2026 U.S. Senior Open Fantasy Golf Picks & Scioto Final Grades
The CaddyBytes U.S. Senior Open fantasy board is now complete after the final round at Scioto Country Club. PĂĄdraig Harrington won at 12-under, Stewart Cink finished second at 8-under, George McNeill finished third at 6-under, and Ian Poulter finished fourth at 5-under.
These grades judge the CaddyBytes picks and board calls, not the players as golfers. A winner, top-three finish, or top-five finish earns the strongest grade. A made-cut placement without real fantasy value lands in the middle. Lower-board names that faded out of scoring position are graded as misses.
Fantasy golf only. This page does not provide betting picks, odds, sportsbook information, or gambling advice.
Final U.S. Senior Open Scoreboard Snapshot
Final leaderboard snapshot from Scioto after Harrington's closing 66 separated the championship.
| Position | Player | Score | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | Fantasy note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PĂĄdraig Harrington | -12 | 69 | 67 | 66 | 66 | 268 | Winner and best CaddyBytes grade. |
| 2 | Stewart Cink | -8 | 67 | 70 | 64 | 71 | 272 | 54-hole leader and solo second. |
| 3 | George McNeill | -6 | 68 | 66 | 69 | 71 | 274 | 36-hole leader and solo third. |
| 4 | Ian Poulter | -5 | 70 | 69 | 69 | 67 | 275 | Strong finish and solo fourth. |
| T5 | Jamie Donaldson | -4 | 69 | 70 | 69 | 68 | 276 | Top-five fantasy value. |
| T5 | Retief Goosen | -4 | 70 | 73 | 66 | 67 | 276 | Weekend riser. |
| T5 | Paul Stankowski | -4 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 69 | 276 | Value hit. |
| T8 | Darren Clarke | -3 | 71 | 72 | 64 | 70 | 277 | Saturday riser held top 10. |
| T8 | Miguel Ăngel JimĂ©nez | -3 | 69 | 68 | 67 | 73 | 277 | Good board hit, but Sunday fade. |
| T8 | Pat Perez | -3 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 67 | 277 | Top-10 close. |
| T11 | Henrik Stenson | -2 | 71 | 67 | 72 | 68 | 278 | Top-15 board saver. |
| T11 | Ernie Els | -2 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 69 | 278 | Steady top-15 finish. |
| T11 | John Rollins | -2 | 72 | 70 | 67 | 69 | 278 | Top-15 finish. |
| T14 | Billy Andrade | -1 | 72 | 72 | 65 | 70 | 279 | Late value riser held top 15. |
| T14 | Alex Äejka | -1 | 69 | 69 | 71 | 70 | 279 | Original lower-board pick held top 15. |
Original CaddyBytes Pick Grades: Completed Results
These are grades for how the CaddyBytes original fantasy picks and active original-board names performed after the final round. The grade is based on the pick result: win equity, final placement, leaderboard value, and whether the player helped the fantasy board.
| Player | Final result | Pick grade | How the pick did |
|---|---|---|---|
| PĂĄdraig Harrington | 1st, -12 | A+ | Winner and final-round hunch hit. The best result on the board and the clear top grade. |
| Stewart Cink | 2nd, -8 | A | Held the 54-hole lead and finished solo second. Did not close, but fully paid off as a top pick. |
| George McNeill | 3rd, -6 | A- | Led after 36 holes and still finished solo third. Strong fantasy return even with the Sunday fade. |
| Ian Poulter | 4th, -5 | A- | Closed with 67 and finished solo fourth. Excellent board result and a strong placement hit. |
| Jamie Donaldson | T5, -4 | B+ | Delivered a top-five finish and validated the watch/value side of the board. |
| Miguel Ăngel JimĂ©nez | T8, -3 | B | Was in the true title group through 54 holes, then slipped with a closing 73. Still a useful top-10 result. |
| Henrik Stenson | T11, -2 | B- | Recovered enough for a top-15 finish. Useful placement, but not a title-board hit. |
| Alex Äejka | T14, -1 | C+ | Held a top-15 finish but never became a serious Sunday fantasy mover. |
| Chris Devlin | T17, E | C | Made some board noise earlier, but faded into a neutral final result. |
| Tommy Gainey | T20, +1 | C- | Was useful through 54 holes, but the final placement did not hold enough value. |
| Richard Green | T26, +2 | C- | Made the weekend and stayed respectable, but did not return enough fantasy placement value. |
| Ben Crane | T38, +5 | D | Did not turn the pick into a useful leaderboard result. |
| Stephen Ames | T44, +7 | D | Missed the useful fantasy range and finished too far down the board. |
Value Plays and Sleepers: Final Grades
These grades check the lower-board and value names from the final-round update, separate from the main original-pick grade table.
Paul Stankowski â A-
T5 at 4-under. One of the best value results on the page. He was not the winner chase, but a top-five finish is a strong value hit.
Darren Clarke â B
T8 at 3-under. Saturday's 64 moved him into the story and he held a top-10 finish. Good late-board value.
Billy Andrade â B-
T14 at 1-under. The Saturday 65 created the value angle, and he held inside the top-15 line.
Ernie Els â B-
T11 at 2-under. Not a title threat, but steady enough all week to return useful top-15 fantasy value.
Misses and Fades: Final Check
The miss list is mostly lower-board players who were still alive on earlier versions of the page but did not finish high enough to help fantasy builds.
| Player / Group | Final issue | Grade read |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Crane | Finished T38 at 5-over. | Miss. Too far down the board to help. |
| Stephen Ames | Finished T44 at 7-over. | Miss. Did not return usable fantasy value. |
| Richard Green | Finished T26 at 2-over. | Not a disaster, but not a fantasy hit. |
| Tommy Gainey | Fell from the 54-hole top-10 group to T20 at 1-over. | Faded late and lost most of the value he had through Saturday. |
| Chris Devlin | Finished T17 at even after being part of the lower-board conversation. | Neutral to light miss. Useful early, but not enough at the finish. |
CB Caddie Hunch Final Grade: PĂĄdraig Harrington â A+
The CaddyBytes hunch stayed with PĂĄdraig Harrington from one shot back after 54 holes, and that call paid off. Harrington closed with 66, won by four, and turned the hunch into the best grade on the page.
Final hunch result: Winner, 12-under, weekend 66-66, A+ grade.
Final Fantasy Assessment Complete
The completed U.S. Senior Open board graded well at the top and mixed at the bottom. The biggest success was getting the true title group right: Harrington, Cink, McNeill, Jiménez, Poulter, and Donaldson all finished inside the top eight or top five line. The weak spots were the lower-board names that never turned into Sunday placement.
| Check | Final grade note |
|---|---|
| Winner call / hunch | Harrington won and earns A+. |
| Top-three board | Harrington, Cink, and McNeill finished 1-2-3, which makes the top-board read strong. |
| Top-five support | Poulter finished fourth and Donaldson finished T5, adding strong depth to the grade sheet. |
| Top-10 support | Jiménez finished T8, giving the veteran/course-fit side a useful result despite the Sunday fade. |
| Value side | Stankowski, Clarke, Andrade, and Els returned useful value or placement notes. |
| Miss side | Crane, Ames, Green, Gainey, and Devlin did not close with enough fantasy value. |
| Overall page grade | B+ / A- range: Strong winner and top-board results, with lower-board misses preventing a clean A. |
Fantasy note: This page is for CaddyBytes fantasy golf analysis and tournament coverage. It does not provide gambling picks, odds, sportsbook information, or betting advice. The U.S. Senior Open final grades are now posted after the completed championship at Scioto.