Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: 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 -- and we have daily fantasy golf projections and lineup building tools, too.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target this week.

Key Stats

For more information on why we're focused on these stats, check out our course primer.

Stats cited below come from FantasyGolfMetrics and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour. Ranks are among the field with at least 10 rounds in that span.

Best of the Best

Justin Rose (FanDuel Price: $12,200 | Paddy Power Win Odds: 16/1) - Dustin Johnson at $12,400 should certainly be an option for you this week, as he's finished top-four in three of his past four U.S. Opens. However, Rose has a better recent statistical profile and has a U.S. Open win of his own (2013). Rose ranks 14th in strokes gained: off the tee and third in approach among qualified players over the past 50 rounds on tour. Johnson is 31st and 35th, respectively.

Justin Thomas ($12,100 | 12) - Thomas, the world's top-ranked golfer, finished ninth last year at Erin Hills and ranks top-six in strokes gained: off the tee and approach. Thomas' putter is also hot right now -- which can be good or bad, depending on your perspective -- and he's third in the field in total strokes gained over the past 50 rounds on Tour. He's made every cut since the Open last August, and all 11 of his events in 2018 have yielded a top-25 finish.

Jon Rahm ($11,800 | 20) - Rahm is in the Dustin Johnson mold. He finished 23rd in 2016's U.S. Open and missed the cut last year. Rahm has finished 4th at the Masters, 1st at the Open de España, 63rd at THE PLAYERS, and 5th at Fort Worth. Rahm ranks seventh in the field in strokes gained: off the tee and ninth in driving distance. The approach game (52nd) is a bit concerning, but he can contend at lower ownership than these other studs.

Brooks Koepka ($11,500 | 22) - Koepka is also in the mold of DJ, and he won last year's U.S. Open. He always shows up at majors and has finished 4th, 18th, 13th, and 1st at the past four U.S. Opens, ranking second in stroke differential at U.S. Opens among the field. Since returning, Koepka is just 41st in strokes gained: off the tee (but is 3rd in distance and 81st in accuracy). The approach game is working (18th). He also has finished 11th at THE PLAYERS and 2nd at Fort Worth of late.

Mid-Range Options

Tommy Fleetwood ($10,400 | 40) - Fleetwood, the world's number 11, has finished 17th at the Masters, cut at the Wells Fargo, 7th at THE PLAYERS, 20th at the BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, and 23rd at the Italian Open. He actually ranks first in the field in stroke differential at the U.S. Open, which he used to finish 27th in 2015 and 4th in 2017. He's also 32nd in strokes gained: off the tee and approach.

Tony Finau ($10,200 | 80) - Finau enters 22nd in strokes gained: off the tee and 12th in distance, plus 12th in scrambling. He missed the cut at his last U.S. Open (2016) but was 14th in 2015. He's made 10 of 12 cuts in 2018 and has four top-25s in his past five events, which includes the Masters (10th). His combination of elite distance and mid-level approach puts him on the tournament radar.

Bryson DeChambeau ($10,100 | 40) - Bryson has been hot lately. He actually ranks 13th in distance and top-10 in strokes gained: off the tee and approach. DeChambeau bookended a T15 at the 2016 U.S. Open with a pair of missed cuts, but he's golfing better than ever before right now. He's finished top-five in three of his past five events, and we should expect something closer to his T15 than the missed cuts at Shinnecock Hills.

Patrick Cantlay ($9,700 | 33) - Cantlay has strong win odds compared to his price. He's 9th in strokes gained: off the tee and 39th in approach. In his past five events, Cantlay has missed two cuts (the Masters and Fort Worth), but his other results are promising: 7th at the RBC Heritage, 23rd at THE PLAYERS, and 4th at the Memorial.

Low-Priced Picks

Francesco Molinari ($9,200 | 66) - Molinari isn't the first golfer we'd think of when it comes to courses that require distance, but he's used his accuracy to rank 11th in strokes gained: off the tee. He's also 8th in approach and 19th in par 4 scoring. His most recent performance on the PGA Tour was a missed cut at THE PLAYERS, but on the European Tour, he won the BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP and finished second at the Italian Open.

Xander Schauffele ($9,200 | 80) - Schauffele's form has gone out the window in 2018, but he can still launch it and would be worth a dart throw in tournaments. Schauffele debuted with a 66-73-70-69 en route to a T5 at last year's U.S. Open, showing what he can do when things go right for him. His past five finishes are really worrisome -- 73rd, 72nd, 2nd (at THE PLAYERS), cut, and cut -- but the upside is a top-10 finish for a low price.

Luke List ($8,900 | 100) - List is yet another golfer who can launch it (sixth in distance and first in strokes gained: off the tee), but his putter could get the best of him at Shinnecock Hills. List's approach game is just okay, but he's a better around-the-green guy than an irons guy, and scrambling still should matter here. List has missed all three cuts at the U.S. Open, but those came in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

Peter Uihlein ($8,900 | 125) - Uihlein has racked up a 5th, 21st, and 5th at his past three events entering the St. Jude Classic. He is first in strokes gained: putting, and -- again -- that can be good or bad depending on how long you think a hot putter sticks around. But he's also 21st in strokes gained: off the tee and 8th in scrambling, so he's not just putting well right now. Uihlein missed last year's cut on the number after a 74-72.

Aaron Wise ($8,400 | 80) - Wise ranks 5th in strokes gained: off the tee and is 11th in scrambling, plus 23rd in distance and 25th in accuracy in our sample. He's cooled off after a T2 at the Wells Fargo and a win at the Byron Nelson with two straight missed cuts. But you're not getting sure things at this price point -- or any price point, considering how tough Shinnecock Hills should play -- so banking on Wise's upside based on course fit is a route you can take.