This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
U.S. Open
Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina
Pinehurst Resort and Country Club (Course No. 2) - Par 70 - 7,543 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $21.5M
The Preview
For the first time since 2014, our nation's open championship heads back to Pinehurst with 156 qualifiers preparing to tackle a demanding layout and taunting venue that features a plethora of pine trees, north of one hundred bunkers and fairways lined by sandy wastelands rather than familiar rough. Although, firm and lightning-quick bermuda greens are slated to present the tournament's greatest challenge, especially considering the sheer number of 175-plus yard approach shots that'll be required on a 7,543-yard track. Hitting greens in regulation will be just as important as it is difficult, while players with the loftiest apex ball heights gain an advantage. As for the weather, hot and muggy conditions await, though tame winds and a lack of precipitation could help with pace of play.
Recent Champions
2023 - Wyndham Clark - (Los Angeles Country Club)
2022 - Matt Fitzpatrick (The Country Club)
2021 - Jon Rahm (Torrey Pines)
2020 - Bryson DeChambeau (Winged Foot)
2019 - Gary Woodland (Pebble Beach)
2018 - Brooks Koepka (Shinnecock Hills)
2017 - Brooks Koepka (Erin Hills)
2016 - Dustin Johnson (Oakmont)
2015 - Jordan Spieth (Chambers Bay)
2014 - Martin Kaymer (Pinehurst)
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Total Driving
Scrambling
Bogey Avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
Scheffler's salary might as well be $55 at this point and he'd still be one of the better values on the board, especially after gaining a career-high 13 strokes on his approaches en route to his fifth win of the season last week at the Memorial Tournament, where he also paced the field in GIR. The World No. 1 by a significant margin, Scheffler has placed T7 or better in three straight U.S. Opens, and he's shorter than 3/1 to win outright at a few shops this week.
Collin Morikawa - $42
In addition to being one of the sharpest iron players in the game today, nobody has gained more fairways in regulation than Morikawa over their last 24 rounds, allowing the PGA Tour's leader in driving accuracy to join the top-15 in SG: Off-the-Tee this season despite below-average distance metrics, which is quite a feat. He heads to Pinehurst in great form after a T4-4-2 run of finishes from the PGA Championship through the Memorial Tournament, and he's even gained strokes putting in four of five starts dating to the RBC Heritage.
Glue Guys
Bryson DeChambeau - $34
Beginning with a $34 DeChambeau, the remainder of these value selections feature LIV golfers as Yahoo's salary algorithm continues to severely misprice these names compared to their consensus betting and DFS market rates. DeChambeau, who won the 2020 U.S. Open by six shots at Winged Foot, placed top-6 at each of the first two majors in 2024, notably gaining nine strokes on and around the greens at Valhalla. I also think he'll be able to get a bit more aggressive off the tee at Pinehurst than folks might expect.
Brooks Koepka - $34
Koepka has finished outside the top-25 in three consecutive major championship appearances dating back to The Open last year, but a difficult U.S. Open setup could be the perfect opportunity for the five-time major champion to get back on track as scores in contention possibly hover closer to the even-par mark. After winning LIV Singapore in early May, he posted a seven-under 65 during the final round in Houston on Sunday, guiding Smash GC to a runner-up team finish.
Cameron Smith - $28
In stark contrast to Koepka's final round at LIV Houston, Smith played hole Nos. 2-5 in a collective nine-over-par on the way to an eight-over 80, but his talent on and around the greens should have plenty of chances to shine throughout the grind of a patience test at Pinehurst. The Aussie, who notched a pair of individual runner-up finishes and two team wins on LIV this season, paced the PGA Championship in SG: Around-the-Green last month.
Bargain Bin
Dean Burmester - $24
Following Jon Rahm's (foot) withdrawal and Joaquin Niemann's unfortunate failure to qualify, Burmester will be the top-ranked player in LIV's 2024 standings teeing it up Thursday. Similarly to DeChambeau, I don't think Burmester's power advantage off the tee will be muted as much as it might be feared on this layout, lending shorter approach distances for the South African. He gained 9.4 strokes from tee to green en route to a 12th-place finish at the PGA Championship, and the LIV Miami champion has placed top-20 in seven of eight LIV outings this season.
Dustin Johnson - $20
The 2016 U.S. Open champ at Oakmont has officially dipped all the way down to the minimum salary after finishing T43-MC in the first two majors of the year, but Johnson has placed seventh and 13th in his last two LIV starts, inching closer to the early-season form that included a top-5 at Mayakoba before a win in Las Vegas to begin his 2024 campaign. He hasn't finished outside the top 25 in the U.S. Open since 2017, and he tied for fourth here at Pinehurst in 2014, when he led the field in par-5 scoring, thanks in part to a 312.3-yard driving average.
Sergio Garcia - $20
One of the purest ball strikers of his generation, Garcia is coming off a fifth-place effort at LIV Houston where he ascended to a season-long ranking of third in GIR percentage, fourth in driving accuracy and seventh in scrambling. Continuing to excel in those three categories would be the perfect recipe for success at Pinehurst, and I expect the 2017 Masters champion to come in extremely under-owned despite the affordable salary, making him a perfectly fine option as a GPP flier.
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