The second major of the 2016 Fantasy Golf season is here, The U.S. Open at Oakmont. We’ve got huge DFS action with the Millionaire Maker on DraftKings and a $30,000 tournament on Fantasy Aces. It is time to hunker down and win big this weekend.
The USGA prides itself on making the courses they select vitally impossible to go low even for the best players in the world. Oakmont Country Club in Western Pennsylvania may be the toughest we’ve seen yet. When Oakmont last held the U.S. Open in 2007, Angel Cabrera won finishing at five OVER par followed by Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods at six over.
The formidable Oakmont Country Club is a not a terribly long course especially for a U.S. Open course at 7,210 yards with a variety of very short and very long holes. You hear this and think, why are people so afraid of this course? Because when you make a mistake, it will make you pay dearly. You have to stay on the fairways and then try to navigate safely onto these small fast greens. Did I say fast greens? I mean lightning fast greens, registering around 14.5 to 15 on the stimpmeter. These greens may be the quickest these golfers will ever see. Oh, and did I mention that there are only 210 bunkers on this course? The funny thing is, the players would much rather land in one of them than the rough.
If all of that wasn’t enough, they are facing weather concerns as well. They are calling for thunderstorms to roll in Thursday afternoon and the rain to taper off throughout the day on Friday.
When looking closely at the 2007 U.S. Open Leaderboard, you’ll notice that all the players had one stat in common, Strokes Gained Tee to Green (SGTG). The players on that leaderboard have great control of their golf balls and that’ll be the key to taming Oakmont this weekend.
On a course this difficult, you may have you take a different approach when building your lineups because of the lack of scoring opportunities. Normally, you’re trying to get as many birdies in your lineup as possible but this track won’t have a lot of birdies to give, so position on the leaderboard becomes that much more important.
After all of that, we need a moment of zen with our girl Paige. She was happy with the results last week at the St. Jude and we can only hope to keep the good momentum going into this week at the U.S. Open. She’s rocking her Iron Man t-shirt because she knows that it will take one to win this weekend at Oakmont.
I wanted to mention something from last week’s article in the comment section. I’m sorry if I sounded confusing in my comments. I really take pride in trying to put together winning Optimal Lineups each week. It’s been back and forth lately, one week the GPP wins but the Cash loses or the other way around. The Cash Lineups, I feel like everyone can use because you are just trying to get in the top half and everyone takes home the same amount. The GPPs are a totally different animal because if you play the exact lineup, know that you’ll be sharing with a lot of people. I would recommend looking at what I did and then make one or two small tweaks to differentiate yourself. Just a tip, you do whatever you like.
This is a keep your fingers crossed type of week. One of your players can go from the top of the leaderboard one hole and be out of contention two holes later. It will be an ugly week of golf from the best players in the world, prepare yourself.
Side note, sorry about the lateness of the posting. I was working the F.S.T.A. Summer Conference in New York City over the past two days. I am finishing this article on the train ride home.
I wish you all the best of luck.
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
Jason Day | $6,250 | $12,100 | In 5 U.S. Open Starts - 4 Top 10s including TWO 2nd Place finishes. He will be CRAZY popular probably 30+ % Owned. |
Rory McIlory | $6,150 | $12,000 | 4th in SGTG. 5/7 Cuts at U.S. Opens (3 Top 10s with a Win). Won Irish Open recently. Love as a Pivot from Day |
Dustin Johnson | $5,950 | $11,000 | 3rd in SGTG. 3 Top 10s in 8 U.S. Open Trips (2nd & 4th in Last 2). He will be CRAZY popular probably 25+ % Owned. |
Adam Scott | $5,750 | $10,100 | 1st in SGTG, T6th in Proxomity. Top 10s in Last 2 U.S. Opens. No Missed a Cuts on PGA Tour this year. Forgotten Talent. |
Hideki Matsuyama | $5,600 | $9,800 | Dud at the Memorial but Ignore it. 6th in SGTG. 3/3 Cuts Made at U.S. Open (18th, 35th & 10th). Pivot Play from Willett |
Bubba Watson | $5,650 | $9,500 | 7th in SGTG. 6th in GIR. Finished 5th here at Oakmont in 2007. No High Finishes in awhile but No Missed Cuts. GPP |
