The U.S. Open
Preview for the U.S. Open: This historic tournament dates back to 1895 when Englishman Horace Rawlins won by two strokes over Willie Dunn at the Newport Country Club. The record at the U.S. Open is held by both Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy who scored -16 in 2017 and 2011 respectively. Winners of the U.S. Open over the last five years include Matt Fitzpatrick in 2022, Jon Rahm in 2021, Bryson DeChambeau in 2020, Gary Woodland in 2019, and Brooks Koepka in 2018.
Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is $17.5M, the winner collects $3.15M and also earns himself 600 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Los Angeles Country Club (North Course) is 7,421 yards in length, is a par 70, and the greens are bentgrass. The winning score at the U.S. Open over the past decade ranges from +1 to -16, and the score is largely dictated by where the event is played and how difficult the course is set up. This will be the very first time that this club has been used for a major championship and the first time the LA area has had a major golf tournament in 28 years. Some core key stats to focus on this week include strokes gained: off the tee, driving distance, strokes gained: tee to green, strokes gained: around the green, and strokes gained: putting.
The 2023 U.S. Open field: We will again have a full field on tap with 156 players vying to win the 2023 U.S. Open, and the top 60 golfers plus ties after round 2 on Friday will advance to round 3 on Saturday and round 4 on Sunday. The field is absolutely loaded and includes Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and pretty much all of the best players in the world. On a scale from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+.
DFS PGA Tour Golf Picks
Make the most of this article’s data, predictions, and insights to help with your fantasy golf picks for the U.S. Open. And check out our PGA Projections and Optimizer tools to make more informed player selections for your DFS DraftKings lineups. Best of luck this week!
Three questions that are relevant to the U.S. Open this week:
- Which 10 players have gained the most strokes total over their last 24 rounds? Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, and Justin Rose.
- Which 10 players does my custom model like the most? Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth, Tyrrell Hatton, and Cameron Davis.
- Which 10 players gained the most strokes total (minimum 8 rounds) at this event since 2018? Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Gary Woodland.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in some contests this week – here are (in no particular order) 15 DFS golf picks on DraftKings (DK), plus I also include player salaries for DK. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performances at the event over the last five years, and add in some valuable data.
15 Players Who Are Either High-Potential or Solid-Value Plays This Week – Get Them Into Your DFS Lineups
Scottie Scheffler (Salary: DraftKings – $11.4K) – His tee to green game has seen historic strokes gained for the past few months, and if his putter wakes up, he will be unstoppable. His performances at majors are unreal, and he finished co-runner-up last year while gaining an insane 13.60 strokes ball-striking. Even if he loses a stroke or two putting this week, he can still hoist the trophy on Sunday – he’s that talented! U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T2, 2021 – T7, and 2019 – cut.
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $11.1K) – Rahm has been remarkable with his ball-striking lately gaining 46+ strokes over his last five events. He’s especially dangerous because his putter can get extremely hot like at the Mexico Open where he gained 8.12 strokes on the greens and finished solo 2nd, and he won The Masters in April gaining 2.81 putting. He won the U.S. Open two years ago and it would come as a surprise to nobody if he wins his second title this week. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T12, 2021 – Won, 2020 – T23, 2019 – T3, and 2018 – cut.
Brooks Koepka (Salary: DraftKings – $10.8K) – He lives for the major tournaments and this is one of the biggest ones going in the U.S. Open. He already has two U.S. Open championships and is coming off the win at the PGA Championship in his most recent PGA Tour start, plus he had a T2 at The Masters. He has all of the skills in the world to win the biggest events, and just knows how to close out and get the job done which is something you can’t teach – he has that killer instinct. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T55, 2021 – T4, 2019 – 2nd, and 2018 – Won.
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – Rory now has three straight top 9’s but has been field average over his last two starts on approach, so there’s some cause for concern this week but other than that his stats are fairly solid. He won the U.S. Open back in 2011, and would love to add another victory to his resume this week. He has four consecutive top 9’s at this event including a 5th last year where his ball-striking and putting were unbelievable – too bad he lost 4.69 strokes around the greens though which costed him dearly. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – 5th, 2021 – T7, 2020 – T8, 2019 – T9, and 2018 – cut.
