Coming off a very exciting RBC Canadian Open in Toronto, we head back to the mainland for the 122nd U.S. Open, which will be held at The Country Club (par 70, 7,254 yards, POA Annua greens) in Brookline, Massachusetts for the first time since 1988. At that edition of this major, Curtis Strange secured the first of his back-to-back U.S. Open titles, defeating Nick Faldo in a playoff and finishing at -6.
The Country Club is an absolute masterpiece of a golf course that will surely live up to the U.S. Open’s standard of challenging golf. The windy and hilly fairways at this classic design are bordered with penalizing rough — avoiding this thick grass will be extremely important. While not a must, being long off the tee will also be beneficial at The Country Club, and we should be prioritizing players that have been gaining strokes off the tee as of late. After the challenges you face off the tee, next comes the test of approaching these small POA greens, many of which are elevated and should be tough to hold regularly. For the most part, they’re all surrounded by deep bunkers. So, in addition to the usual heavy emphasis we to put on iron play, we should also be targeting players that are crafty around the greens when they miss the putting surface.
Coming in as a par 70, The Country Club is home to 12 par 4s and only two par 5s. Seven of the 12 par 4s fall between 450-500 yards, and without question, the golfers who are most efficient on these holes will certainly put themselves in contention. Last but not least, when anticipating a grueling test of golf like the U.S. Open, rostering players who avoid the large numbers on their scorecards at a strong rate is always a savvy approach. Of the last five U.S. Open champions, only one of these golfers didn’t lead their field or finish runner-up in least bogeys recorded during their victories.
Outside of Tiger Woods (leg) and Paul Casey (back), all of the top 50 ranked players in the world are listed in this full field of 156, including the big names who controversially resigned from the PGA TOUR to join the LIV Golf league this past week. The U.S. Open uses a slightly smaller cut than a standard PGA TOUR event, with the top 60 and ties advancing to the weekend. Below I provide four sub-$7.5K value plays that I will be attacking on DraftKings for this major.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.75M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry]
Davis Riley ($7,300) – Riley is playing incredible golf right now and must be utilized at this soft price tag. In his last eight starts, the Alabama product has made seven cuts, six of which have been finishes of T13 or better, including a runner-up playoff loss to Sam Burns ($8,300) at the Valspar Championship. Over this stretch, Riley has moved himself up an eye-popping 87 spots in the official world golf rankings to a career-best No. 85. Primarily, Riley finds himself at this career pinnacle due to his outstanding ball-striking, ranking first and eighth in SG APP and SGT2G, respectively, when we compare this world-class field’s last 12 rounds. Additionally, the 25-year-old ranks fifth in SG on par 4s and 18th in bogey avoidance during this time, setting him up perfectly for the test that awaits at The Country Club this week.
Harold Varner III ($7,300) – Varner is another player who heads to Boston this week playing the best golf of his career. At the RBC Canadian Open this past week, he ranked seventh in SGT2G and eighth in SG APP, lifting him to a T13 finish. Varner has now made seven consecutive cuts — six of which have been top-30 finishes — while gaining strokes from T2G and on APP in all seven of these starts. Thanks to this success, the 31-year-old is now sits at a career-best No. 35 in the world golf rankings, but he is the 42nd-most expensive player on DraftKings this week — showing how underpriced Varner is for his stellar current form.
Russell Henley ($7,300) – Henley has been one of the most reliable players on the PGA TOUR this season, owning a 15-for-16 record in terms of made cuts, with eight top-25 finishes. Not only has the former Georgia Bulldog has been one of the premier iron players on the planet, ranking second in SG APP this season, Henley has also been excellent at recovering when he misses the green, ranking 27th in SG ARG. Additionally, the 33-year-old posted a career-best T13 at the U.S. Open last season, marking his sixth made cut and fourth top-30 finish at this major in eight attempts. Henley is far too cheap for his safety and is a value play that can’t be overlooked this week.
Adam Scott ($7,200) – While Scott carded a subpar T67 at the Memorial in his last start, the veteran was on fire with his irons at Jack’s Place that week, finishing the event second in SG APP. Now, Scott gets an opportunity to combine that terrific work with his irons with possibly a strong putting performance on the POA greens at The Country Club, which is unequivocally his favorite type of putting surface. When we analyze this field’s last 50 rounds at tracks that present POA greens, Scott ranks second in total strokes gained to only Rory McIlroy ($10,500), who is the current betting favorite to win the U.S. Open on DraftKings Sportsbook. Scott has made 10 straight cuts at venues with POA greens, including six top-10 finishes. He’s steal at this season-low salary.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: $2.75M Fantasy Golf Millionaire [$1M to 1st + ToC Entry]
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
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