Henrik Stenson | $5,600 | $9,100 | 8th in SGTG. Recent play will scare people away. Made EVERY Cut with 2 Top 10s at the U.S. Open. 4th in his Last Start |
Brendan Grace | $5,550 | $8,700 | 18th in SGTG. 4th Last Year at Chambers Bay. 2 Wins in Last 9 Worldwide Starts. He has the best make up for this major! |
Matt Kuchar | $5,200 | $8,500 | Hottest player on Tour. 15th in SGTG. 1 Top 10 at U.S. Open but Last 6 - 12th, 12th, 28th, 14th, & 6th. Will be POPULAR! |
Patrick Reed | $5,400 | $8,400 | 12th in SGTG & 2/2 in U.S. Open Cuts Made (14th & 35th). 1st in SG:Around the Green. 2nd in Scrambling. Love Him |
Brooks Koepka | $5,250 | $8,100 | Playoff Loss & T2 in Last 2 Starts. T4 at 2014 U.S. Open & T18 at 2015 Chambers Bay. Young Stud for a Great Price |
Brandt Snedeker | $5,150 | $8,000 | 45 in SGTG. 5 of his last 6 Cuts Made with 5 Top 10s at the U.S. Open. He is also a great putter. Love him here |
Martin Kaymer | $5,000 | $7,600 | 2014 U.S. Open Champ and has 2 Top 10s in 8 Trips. Good Tee to Green Guy with past putting issues. Def worth a Flier |
Charl Schwartzel | $5,000 | $7,500 | Great Price on DK. 2 Top 10s with a WIN this season! 5 of Last 6 Cuts Made at U.S. Open (7th, 14th, 38th, 9th & 16th) |
J.B Holmes | $5,100 | $7,400 | 39th in SGTG. 4 Top 10s in 11 Starts (Easily could be 6). Made Last 3 Cuts at the U.S. Open. Quietly playing really well. |
Billy Horschel | $4,700 | $7,300 | 35th in SGTG. Made Last 3 U.S. Open Cuts (25th, 23rd & 4th). 1 Missed Cut all year. 12 Straight Cashes (3 Top 10s). |
Jason Dufner | $4,650 | $7,200 | 10th in GIR & 19th SGTG. In Last 4 U.S. Open Trips - 2 T4s & a T18. Made Cut at Oakmont in 2007. Former Major Winner |
Kevin Chappell | $4,850 | $7,100 | 9th in SGTG with a good U.S. Open record (4/4 Cuts Made with a 10th & 3rd). He'll be popular but can win here. |
Webb Simpson | $4,600 | $7,000 | 5/5 Cuts Made in the U.S. Open (Winner in 2012). 17th in SGP. Got his confidence back recently with the putter change |
Danny Lee | $4,600 | $6,800 | 33rd in SGTG with Scambling & Putting ability. Recent play will scare people off, but don't be. He could pop BIG! |
Kevin Na | $4,600 | $6,600 | 42 in SGTG. Shorter course with his Scrambling & Putting ability will help him. 5 Top 10s this season. Lower owned. |
Gregory Bourdy | $4,050 | $6,300 | 4 Top 10s & Another 5 Top 25s since the start of this season in Europe. 20/22 Cuts Made. 28th in Fairways hit. 41st in GIR. |
Thomas Aiken | $4,200 | $6,100 | 2nd in Fairways hit, T8 in GIR, & 4th in Ball Striking. In 11 Majors, 3 Top 25s. Not a great season but worth a GPP FLIER |
Andrew Johnston | $4,100 | $6,100 | 26-year-old from London nicknamed "BEEF". Playing well on the Euro Tour, 29th in Accuracy off the Tee. GPP FLIER |
DRAFTKINGS OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
Dustin Johnson | $11,000 |
Matt Kuchar | $8,500 |
Brandt Snedeker | $8,000 |
Charl Schwartzel | $7,500 |
Billy Horschel | $7,300 |
Jason Dufner | $7,200 |
DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
Rory McIlory | $12,000 |
Hideki Matsuyama | $9,800 |
Jason Dufner | $7,200 |
Kevin Chappell | $7,200 |
Danny Lee | $6,800 |
Kevin Na | $6,600 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
ACES CASH | PRICE |
Matt Kuchar | $5,200 |
Brandt Snedeker | $5,150 |
Charl Schwartzel | $5,000 |
Kevin Chappell | $4,850 |
Jason Dufner | $4,650 |
Kevin Na | $4,600 |
ACES GPP | PRICE |
Adam Scott | $5,750 |
Brooks Koepka | $5,250 |
J.B. Holmes | $5,100 |
Billy Horschel | $4,700 |
Danny Lee | $4,600 |
Kevin Na | $4,600 |
ONE-AND-DONE OPTIMAL:
ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
Hyaundai: Patrick Reed | 2nd - $688,000 |
Sony: Harris English | T56 - $12,818 |
CareerBuilder: Bill Haas | T9 - $162,400 |
Farmers: Nick Watney | Missed Cut |
Phoenix: Ryan Moore | T11 - $149,500 |
Pebble: J.B. Holmes | T11 - $143,500 |
Northern Trust: K.J. Choi | T5 - $258,400 |
Honda: Luke Donald | T61 - $13,115 |
WGC-Cadillac: Dustin Johnson | T14 - $120,000 |
Valspar: Kevin Na | T22 - $52,959.09 |
Arnold Palmer: Francisco Molinari | T9 - $170,100 |
Puerto Rico: Scott Brown | T5 - $109,500 |
Shell Open: Charley Hoffman | T33 - $36,720.00 |
The Masters: Phil Mickelson | Missed Cut |
RBC Heritage: Matt Kuchar | T9 - $147,500 |
Valero: Billy Horschel | T4 - $233,740 |
Zurich: Justin Rose | Missed Cut |
Wells Fargo: Gary Woodland | T24 - $62,232.50 |
Players: Sergio Garcia | T54 - $24,150 |
Byron Nelson: Ryan Palmer | Missed Cut |
Colonial: Chris Kirk | T15 - $117,250 |
Memorial: Hideki Matsuyama | Missed Cut |
St. Jude: Retief Goosen | T12 - $125,550 |
U.S. Open: Adam Scott | ??? |