Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS): U.S. Open

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA family! Stewart Cink proved that age is nothing but a number by winning the Safeway Open at 21-under par last week.

The Safeway Open was cute and all, but we've got a big-boy field on a big-boy golf course this week, as the world's best head to Winged Foot Golf Club for the U.S. Open! In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the U.S. Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.

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!

U.S. Open - PGA DFS Overview

Winged Foot Golf Club (West)

7,467 Yards - Par 70 - Greens: Poa Annua

If you are a fan of golf, you are probably already familiar with this A.W. Tillinghast classic, as it's considered one of the finest golf courses in the world. Gil Hanse freshened the place up a bit in 2015, with designs that brought some of Tillinghast's original designs back to the forefront.

This week's world-class field will face a brutish challenge, as the glorious New York layout is stretched out to over 7,400 yards with narrow fairways and very penal rough. The adventure is just beginning when players reach the green, as these Poa Annua surfaces have legendary contours that slope front to back with many having false-front runoffs. These challenges will force me to give more weight to around the green ability than I normally do.

With only two Par-5s and many of the Par-4s coming in at over 450-yards, scoring opportunities will be scarce, making par a very good score this week. We want to focus on good total drivers of the ball, players that play long Par-4s well, have rock-solid short games, and can avoid bogeys.

Let's Look At The Stats

As the graph illustrates, Winged Foot is a beast, with both fairways and greens that are very tough to hit. On and around the greens also present difficult challenges, as the Scrambling Percentage is well below Tour Average and the Average Three-Putts per round are way above. These stats point me to players with strong short games that have the ability to scramble and avoid bogeys (or at least big numbers).

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
• Total Driving
• Strokes Gained: Around The Green
• Bogey Avoidance
• Scrambling
• Par-4 Scoring Average (450-yards Plus)

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 Players 

Dustin Johnson ($12,100)

No question about it, DJ is the prohibitive favorite this week, both in my mind and in the eyes of Vegas oddsmakers. Johnson has been dominant since the restart - especially over the last two months - and heads to New York as the freshly-crowned FedEx Cup champion.

In addition to his current form, Johnson has been a monster in past U.S. Opens, capturing his lone major championship (it hurts to say that) in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont and has also posted three additional top-fives in golf's toughest test in his career. DJ thrives on long, tough layouts, which makes it seem as though Winged Foot is tailor-made for him. He leads this field in both Good Drives Gained and GIRs Gained over his last 12 rounds, while his improved play both on and around the greens (fourth in the field in SG: Short Game) will be a huge factor on this course.

It's U.S. Open golf, so anything can happen, but it's hard to imagine DJ playing poorly this week. He has a great opportunity to grab his second major championship in this one.

Jon Rahm ($11,800)

I've been a bit critical of Jon Rahm over the past year or so, but I have nothing but respect for how the young Spaniard has played as of late. His wins at Muirfield Village and Olympia Fields in brutal conditions are great indicators that he's ready to contend for a U.S. Open victory.

We know the length and power is there for Rahmbo, however, I'm most impressed with his touch around the greens. Over recent rounds, Rahm stands first in this elite field in Bogeys Avoided and seventh in SG: Short Game. He'll need every ounce of that short-game magic this week at Winged Foot.

The knock on him has been his temper and mental toughness, but I love how he's silenced those critiques over the last few months and feel as though he will be in the mix this week. He's a strong pivot/alternative to DJ at the top of the board.

Xander Schauffele ($11,400)

Xander is priced with the big boys this week, but it is really hard to argue against this price tag. Outside of Brooks Koepka, Schauffele has been the best player in the game in U.S. Opens over the last three years, going T5-T6-T3 in golf's toughest test since 2017. He's openly discussed his affinity for playing challenging courses and has already proven himself to be a player that shows up on golf's biggest stages. Xander stands out as one of the best plays at the top of the board due to his solid ability in all facets of the game. He's proven that he can handle the rigors of U.S. Open setups and is a tremendous Poa putter. The only downside here is his rather stiff price tag.

Hideki Matsuyama ($10,600) 

Not over the moon with Matsuyama's recent form, but his U.S. Open track record is impossible to ignore. He's shined in this event, recording five top-25s in seven career U.S. Open starts against just one missed cut. His recent ball-striking hasn't been bad, it just hasn't really been Hideki-like, as he's gained strokes on Approach in each of his last three. Perhaps more importantly when focusing on this Winged Foot layout, the Japanese star has sparkled around the greens on some of the schedule's toughest recent tests, leading the field in SG: Around at brutal Olympia Fields and ranking third at TPC Harding Park. The win equity is always a concern with Matsuyama, but there is lots of value in safety this week.

Tommy Fleetwood ($10,400)

Curious to see how ownership shapes up with Tommy Fleetwood at this price, as it feels like his recent form might deter some of those that usually roster him in majors. Despite his mediocre outings of the past month, I'm intrigued by Fleetwood's ability to go low on tough golf courses, an ability that has translated to U.S. Open success and allowed him to post back-to-back top-four finishes in 2017-18. He had a really nice ball-striking outing at the Portugal Masters last week, so he might head in with some sneaky trending form. I won't hesitate to pounce if it looks like he's going to be underowned.

