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Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for your PGA DFS research. I hope you are as excited as I am for the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club! Let's dive in!
In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2022 U.S. Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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2022 U.S. Open - PGA DFS Overview
The Course: The Country Club at Brookline
Par 70 - 7,264 Yards, Greens: Bent/Poa Mix, Designed By: Willie Campbell (Renovations by Gil Hanse)
One of the most legendary golf courses in the United States - and one of the founding clubs of the USGA - The Country Club at Brookline will present this week's field of professionals with a truly classical layout. Like the PGA Championship host course Southern Hills last month, The Country Club has also undergone an extensive renovation at the hands of Gil Hanse, though comparing it to Southern Hills would be a mistake.
While the year's first two majors have both been wide open off the tee, players will face a very different task with the driver this week, as Brookline's fairways are guarded by extremely penal rough that morphs into unmanageable fescue, trees, and penalty areas for bigger misses. We won't see a repeat of Bryson DeChambeau's "Bomb & Gouge" assault of Winged Foot this week. Many holes also possess right-to-left tendencies, which will be a challenge for many in the field who prefer hitting a power cut off the tee. All told, distance is always an advantage, but this shapes up as more of a Total Driving test than one of sheer power.
Even if players do find the fairway, they will have no picnic on approach, as The Country Club's greens are both tiny and tricky. In addition to their simply small size, these Brookline greens will be guarded by bunkering, rough, and several run-off areas thanks to false fronts. Proximity on approach will be key this week, as players will need to land their second shots in small target areas on the green. Anytime we see small greens, around the green ability becomes exponentially more important, and a golfer's ability to get up and down will be crucial at Brookline.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | The Country Club | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | N/A | 282 |
| Driving Accuracy | N/A | 62% |
| GIR Percentage | N/A | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | N/A | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | N/A | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- SG: T2G
- Good Drives Gained
- SG: Approach
- Proximity
- SG: Around The Green/Scrambling
- Bogey Avoidance
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Justin Thomas ($11,900)
The odds are likely stacked against Justin Thomas winning back-to-back majors, but when we start narrowing down our player pool to those that possess every shot needed to tame Brookline, JT is certainly on the list. He's demonstrated the ability to hit multiple shot shapes off the tee - something not every player is comfortable with - and his iron play has been off the charts for an extended period of time, as he grades out third in this field in Total Proximity over the last 24 rounds. The two-time PGA Championship winner also has the unique ability to take advantage of benign conditions with his explosive scoring prowess (fourth in Birdies or Better Gained), while also being equipped to handle tough scoring environments (eighth in Bogey Avoidance).
Rory McIlroy ($11,700)
Trying to push aside any recency bias that comes with Rory's magical win in the RBC Canadian Open last week, McIlroy stands out as an elite option on this slate. After a stretch of struggling in U.S. Opens, Rory has now logged top-10 finishes in each of the last three. It's also fairly easy to make the argument that his game is currently in the best place it has been in years, as in addition to last week's victory, he's gained strokes T2G in every single one of his starts this calendar year and has gained an average of eight strokes per start T2G over his last five. If we want to really zoom in here, for all the talk about the "young generation" McIlroy is still the best driver of the ball in the world and one of the few elite players that hits a natural draw off the tee, a trait that I believe will have some tangible value on this layout. And if - it's always an if with Rory, who remains an enigma wrapped in a riddle to a certain extent - the wedges stay as dialed as they were last week - we could see an end to his major championship drought.
Jordan Spieth ($11,300)
Since his U.S. Open victory at Chambers Bay in 2015, Jordan Spieth has failed to record another top-10 result in America's national championship. However, you can make the argument that this week's layout at Brookline sets up better for his game than any recent U.S. Open venues, as its 7,200-yard length is relatively short by modern standards, it favors Spieth's preferred left-to-right ball flight, and should reward his magical short game around the greens. And oh by the way...Spieth's ball-striking has been in full flight as of late. The Texan ranks first in this field in SG: T2G over the last 24 rounds and has gained an average of 8.6 strokes T2G over his last five starts. Spieth also comes in ranked number one in the field in SG: Around The Greens, with the biggest red flag being his tendency to miss short putts as of late. Obviously, it is a legitimate concern, but one I'm willing to gamble on at reduced ownership - which I believe we'll see with Spieth on this slate.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Will Zalatoris ($10,700)
Just give me all the Willie Z shares in every major championship at this point. A playoff loss at the PGA Championship was just the latest in an impressive string of huge performances in the majors for the rising star and I look for that success to continue this week at The Country Club. Zalatoris has amassed an unreal major record as a pro, logging five top-eight finishes in just seven major starts. His ball-striking ability is elite and it's not surprising to find him ranked third in SG: Ball Striking over the last 24 rounds. Zalatoris possesses prodigious length off the tee, but he's not a bomb-and-gouge artist, as evidenced by his standing of 27th in this field in Good Drives Gained over the last 24 rounds. We all know about the putting issues, but he's actually managed to gain strokes on the greens in two of his last three starts, which is at least encouraging.
