The PGA Tour will tee it up in the third major of the 2026 when they play in the U.S. Open. The beastly and beautiful Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, NY, is back to host the 126th U.S. Open. Known as one of the ultimate, purest tests in championship golf, Shinnecock is a wind-swept, links-style masterpiece that demands perfection in every facet of the game. The best golfers from the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour are in the field this week. There is a lot of money on the line in DFS this week. Let’s try to win some of it…
COURSE BREAKDOWN
The U.S. Open was last held at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. That tournament became a legendary war of attrition, won by Brooks Koepka at 1-over par. It was a great battle of of Koepka and another player who is notorious for staying out of trouble, Tommy Fleetwood. The key to winning this week will be to try and stack pars and add in a birdie or two each round.
Shinnecock plays like a traditional, old-world British links course, but is adapted for the Northeast American climate: The greens are mix of Poa annua and Bentgrass. Maintaining these greens during a major championship is incredibly precise; Poa annua can become bumpy in the afternoon and wilts quickly under intense heat and wind, requiring meticulous moisture monitoring. The golfers who go out early each day will have the advantage, because these greens will get tricky as it gets latter in the day.
The Fescue fairways are naturally firm and fast, allowing golf balls to bounce significant distances. The shorter golfers should get the benefit of some roll on their tee shots this week. The rough is going to be nearly 4” deep, so accuracy will be critical at Shinnecock. The golfers will also have to be accurate with their approach shots because the greens have severe run-off on the edges. Golfers who are not accurate with their approach shots could see their ball roll 20-30 yards off the green.
The winning score could be over par if the winds pick up this week. The golfers who play the best on the most difficult courses will be the best for your DFS lineups for the U.S. Open.
Click here to see the course: Shinecock Hills
U.S. OPEN KEY STATS
– SG Tee-to-Green
– Accuracy Off-the-Tee
– Shots Gained Approach
– Bogie Avoidance
– Scrambling
– Difficult Course Scoring
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History & Form
TOP 30 GOLFERS
CORE GOLFERS FOR U.S. OPEN
U.S. OPEN STRATEGY
The pricing for the U.S. Open is soft this week. I am not interested in paying up for Scottie Scheffler when DraftKings increased his price for no reason. It is not like Scheffler has been winning tournaments by a large margin this year…. I am also not interested in Rory McIlroy. He just seems to have a “I do not give a shit” attitude since he won the Grand Slam of golf. Maybe this is the week he is motivated, but I just do not trust him… I will have some shares of Jon Rahm since he played well at the PGA Championship and he rates highly on my comparable courses. I will be hammering the golfers between $9,500 – $7,500 this week with balanced lineups.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
TOMMY FLEETWOOD ($9,700): I thought about paying up for one of the higher priced golfers at the top of my Cash Contest, but there is a lot to like about Fleetwood this week. He finished runner up the last time the U.S. Open was held at Shinnecock Hills. Fleetwood ranks 5th in SG Tee-to-Green on difficult courses and he ranks 6th in Bogey Avoidance. Fleetwood 11th at the Canadian Open last week, 4th at the Memorial and 5th at the Truist, so his form is good. I like Fleetwood’s chances of being near the top of the leaderboard Sunday.
LUDVIG ABERG ($9,200): The stats love Aberg this week. He “should” be one of the best picks in the field. Aberg is really good at everything it takes to win a U.S. Open (Hitting Fairways, Hitting Greens in Regulation and Avoiding Bogies). Aberg finished 12th in the U.S. Open in 2024 at Pinehurst. He should have a good chance to finish in the top 10 at Shinnecock Hills.
MATT FITZPATRICK ($8,900): Fitzpatrick has been playing some good golf this year and he is my pick to win the U.S. Open Sunday. He won the Valspar, won the RBC Heritage, won the Zurisch Classic; he finished 14th in the PGA Championship and 2nd last week in the Canadian Open. Fitzpatrick ranks No. 3 in SG Tee-to-Green on difficult courses. Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open in 2022 at Brookline Country Club in Massachusetts. He has a great chance to win again Sunday.
SAM BURNS ($7,700): Burns is one of the best golfers on difficult courses. That explains why he finished 9th in the U.S. Open in 2024 and 7th last year. Burns enters this year’s U.S. Open in good form. Burns could win Sunday if this turns into a putting contest.
PATRICK CANTLAY ($7,300): I wasn’t planning on playing Cantlay in my Cash Contest lineup, but his $7,300 salary is just too good to pass up. I like playing veteran golfers in the U.S. Open, because it is always one of the most difficult tests of a golfer’s game all season. Cantlay made the cut in 7 of his 8 trips to the U.S. Open. That includes top-15 finished in 4 of his last 5. Cantlay should make the cut and finish in the top-15 again Sunday.
