Jordan Spieth of the United States plays a shot on the 16th fairway during the second round of the SMBC Singapore Open golf tournament at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
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Oakmont Country Club - Oakmont, PA
Par 70 - 7,255 Yards
It may not have been an elite field at last weeks FedEx St. Jude Classic, but we were treated to a great tournament and great finish once again on Sunday. Last seasons Rookie of the Year, Daniel Berger added to the impressive start to his career with his first win on Tour. He was the only rookie to make it the Tour Championship last season and ended up finishing for 11th in the overall standings. All the big names in the tournament(Johnson, Mickelson, Koepka) all lurked on Sunday but Berger was able to hold them off. Enough with last week let's jump right into next week.
The U.S. Open! Another chance to win a Million Dollars on DraftKings! What more could one ask for? For starters you could ask to never play Oakmont Country Club, the site of this weeks U.S. Open. It is widely considered the hardest test of golf in America. Oakmont has hosted more major champions than any other golf course(8 US Opens, 5 US Amateurs, 3 PGA Championships, and 2 US Womens Opens). It was designed with tight fairways, extremely difficult rough, bunkers at nearly every landing point(210 in total) and most of all greens that slope away from a players approach shot and are super fast. Not only will the course test all facets of a players physical golf game, the bigger challenge will be between the ears. Mistakes, if not handled correctly, can compound quickly and lead to some disgusting scores. To see a little behind the scenes of Oakmont Country Club click here.
The last time the U.S. Open was played here was in 2007 where Angel Cabrera hoisted the trophy with a winning score of +5. Wait what? Seriously. Less than 10 rounds under 70 were recorded and Cabrera had two of them. The first thing this type of scoring is going to do for daily fantasy is turn the emphasis almost entirely on finishing position. There are going to be very few, if any, birdie streaks or bogey free rounds. Outside of the Strokes Gained metrics which I am weighting heavily(mostly Off the Tee and Around the Green) I will also be looking closely at Bogey Avoidance, Scrambling, sand Save % and Good Drive %. I like accuracy players more than distance guys this week as many of the holes will require players to club down to place the ball in the correct spot. The greens will be the hardest of the year and we will see plenty of 3 putts. Even the top putters will have fits at times. This leads me to believe some of the weaker putters will not be at such a disadvantage but it always helps to be a top putter if you are looking for a win.
Below is a list of the key stats I am using in my model on the cheatsheet this week:
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High End Targets ($9,000+)
Jordan Spieth
Vegas Odds - 9/1
Draftkings - $11,900
Fantasy Aces - $6,200
The 2015 U.S. Open Champion will look to defend his title at one of the hardest golf courses on the planet. He comes in with a renewed confidence after picking up his second win of the season at the Dean & Deluca Invitational a few weeks back and has also added five Top 10's and 10 Top 25 finishes. His Major Championship form is also unlike any other player coming into this week. In his last five majors since the start of the 2014 season he has finishes of T2(Masters), 2nd(PGA Championship), T4(Open Championship), Win(US Open), and Win(Masters). If you are looking for a player who is going to rise to the occasion of a Major Championship, look no further than Spieth. Looking at his stats I like that he is Top 5 in Strokes Gained Around the Green, Top 10 in Strokes Gained Putting, 1st in Putting Average, and 1st in Par 4 Scoring. Out of the top 3 players in salary I also believe that Spieth will be the lowest owned of the group adding more value for GPP tournaments.
Jason Day
Vegas Odds - 7/1
Draftkings - $12,100
Fantasy Aces - $6,250
It will be hard to make multiple lineups this week and not include Jason Day. He is the #1 player in the world and has racking up the wins since the start of the 2015 season. In 31 starts on Tour, Day has recorded eight wins, 17 Top 10's and has finished 24 of those tournaments inside the Top 25. Pretty amazing. He also ranks #1 in my model this week due to his combination of excellent form, top notch U.S. Open history and elite stats highlighted by a 1st rank in SG:P, 3rd in Par 4 Scoring, 4th in Par 5 Scoring, 4th in BoB%, and 1st in Sand Save percentage. I have a feeling he is going to be the first or second highest owned golfer of the week but to win in a tournament such as the Milli Maker you are going to need the winner(Day has a great shot to do this) and then differentiate with the other five golfers in your lineup.
Bubba Watson
Vegas Odds - 33/1
Draftkings - $9,500
Fantasy Aces - $5,650
Out of all the players(12) in the top tier I feel Bubba will be the lowest owned. I would only recommend as a GPP play as he can be very volatile if he gets off his game early. I mentioned the mental game as the key to Oakmont this week and if you have ever watched Bubba this would be his weakness. He has missed the cut in three of the last four years at the U.S. Open and isn't coming in with the best form either. This truly sounds like a fade write up but hear me out. THe last time the U.S. Open was held at Oakmont back in 2007, Bubba went into that tournament with worse form(6 MC and a WD to start that season) and came away with a tie for 5th. If he can again pick a finish inside the Top 10 at Oakmont he will pay off his salary at a very low ownership and make a huge difference in the Milli Maker.