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $9.6K) – Every year Schauffele brings his A-game to U.S. Open tournaments and has finished no worse than 14th in six starts and has five top 7’s including his T3 in 2019. He has five top 10’s in his last seven starts if you count the Zurich Classic, and he has no weaknesses in his game. I also like that he’s a Cali guy and will surely be taking advantage of this week’s event in Southern Cali. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T14, 2021 – T7, 2020 – T5, 2019 – T3, and 2018 -T6.
Tyrrell Hatton (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – His hot streak continued last week in Toronto with a T3 at the Canadian Open, giving him six straight top 19’s and three of them were top 5’s. He hasn’t had the best of results at U.S. Opens but did have a T6 five years ago, and everything about his game is in fine shape now, so another top 20 is almost a certainty this week in LA. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T56, 2021 – cut, 2020 – cut, 2019 – T21, and 2018 – T6.
Matt Fitzpatrick (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – Last year’s winner is back for more fun this year and comes in in good shape with a win five stroke-play events ago, and he had a T9 two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament gaining strokes across the board. He has a solid all-around game and can pop in any part of it, so he can’t go overlooked whenever he tees it up. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – Won, 2021 – T55, 2020 – cut, 2019 – T12, and 2018 – T12.
Bryson DeChambeau (Salary: DraftKings – $7.6K) – He could be the best value on the board given he won this event three years ago, is a beast off the tee thanks to his long-ball, and is coming off a T4 at the PGA Championship gaining 11.77 strokes ball-striking. You should take advantage of his miss-pricing this week, and be overweight on DeChambeau. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T56, 2021 – T26, 2020 – Won, and 2019 – T25.
Collin Morikawa (Salary: DraftKings – $9.3K) – He just finds ways to get it done at U.S. Opens with two top 5’s over the last two years, and although he doesn’t have a top 10 finish since February, his ball-striking is almost always solid. He withdrew two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament, but gained 7.19 strokes total and seems to be good to go come Thursday in his home state of CA. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T5, 2021 – T4, 2020 – cut, and 2019 – T35.
Wyndham Clark (Salary: DraftKings – $7.5K) – Clark won three starts ago at the Wells Fargo Championship, has four top 6’s over his last eight starts if you count the Zurich Classic, and his stat lines are looking great coming into this week. He has yet to make the cut at a U.S. Open but is playing better than he ever has before and his game should fit well in LA with a solid approach game and his putter can be guns a blazing at times. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – cut and 2021 – cut.
Sam Bennett (Salary: DraftKings – $6.5K) – The kid clearly has game and he really showed us his talent at The Masters in April finishing T16, and is coming off a T20 at the Canadian Open last week. He’s a tad risky but should make the cut and could really benefit your stars and scrubs lineups this week if he can find a way to lock down another top 30 given his low price point on DK. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – 49th.
Viktor Hovland (Salary: DraftKings – $10.0K) – Hovland is playing amazing golf right now with the win two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament, he had a T2 at the PGA Championship last month, and took home a T7 at The Masters in April. His ball-striking is his bread and butter, but he has also gained 12+ strokes putting over his last three starts including a 6.07 at the Memorial. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – cut, 2021 – WD, 2020 – T13, and 2019 – T12.
Justin Rose (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – The 2012 winner of the U.S. Open is looking for his first top 10 at the tournament since his top 3 four years ago. He is coming in with momentum this week with two top 9’s in his last three starts including a T9 at the PGA Championship and had an 8th last week in Canada. He won earlier this year at Pebble Beach, and returns to Cali in fine form. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – 37th, 2021 – cut, 2020 – cut, 2019 – T3, and 2018 – T10.
Adam Scott (Salary: DraftKings – $7.5K) – Scott has three top 9’s in his last four starts and every part of his game is working including his hot flat stick. He has a fairly decent record at the U.S. Open and has finished no worse than T38 over the last four editions, and secured a T7 in 2019 thanks to great ball-striking and around the green play. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T14, 2021 – T35, 2020 – T38, 2019 – T7, and 2018 – cut.
Patrick Cantlay (Salary: DraftKings – $10.3K) – The California native doesn’t have a top 10 yet on his U.S. Open resume, but has three top 21’s in the last four years and has to be excited to play in LA this week. He has been ball-striking with the best of them since late February and has six top 9’s in his last ten starts if you include the Zurich Classic. He had a T9 at the PGA Championship and a T14 at The Masters, and I expect something as good or better than those results come Sunday. U.S. Open finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T14, 2021 – T15, 2020 – T43, 2019 – T21, and 2018 – T45.