Tony Finau ($10,200)

Despite being a Tony Finau truther, I won't deny that his win equity is questionable. However, Big Tony once again proved that he comes to play in major championships with a strong top-five outing at the PGA. It was his fourth top-five finish in his last nine major-championship starts. He plays well in "big ballparks" and his length should once again be a big asset this week. Finau EATS on Par-4s of 450+, while his once-questionable short game has turned into a true strength as of late. Love the consistency and I feel comfortable making him a key building block this week.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Patrick Reed ($10,000)

Patrick Reed is always a statistical mystery to us DFS junkies, and he heads to New York having lost strokes with his irons in his last three starts, but it is very tough to take him out of consideration, because we know how well he plays in major championships and on hard golf courses. His short game is one of the best in the world and he led the Tour Championship field in Fairways Gained. For what it's worth, Reed has played very well in this part of the country, with wins at Bethpage and Liberty National. His stats say "no", but his history of solid play in U.S. Opens says "yes". My best advice is go with your gut on him.

Adam Scott ($9,900)

The Aussie is one of the few players in this week's field that actually teed it up at Winged Foot the last time it hosted a U.S. Open...he logged a T21 in '06. He's experienced, great on tough courses, and a tremendous ball striker. The concern is always going to be how his putting stroke holds up over 72 holes in this atmosphere. His major-championship pedigree and experience puts him in serious consideration this week.

Tyrell Hatton ($9,800)

The Englishman has put together a beautiful season, with a win in Europe in the fall and in the U.S. at the API in March. He eased back into competition after the restart, but picked up where he left off with a couple of top-fives in his first two starts. However, Hatton fizzled a bit at the WGC and PGA Championship - though he gained strokes T2G at the PGA - which has probably helped to keep his price tag moderate. He doesn't have a ton of U.S. Open experience, but has played well, going MC-T6-T21 in three career starts. Really like how is game sets up for this week, as he ranks inside the top quarter of this field in both Good Drives and GIRs Gained, and though his relative lack of length is a slight concern, I'm in at this price.

Matthew Wolff ($9,600)

It's really easy to forget that Matthew Wolff is just 21-years-old. The youngster made his major-championship debut at the PGA Championship and did pretty well...posting a T4. The lack of experience is always a concern in U.S. Opens, but in a vacuum, Wolff is intriguing. He has nice combination of length and accuracy (at least as of late), ranking 11th in this field in Driving Distance and 24th in Fairways Gained over his last 12 rounds, while standing seventh in GIRs Gained in the same timeframe. I could see this play going either way...meaning both a missed cut and a top-10 are in play for Wolff. He's a classic high-risk, high-reward GPP option.

Louis Oosthuizen ($9,300)

Louis Oosthuizen is perhaps my favorite price-considered play of the week. He heads to New York having gained strokes T2G in each of his last five starts and he's made the cut in five-straight U.S. Opens...all of them top-25s! Poa is his best putting surface and he profiles as a great fit for Winged Foot thanks to his major championship experience and ability to navigate difficult layouts (led the BMW field in scrambling at Olympia Fields). "Safe plays" are basically non-existent in U.S. Opens, but Louis sure feels that way and comes at a great price.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Martin Kaymer ($8,800)

I'm perhaps more interested in Martin Kaymer than I should be this week, but there are some positive indicators for the "Zeee German". The 2014 U.S. Open champ pops up to win a major about once every five years, so we are right on schedule. He flashed in the opening-round of the PGA before busting out in the second and he heads to New York on the heels of back-to-back top-three finishes in his most recent European starts. Diving into his stats won't get you anywhere because he tees it up in the U.S. so infrequently, but he's a "gut" play that I'll have some exposure to.

Si Woo Kim ($8,700)

As we work our way down the salary scale we have to be willing to embrace some volatility. Si Woo is a great example of that, as I believe he does carry enough upside to warrant consideration, but he's also extremely inconsistent. After a horrible stretch of play over basically the past year, the young man has really found his game since the restart, and heads to New York having made nine-consecutive cuts with especially noteworthy outings at the PGA (T13) and Wyndham (T3). He's averaged +6 strokes T2G over his last five tournaments and feels like a high-upside bargain at this price tag, as long as we go in knowing there's a good chance of a missed cut as well.

Jason Kokrak ($8,400)

Not a name that immediately jumps to mind in majors, but I like where Kokrak's game has been over the past month. He's gained strokes T2G in each of his last five starts for an average of +5.1 and showed a lot of mental toughness at the BMW Championship by battling back after a horrible first round to log a T8. Plenty of length and solid ball striking with positive momentum.

Sebastian Munoz ($8,000)

Munoz is a player that had a tremendous Swing Season - that included a win at Sanderson Farms - but faded in the middle part of the season. However, he's apparently been rejuvenated since the FedEx Cup Playoffs got underway and heads to Winged Foot off back-to-back T8 outings at the BMW and Tour Championships. The performance at the BMW especially sticks out, as Munoz gained over five strokes Around The Green at a very difficult Olympia Fields layout, a course that in many ways is something of a precursor to what he'll face this week at Winged Foot. Listen, we're in dart throw territory down here, but Munoz is a sneaky bet to make the cut this week.

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Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:

If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU

— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020

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