A loopy weekend at Chambers Bay in Washington state produced a memorable end to the one hundred and fifteenth U.S. Open. And for all of the controversy surrounding the golf course and Fox Sports activities’ protection of the key championship, this 12 months’s U.S. Open produced an uptick in tv rankings from final 12 months (although traditionally nonetheless low).
That normal curiosity might or might not have helped DraftKings’ Millionaire Maker contest, which once more seems to be have been an unqualified success.
DraftKings stuffed its greater than 143,000 entries greater than 12 hours earlier than the deadline to enter. And simply moments after the competition offered out, DraftKings had introduced that it’ll host a fair bigger contest for the British Open, which tees off on July 16.
This appears to be a strong signal that DraftKings expects the upward development in its daily fantasy sportsbook golf vertical to proceed.
“The DraftKings U.S. Open Millionaire Maker most undoubtedly surpassed our expectations,” a DraftKings spokesperson, who most well-liked to stay unnamed, informed Authorized Sports activities Report. “We had greater than 143,000 entries and the thrilling end offered unimaginable drama that really demonstrated what fantasy sportsbook is all about.”
A contest consequence as harrowing because the U.S. Open
Just like the Open itself, the winner of the Millionaire Maker got here all the way down to the match’s remaining putt.
David Kaplen, of San Antonio, wanted Dustin Johnson to transform his eagle try that will have given Johnson the win over Jordan Spieth. As an alternative, Johnson missed an eagle putt after which the birdie putt, sending Spieth to his second main championship win this 12 months.
That turned out to be nice information for Carl Bassewitz, a 53-year-old from the Houston space. Enjoying on DraftKings for the primary time, in response to the corporate, Bassewitz rode Jason Dufner, Tony Finau, Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed and Spieth into rivalry. Then Bassewitz surged previous Kaplen on the match’s remaining gap to earn the competition’s USD1 million first prize.
The way in which the competition performed out proved to be a optimistic for DraftKings. One, such final-round drama makes DFS golf extra thrilling for individuals, DraftKings stated. And two, Bassewitz has lengthy been an precise fan of golf, an indication that the competition is reaching conventional followers of the game.
“The grand prize winner is a critical golf fan who used his data of the game and the golfers who had been competing to pick his lineup,” the spokesperson stated. “His data and expertise had been finally rewarded.”
ESPN’s David Purdum caught up with each the winner and the second-place finisher.
Extra in regards to the British
Performed on the birthplace of golf, St. Andrews, DraftKings’ British Open contest will develop to 171,700 entries with a assured prize pool of USD3 million.
The winner will once more get USD1 million and practically 38,000 entrants will obtain a minimum of some payout. The entry payment will keep USD20, and satellites will run by way of July 12.
The Millionaire Maker nonetheless has a methods to go whether it is to surpass the precise British Open’s purse of greater than USD9 million. However the explosive development of DFS golf continues. And it seems to be solely the start for DraftKings.
“The response we have now gotten to our Millionaire Maker choices for PGA’s majors does point out that we might have solely scratched the floor,” the DraftKings spokesperson stated. “The unpredictable nature and pleasure of the competitors at these golf tournaments totally engages the fantasy sportsbook group. We’ll proceed to offer distinctive alternatives on this house.”
Picture by Keith Duff used underneath license CC BY-SA 2.0.