tong Li in aggressive GPP lineups.
Nacho Elvira - DraftKings - $8,000: Reason #1 to play Nacho Elvira: his name is really cool! Name jokes aside, the Spaniard has tons of game. Elvira was a two-time All-American at Texas A&M and won four times on the Challenge Tour in 2015. He has played regularly on the European Tour since 2016. Nacho enters this week's Volvo China Open in terrific form. He has made four consecutive cuts, finishing 3rd in the Open de Espana and 22nd in last week's Trophee Hassan II. Elvira finished 36th in this tournament last year and I expect him to ride the wave of his recent hot streak this week.
Value Tier
Andrea Pavan - DraftKings - $7,400: The young Italian is a bit of an unknown commodity this week and makes for an interesting contrarian play in large-field GPPs. He has never competed in an event at Topwin Golf and Country Club. Recent form is what draws my attention to Pavan. He has played excellent golf in 2018, having only missed one cut since January. Pavan finished 21st in the Open de Espana two weeks ago and 3rd in last week's Trophee Hassan II. He is a solid putter and offers a level of safety for his $7,500 price tag. The players on the European Tour seem to be very evenly matched talent-wise, so I tend to put more weight on recent form than I normally do for PGA Tour players.
Gregory Bourdy - DraftKings - $6,700: Players that want to go stars and scrubs this week will need to gamble somewhere. I like the French veteran for his affordable price tag of $6,700. Bourdy has been around the block and has 4 European Tour wins on his resume. He hasn't done much in 2018, but brings experience to a field that contains lots of young players and many Chinese players that aren't quite on the talent level that this course demands. Bourdy missed the cut at Topwin last year, but had a solid showing in 2016, finishing tied for 21st. At this price we are looking for a made cut, Bourdy has a nice chance to be playing on the weekend.
Be sure to look out for another article coming next week!
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