Fantasy Lookahead: Dustin Johnson the man to beat at Royal Troon

Officially a member of golf's Big Four, Johnson has vaulted his way to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, joining World No. 1 Jason Day, No. 3 Jordan Spieth, and No. 4 Rory McIlroy. Johnson joined Adam Scott and Day as the only players to win consecutive events this season, as he followed up his U.S. Open victory with a first-place showing at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Johnson leads the tour in 2016 earnings, holding a slight edge over Day despite one fewer win. He does have two more top-10 finishes than Day and one more than Patrick Reed. Johnson leads the FedExCup standings by more than 100 points over Day, while leading Spieth by more than 300 Ryder Cup points.

No one has gained more than Johnson's 307.17 points in the OWGR this season.

Course History

Johnson struggled over the weekend at St. Andrews in last year's Open Championship. He entered Saturday at 10-under par, but shot back-to-back rounds of 75 on Saturday and Sunday to fall well out of contention and finish 49th. It was the only major of the year in which Johnson failed to finish inside the top 10.

Johnson was not yet a tour member when Royal Troon Golf Club last hosted The Open in 2004. He has participated in seven Open Championships, missing the cut in his first appearance at The Ailsa Championship Course in 2009, but he picked up a runner-up finish just two years later at Royal St. George's Golf Club. He collected a second top-10 result the next year.

Statistical Breakdown

Per FantasyInsiders, the following stats have been strengths of previous winners at Royal Troon Golf Club:

Par 4 Scoring Average (P4S)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SGOT)
Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SGAG)
Strokes Gained: Putting (SGP)
Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB)

Here's how Johnson has fared in the selected statistics so far this season:

Johnson is clearly among those best suited to the course, pairing nicely with his unrivaled recent form. A poor ranking in SGAG can be somewhat negated by a quality rank of 10th in Strokes Gained: Approach and his dramatically improved putting, which includes a rank of second in Putting Average. While leading the tour in BoB, he also ranks 17th in Bogey Avoidance.

Johnson also leads the tour in overall Scoring Average, at 69.155 strokes per round. He leads the tour in Round 1 Scoring Average and favors an early time by approximately a quarter of a stroke.

Daily Fantasy

Johnson comes in as the second-most expensive player of the week, even with the best recent form. He leads the field in fantasy points per week, is tied for second in top-10 finishes, and he is the only player on tour to appear in at least 14 events and make the cut in each one.

Recent form is sure to make Johnson the most popular member of the Big Four, regardless of his price tag. It's therefore a contrarian move to fade him, but owners do so at their own risk. It's never easy to bet against the champ.

Season-Long Fantasy

Johnson is the top-ranked player in a loaded A-List this week, though owners are likely running out of starts. Owners should put that fact aside and continue to roster him until his run clearly hits an end. He owns the longest active cut-making streak on tour at 23 straight events, dating back to last season.

There's little risk in rostering Johnson at the moment, and his upside is a second consecutive major championship.