Also Consider - Rickie Fowler
Matt Kuchar
Vegas Odds - 33/1
Draftkings - $8,500
Fantasy Aces - $5,200
Enter the highest owned golfer of the week. Kuchar is in the mid $8K price range which is a tremendous value considering he ranks 2nd in my model due to his amazing combination of stats, form and U.S. Open history. He is near elite in almost all stats besides Driving Distance which will have no bearing this week. He is coming into this tournament with some amazing form with four straight finishes inside of 6th and has five Top 10's in his last six tournaments. He has also had some success in the U.S. Open having made eight of 12 cuts in his career including six straight and back to back 12th place finishes. I will be heavy on Kuch for cash games at this price but will probably avoid in GPP's with an expected ownership north of 30%.
Brandt Snedeker
Vegas Odds - 50/1
Draftkings - $8,000
Fantasy Aces - $5,150
Snedeker comes into this years U.S. Open with a great track record in his home countries biggest event. In nine career appearances he has made the cut seven times including five straight and is coming off back to back Top 10's in 2015 and 2014. He also finished T23 here at Oakmont back in the 2007 U.S. Open. It doesn't seem to matter what course this event is played on, Sneds has the mental and physical game to compete almost anywhere on Tour. He is average off the tee but makes up for it around the green and he is also elite in Bogey Avoidance and Scrambling. At $8K on DraftKings he will be a core player in my cash games and also a GPP play this week with winning upside.
Kevin Chappell
Vegas Odds - 80/1
Draftkings - $7,100
Fantasy Aces - $4,850
Chappell is one of my favorite overall value plays this week. He is 37th in DraftKings salary and ranks 16th in my model due to his combination of stats, form and history. First of all, he has been a tremendous Tee to Green player this year ranked 10th(SG:T2G) which is in large part to his 7th overall rank in Strokes Gained Approach. He is Top 30 in Total Driving and Ball Striking and is solid across the board in almost all other stats. He has made the cut in all four U.S. Open appearances. With two Top 10's back to back in 2011 and 2012. He most recently finished T48 at the Memorial and missed the cut at the Dean and Deluca Invitational but before that had four Top 10's(three of them Top 5's) in a two month span. Not bad for a player in the low $7K range.
Also Consider - Branden Grace
William McGirt
Vegas Odds - 125/1
Draftkings - $6,700
Fantasy Aces - N/A
He was a late edition to the DraftKings salaries and is coming off a huge win at the Memorial Tournament. He is making his first start at a U.S. Open in his career and what a course to make your debut. If you have been following my weekly picks I hope you have been riding McGirt like I have. I discussed him heavily with my partner on Slurv after he missed two cuts in a row back in late March/early April and mentioned it had been almost two years since he had missed three in a row. Little did I know he would go on to make six straight with his first career win. After some time off I feel he will be recharged and ready to attack Oakmont this week. He is an accuracy player who can score on the Par 4's, avoid Bogey's(not going to avoid them all by any means) and can scramble with the best of them when he gets into trouble and he and every player out there will get in trouble.
Kevin Na
Vegas Odds - 125/1
Draftkings - $6,600
Fantasy Aces - $4,600
Na will be making his 6th U.S. Open appearance and after missing his first two cuts back in 2010 and 2011 he has made three straight cuts including a T12 in 2014. He isn't a player that is going to win this tournament but can provide some value at the mid $6K price point. Looking at the Strokes Gained metrics, Na is 11th in Approach and 30th in Around the Green. He is top 40 in Driving Accuracy, top 20 in Good Drive %, and top 10 in Par 4 Scoring. A great combination for what we are looking for this week.
Also Consider - Spencer Levin
Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the U.S. Open? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.
U.S. Open
Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.
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View Comments
I think get most of what's right about Mickelson and Scott. Can you help me talk myself off of them?
I am fading both guys this week. Mickelson scares me with his accuracy off the tee on a course where you are punished hard from inaccuracy. Scott could be low owned in the top tier but both of these guys missed the cut back in 2007 when the US Open was last held here at Oakmont.
I like Bubba over Mickelson for a couple reasons. Lower ownership and Bubba was T5 and almost won here back in 2007 even though he doesn't seem like a patient golfer with the right mind set.
I'm liking my boy DJ here... with his terrible putting this could be his chance to win with a score around even.
I thought about DJ long and hard. He is great for DraftKings as he makes tons of birdies and eagles for the scoring bonus's. Those won't a factor this week as the winning score will be + something unless the rain sticks around and makes the course soft, in which case the USGA will make pin placement impossible. I don't think he has the mental game to stay upright when things start going South. Just my opinion though. He is over due for a US Open win.
Split the million with me, Chris!
Doug you're the best
Mike Van Sickle for punt of the tourney. Local player with around 20 Oakmont rounds under his belt including a win in a junior championship and a third place in a state open championship. On top of that his caddie is a full time Oakmont caddie of 19 years.