Sobel’s Round 3 Matchup Preview: Will Jon Rahm Make a Charge?

We're onto Round 3 at the 2019 Open Championship and there's plenty left to play for. The leaderboard is bunched and features a great mix of big names, grinders and first-time contenders.

Let's take a look at a trio of matchups for Round 3, all of which feature big favorites:

Patrick Cantlay (-0.5, -144) over Lucas Glover

New rule of thumb on major championship weekends: If Cantlay is available in any kind of wager, take him. This is a steep price, but Cantlay is the better player and has had a ton of success in the latter stages of majors this season.

So far this year, he owns a scoring average of 68.17 in these situations, with four of six scores at 68 or better and only one round over par. If you’re playing lineups in weekend-only DFS, this is where I’d start.

Matt Fitzpatrick (-0.5, -165) over Ernie Els

Give all the strokes. I mean, seriously: If you can find a book that’ll let you take Fitzy and give 2.5-3.5 shots to Els, do it.

The young Englishman has shown a propensity got going super-low at majors — and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got another one in him Saturday. I love the fact that Els has played this well so far, but he’s a big-time fade for me moving forward.

Jon Rahm (-180) over Patrick Reed

I did a few radio interviews on Friday afternoon and each one asked the same thing: What happened to Rahm on Friday? The answer: Um, he shot a 1-under 70.

I guess it’s a compliment when you can post an under-par score in a major, remain in contention and people talk about you in hushed tones like you’ve got the shanks. In any case, that seems about as low as Rahm will go, while Reed is chasing a good one. I like sticking with Rahm here.