Tony Finau ($9,900)
After stumbling out of the gate this year, Finau has righted the ship in a major way. He's now posted top-five results in three of his last five starts. Those performances can be attributed to an uptick in basically every statistical area, but perhaps most noteworthy for this week's U.S. Open is Finau's noticeable improvement around the green, as he's now gained strokes ATG in each of his last six starts...this on the heels of losing strokes ATG in six straight to open 2022. In addition to the statistical improvement across the board, Finau has been a true workhorse in the majors. Since 2018, the Utah native has piled up eight top-10s in major championships against just two missed cuts.
Corey Conners ($9,500)
The Canadian has become a major championship staple for me in recent years and has paid off that faith nicely, posting top-10 finishes in three of his last seven major championship starts. Conners' excellence from T2G should be on full display this week at The Country Club, a layout on which he reached the 2013 U.S. Amateur Semi-Finals. He comes into the week on the heels of encouraging outings at The Memorial (T13) and the RBC Canadian Open (T6), events in which he gained a combined 13.8 strokes on Approach. It's fair to wonder to what extent his ceiling is capped by a putter that rarely gets white hot, but he finished 4.7 strokes to the good on the greens last week at St. George's for his best performance with the flat stick in over six months. He'll be a popular DFS option, but it is with reason at this moderate $9.5k price point.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Davis Riley ($9,200)
If we're speaking in DFS salary terms, Davis Riley is a $10k talent with $8k's worth of major championship experience, so this $9.2k price tag is probably about right. Riley has just two major championship starts on his resume, but did impress with a T13 at Southern Hills last month. That PGA Championship result is just one of many head-turning performances this summer, as a runner-up result at the Valspar seemed to kickstart something in the rising star. Since that playoff loss to Sam Burns at Copperhead, he's posted additional top-five finishes in Mexico and at Colonial to go with the aforementioned top-15 at Southern Hills and a T13 in the always-tough Memorial. The irons have been firing for the youngster and he's now gained an average of 4.1 strokes on Approach over his last five tournaments. Riley qualified for the U.S. Open thanks to a bogey-free round in Ohio, and though he's still wet behind the ears, the potential upside is tantalizing in GPP formats.
Mito Pereira ($9,000)
After suffering an absolute gut punch on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship, Pereira's character and toughness have been extremely impressive in subsequent starts. The Chilean bounced back from the debacle at Southern Hills to post a T7 the following week at Colonial, as well as a T13 that included an albatross at Muirfield Village. That final hole in the PGA aside, he's been tremendous off the tee and ranks first in this field in Good Drives Gained over the last 24 rounds. Mito's also been very steady on approach, grading out third in the field in GIRs Gained in recent rounds. Any concerns about a hangover from the year's second major should be long gone and the 27-year-old has demonstrated he has the tools needed to succeed on golf's toughest courses.
Seamus Power ($8,800)
Continues to fly under the radar - and on the lower end of the FanDuel salary scale - despite proving that he can handle big boy golf courses with a T27 at Augusta National and a T9 at Southern Hills this year. Power has undoubtedly thrown out a few duds in 2022 - with a missed cut at the Memorial being the latest example - but he's also played some high-quality golf over the past 12 months, with a win and six top-10 finishes since this time last year. While he doesn't necessarily pop off the page in any specific statistical category, he's also the type of player that has no real glaring weaknesses. At just $8.8k, the chances of a made cut are strong and there's realistic top-10 upside if the Irishman has things clicking.
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