SI WOO KIM ($7,200): One of the best golfers this year has been Si Woo Kim. We get him for $7,200. I just cannot pass that up. Kim has finished 5 of his last 8 tournaments in the top-10. He ranks 16th in the Key Stats, I am not so sure Kim can win, but he has the upside to finish in the top-10 this week.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST
XANDER SCHAUFFELE ($10,100): Schauffele has never won the U.S. Open, but his stats in this tournament is near the best in the field. Schauffele has played in the U.S. Open 9 times and he has never finished outside the top-15. That is incredible. Schauffele ranks No. 1 in the field in SG Tee-to-Green on difficult courses. Schauffele is almost a lock for a top-10 finish at Shinnecock Hills.
COLLIN MORIKAWA ($8,500): What are we going to get from Morikawa this week? He may be my pick to win if we knew he was 100% healthy and his form was in better shape. Morikawa is built for U.S. Open style golf. He hits fairways, hits greens and avoids bogies. I will take a chance with Morikawa and hope he plays like he can win he has his best game.
CHRIS GOTTERUP ($8,200): Could Gotterup be the golfer who comes from the mid-tier rang and wins a major. We saw J.J. Spaun do it last year. I think this could be Gotterup’s turn to win his first major tournament. Gotterup has two wins this year and his length off-the-tee will be an advantage. Gotterup is starting to dial in his shot game too. He is the perfect golfer for your Tournament Contest because of the upside that he offers.
PATRICK REED ($7,900): Can Captain America win the U.S. Open? Reed finished 12th at the Masters and 10th at the PGA Championship this year. He has made 8 cuts in a row at the U.S. Open. Reed ranks 14th in the Key Stats this week. I am not sure that he will be holding the trophy Sunday, but Reed does have the upside to finish in the top-10.
WYNDHAM CLARK ($7,800): Clark won the U.S. Open in 2023 at L.A. Country Club. Can he do it again Sunday? Clark enters the U.S. Open this year in good form. He won the C.J. Cup last month; he finished 3rd at the Memorial and 11th last week at the Canadian Open. I knew I was playing Clark when he put on the Jack Hughes hockey jersey to troll the Canadian fans last week.
J.J. SPAUN ($7,500): Spaun won the U.S. Open last year. The last golfer to win back-to-back U.S. Opens was Brooks Koepka in 2017 and 2018. I am not so sure that Spaun will win Sunday, but I do not need him to win in order to return value at $7,500. Spaun ranks No. 15 in SG Tee-to-Green on Difficult Courses and No. 9 in Bogey Avoidance. This lineup should be pretty strong if Spaun is the weak-link at the U.S. Open.
Here is my Multi-Entry Tournament Contests Lineups: (Multi Entry Lineups)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the second tournament in Segment 3. This is the toughest Segment to navigate. We have the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and the FedEx Playoff Tournaments. Use your golfers wisely in this Segment.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: XANDER SCHAUFFELE (U.S. OPEN)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Wyndham Clark (11TH), Patrick Cantlay (17th), Rickie Fowler (MC), Jordan Spieth (19th), Bryson DeChambeau (MC), Cameron Young (10TH), Scottie Scheffler (2ND), Matthew Fitzpatrick (WIN), Jon Rahm (38th), Keith Mitchell (M/C), Brooks Koepka (M/C), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Tommy Fleetwood (7th), Russell Henley (12th), Si Woo Kim (3rd), Jason Day (38th), Ben Griffin (24TH), Hideki Matsuyama (13th)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: TOMMY FLEETWOOD (U.S.OPEN)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Sam Burns (20TH), Alex Smalley (MC), Rickie Fowler (MC), Eric Cole (31st), Xander Schauffele (7th), Rory McIlory (19th), Scottie Scheffler (2nd), Sahith Theegala (24TH), Patrick Cantlay (8TH), Bryson DeChambeau (M/C), Jordan Spieth (63RD), Min Woo Lee (3RD), Jacob Bridgeman (14th), Collin Morikawa (W/D), Rory McIlroy (W/D), Shane Lowry (2nd), Hideki Matsuyama (28th), Justin Rose (37th), Cameron Young (41st), Maverick McNealy (10th), Si Woo Kim (6TH), Russell Henley (19th), Michael Thorbjornsen (7th), Nico Echavarria (46TH), Garrett Higgo (15th), Alex Noren (23rd), Davis Thompson (21st)
BEST BETS FOR THE U.S. OPEN
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK 22-1
RUSSELL HENLEY 38-1
SAM BURNS 40-1
CHRIS GOTTERUP 48-1
JUSTIN THOMAS 48-1
HARRIS ENGLISH 90-1
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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