Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for the U.S. Open

By now, you've probably dabbled in daily fantasy sports, but if not, don't worry. Now is a great time to start, especially with FanDuel now offering a revamped version of PGA golf.

Golf can be one of the most exciting DFS sports to follow, as tournaments span four days and allow ample time to prepare each week, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the basics of building a lineup on FanDuel, the scoring setup, and advanced stats to know about the PGA.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target for the U.S. Open.

Stats to Target

Based on the course makeup and field for Erin Hills, these are some of the most vital stats to target this week. For a more detailed explanation why, check out our course primer for this week.

Who checks the boxes for this week?

Best of the Best

Dustin Johnson (FanDuel Price: $11,200; bet365 Win Odds: 6.5/1) - The U.S. Open isn't kind, historically, to the world's number-one golfer, but Johnson deserves your attention even at this elevated price. At 6.5/1 to win, per bet365, he's the odds-on favorite to repeat as champion of this event. Obviously, the course is different, but Johnson's stats check out here. He's 4th on the PGA Tour in par 5 scoring, 1st in driving distance, 1st in greens in regulation, 41st in scrambling, 13th in birdie or better rate, 1st in strokes gained: off the tee, and 17th in approaching the green. Perhaps the missed cut at the Memorial will lower his ownership.

Jon Rahm ($10,400; 20/1) - Rahm also grades out well statistically. He's 17th in par 5 scoring, 11th in distance, 19th in greens in regulation, 21st in scrambling, 6th in birdie or better, 14th in bogey avoidance, 4th in strokes gained: off the tee, and 10th approaching the green. With Jason Day ($10,500), Rory McIlroy ($10,300), and Jordan Spieth ($10,100) around him in salary, Rahm could go overlooked enough to become the best GPP play in the upper price range.

Rory McIlroy ($10,300; 10/1) - McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open winner, doesn't qualify for the PGA leaderboard, but if he did, he'd be tops on tour in par 5 scoring and third in driving distance. He'd the second-best scrambler and eighth-best birdie-maker, too. And he's second in strokes gained: off the tee and third in strokes gained: approach the green. Only DJ and Spieth (9/1) have better odds to win, but Spieth is just 92nd in driving distance and 113th in strokes gained: off the tee (but the best player by strokes gained: approach the green).

Rickie Fowler ($9,200; 20/1) - Fowler doesn't have the length off the tee of Johnson, Rahm, or McIlroy, as he's 30th on tour in driving distance and 48th in strokes gained: off the tee, but he overcomes that to sit 7th in par 5 scoring, which is spurred on by his 9th-ranked play in strokes gained: approach the green. At $9,200, Fowler looks to be a bit of a high-end bargain.

Justin Thomas ($9,000; 33/1) - Thomas played this course in 2011 as an amateur, for what that's worth. He also has decent win odds at a reasonable price. Thomas ranks 28th on the tour in par 5 scoring, 9th in driving distance, 15th in greens in regulation 2nd in birdie or better rate, 39th in strokes gained: off the tee, and 8th in strokes gained: approach. He's not a great scrambler (114th) and isn't accurate off the tee (175th), but Thomas ranks 51st in strokes gained: around the green and the fairways are wide. That helps quell some of the concerns.

Mid-Range Options

Russell Henley ($6,600; 100/1) - Henley also played Erin Hills in 2011 and has an interesting statistical profile. He's 19th in par 5 scoring, 23rd in birdie or better rate, 15th in bogey avoidance, and 31st in strokes gained: off the tee. The approach (95th in strokes gained: approach) and around-the-green play (95th in strokes gained: around the green and 86th in scrambling) are iffy, however. Prior to the St. Jude Classic, he had made 12 of 16 cuts and made 8 of them top 25 finishes.

Daniel Berger ($6,800; 80/1) - Berger looks a bit too cheap on FanDuel, as he's $8,000 on DraftKings. He's not a great par 5 scorer (78th) but gets it done approaching (50th) and around the green (25th in scrambling). Berger sits 44th in strokes gained: off the tee, as well. Every golfer outside the elite options has some question marks, but Berger is a mid-range option worth considering.

Marc Leishman ($6,700; 70/1) - Leishman has even shorter odds than Berger does. He also ranks 33rd on the tour in par 5 scoring, 38th in distance, and 28th in strokes gained: off the tee. Leishman is also strong enough in the other stats we're looking for (54th in greens in regulation, 56th in scrambling, 57th in strokes gained: approach the green, and 33rd in strokes gained: putting) to roster given his price. Leishman is 13 for 15 making cuts this year and has 9 top 25s; he was 20 of 25 with 8 top-25s last year. He also finished T18 at last year's U.S. Open.

Brendan Steele ($7,200; 125/1) - Steele, the top scrambler on tour, ranks sixth in bogey avoidance and 33rd in strokes gained: approach the green. He's also 36th in driving distance and 56th in strokes gained: off the tee. Steele has made 15 of 16 cuts on the year (7 top 25s) and finished T15 at the U.S. Open last season. His win odds are pretty long, but his profile suggests he can avoid disaster and push through the cut.

Thomas Pieters ($7,000; 40/1) - If he qualified, Pieters would be fifth on the tour in par 5 scoring 9th in birdie or better rate, and 5th in strokes gained: approach. That's a good start. He'd be 145th in strokes gained: off the tee, but that's because he'd sit 180th in driving accuracy; he's 69th in distance. Pieters also can gain ground on the greens (17th in strokes gained: putting). Pieters is the 24th-ranked golfer in the world, has strong odds to win at his price, and is fairly cheap in a loaded field. He could wind up lower owned than he should be. After all, he just finished T4 at the Masters.

Low-Priced Picks

Peter Uihlein ($5,900; 200/1) - Entering the St. Jude Classic, Uihlein fared well in his three events on tour. He finished T5 at the Puerto Rico Open, T23 at the Shell Houston Open, and T25 at the Memorial. If he qualified (and it's just eight rounds we're looking at), he'd sit 3rd in par 5 scoring on the tour, 12th in greens in regulation, 1st in birdie or better rate, and 5th in strokes gained: off the tee. The approach game (112th in strokes gained: approach) is concerning, as is the play near the green (149th in strokes gained: around the green, 190th in scrambling), but you'll need to save salary somehow with so many studs to pay up for. He also played this course in 2011 as an amateur.

Lucas Glover ($5,600; 150/1) - There aren't many low-priced picks to get excited about, and too many punt plays is a high-risk construction. But Glover, who won the 2009 U.S. Open, ranks third on tour in greens in regulation and eighth in bogey avoidance. That's a good start. He also ranks 12th in strokes gained: off the tee, though a more moderate 52nd in strokes gained: approach. Glover has made 14 of his past 16 cuts and finished T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T6 at THE PLAYERS, good signs for his prospects in this field.

Ross Fisher ($5,900; 150/1) - If he qualified, Fisher would be 14th on the tour in greens in regulation and birdie or better rate as well as 6th in strokes gained: approach the green. His scrambling (131st) isn't what we want to see, but he'd be 22nd in strokes gained: around the green. In 2017, Fisher finished T3 at the WGC-Mexico, T5 at the WGC-Match Play, T41 at the Masters, and T22 at the Memorial (plus a missed cut at THE PLAYERS).

Bud Cauley ($5,800; 100/1) - Cauley is a pricier $7,300 on DraftKings but has some stats we can rally behind at this price. He's 56th on tour in par 5 scoring and 61st in driving distance. The real kicker is that he's 13th in strokes gained: approach the green. No golfer priced below $6,000 on FanDuel has odds better than 150/1 aside from Cauley.