By: @Ryan_Humphries on Twitter & LineStar Chat

Tournament & Field 🏆

The world’s best head out to the Los Angeles Country Club in preparation to compete in the 123rd edition of the US Open! The 156-man field is loaded up with talent as 59 of the top 60 ranked golfers in the OWGR are in attendance. The US Open also provides exemptions to many other lower-ranking pros and amateurs alike who punched their tickets via qualifying competitions across the country. Recent Major winners who rank outside the top 60 in the OWGR are also extended an invite along with qualifying amateurs around the world and other players who meet special exemptions as determined by the USGA. This tournament truly provides some of the best storylines every year – not just in golf, but in the world of sports as a whole. There will be no shortage of narratives to back and underdogs to root for. The US Open also implements a unique cut rule where only the top 60 golfers (including ties) after 36 holes will move on to play the weekend. With that in mind, we could end up seeing a very low 6/6 rate this week. Carnage, chaos, jubilation, and exasperation will be ingrained with every shot this week before an eventual winner can be crowned on Father’s Day Sunday.

The Course Preview ⛳

Los Angeles Country Club

Par 70 | 7,421 Yards

Greens: Bentgrass

First Tee: Thursday, June 15th @ 9:45 a.m. ET/6:45 a.m. PT

Los Angeles Country Club is a renowned private club nestled in the heart of Los Angeles, California, and is within walking distance of Beverly Hills. Founded in 1897, it stands as a symbol of elegance and exclusivity. This will be the first time the US Open has been hosted in the LA area since 1948 when it was played at Riviera Country Club.

LACC will present a wide variety of hole layouts for golfers to contend with. For a Par 70, this is a behemoth of a course with a scorecard length of over 7,400 yards. The fairways are expected to offer a fair amount of room for golfers to target off of the tee, but ending up in the preferred landing zones to set up more advantageous approach shots will be a priority. The fairways are surrounded by Bermuda grass rough which can provide unpredictable lies and lead to some less-than-ideal approach shots. The bentgrass greens will be guarded by a blend of Bermuda grass and fescue that will produce challenging up-and-down attempts. Golfers will need to be at the top of their game when it comes to around-the-green play and we’ll certainly see some lost shots due to those greenside hazards.

There is no water in play at LACC but one word that we’ll hear quite a bit this week is “barranca.” The barrancas are essentially small ravines, ditches, and gulleys that are filled with different forms of vegetation and brush. While they serve a major purpose by assisting in drainage, they’re also a primary course defense and a defining characteristic of LACC. The barrancas will vary in size and length and run throughout the course, guarding both fairways and greens alike, however, they are primarily featured on the front nine. Golfers who hit their ball into the barranca will be at the mercy of lady luck as they could receive a perfectly playable lie or a completely lost ball that results in multiple lost strokes.

From a hole layout perspective, players will start with an opportunistic 578-yard Par 5 on the first hole. There will also be a drivable 330-yard Par 4 sixth hole that should provide plenty of entertainment and fireworks this week. Of the five Par 3s, three will impose a significant challenge -- the Par 3 fourth hole is 228 yards, which is challenging enough, but then you’ll see the monsters that are the 284-yard Par 3 seventh hole and a ridiculous 290-yard Par 3 eleventh hole. The closing stretch on holes 16-18 will determine a lot of leaderboard shifts. Those final three holes are all Par 4 behemoths that measure in at 542, 520, and 492 yards.

US Open courses are always meant to provide an extreme challenge and a round of even par will be a great score this week. There are some opportunistic holes around LACC but simply surviving for par will be a major accomplishment on many parts of the course this week. Golfers will need to dig deep and take some risks if they wish to come away as the 123rd US Open champion on Sunday! This one should be a blast! Best of luck this week!

Weather & Tee Times ⛅

(Click the image above to view the most up-to-date forecast)

⚖️Weather Verdict: There will be no need to fret over weather conditions this week so we can keep this section short and sweet. Winds will be at their strongest in the afternoon of each round but they’re rarely expected to even reach 10 mph. There is no rain in the forecast, plenty of sunshine, and pleasant temps in the 60s and 70s. No wave advantage to be had this week!

US Open Tee Times

Key Stats to Consider 📊

1. Strokes Gained: Approach | 20%

2. Par 4 Average | 15%

3. Strokes Gained: Around the Green | 15%

4. Strokes Gained: Off the Tee | 10%

5. Greens in Regulation | 10%

6. Proximity: 200+ Yards | 10%

7. Birdie or Better Percentage | 10%

8. Bogey Avoidance | 10%

PGA Tour Stats Page

Note: Keep in mind that many golfers in this week’s field do not have enough (or any) measured PGA rounds this season needed to qualify for strokes gained data.

123rd US Open Model Standouts 🏅

Below are the top 20 ranked golfers in both my overall model and my key stats model. Below that are the top 20 leaders in average finishing position over the last five and last ten starts (PGA & LIV Golf results included). The players ranked on these lists do not necessarily mean they are the top golfers I’m targeting for this week's event, but many of these guys should no doubt be favorable DFS options.

Overall Model Rank: A golfer’s ranking (within the current field) in my personal DFS model, which weighs all of the key stats listed above in this newsletter, as well as things like course history, recent form, recent average fantasy scoring results, and odds to win.

Key Stat Rank: Provides a golfer’s overall rank (in relation to the field) in my "key stats only" model, which considers only the key stats listed above in this newsletter with the specified percentage weights allocated towards each statistic.

Golfers in the Spotlight 🎯

Spotlighting eight golfers who should be on your radar for Masters Week.

Scottie Scheffler | DK: $11.4k, FD: $12.1k

Odds: 6/1 | Cash & GPP

Key Stats Only Rank: #1

Overall Model Rank: #1

Saying “Scottie Scheffler is a great play this week” is the furthest thing from a hot take but the man continues to break DFS models week in and week out. Scheffler last teed up for the Memorial two weeks ago. He had an abysmal putting tournament that week, losing 8.52 strokes with the flat stick. He still finished in third place. He’s the most dominant tee-to-green player on the planet right now, and it’s not particularly close. You still have to go all the way back to October of last year, 15 starts ago for Scheffler, to find a result worse than T-12th out of him.

Brooks Koepka | DK: $10.8k, FD: $11.9k

Odds: 11/1 | Cash & GPP

Key Stats Only Rank: N/A

Overall Model Rank: #2

Koepka is finally priced up appropriately, if not a little steep, in DFS for a Major week. He’ll be the third most expensive option on both DraftKings and FanDuel, but if ya don’t know by now, Koepka simply cannot be counted out in a Major tournament. Of course, he won the PGA Championship last month and secured a T-2nd finish at this year’s Masters Tournament. His US Open history is nearly impeccable -- in his last eight US Open starts, Koepka has landed finishes of 55th (battling injury and poor form in 2022), 4th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 13th, 18th, and 4th. He’s simply the most fierce Major competitor there is at the moment. The only real concern I’d have is the fact that he’s only played once since his mid-May PGA Championship victory, which was a T-12 finish at a LIV Golf event. But I stopped questioning Koepka’s readiness for Majors a long time ago.

Viktor Hovland | DK: $10k, FD: $11.3k

Odds: 16/1 | GPP Preferred

Key Stats Only Rank: #10

Overall Model Rank: #8

Targeting a golfer immediately following a win can often produce some poor results, but Hovland has had a couple of weeks to simmer down off of his victory at the Memorial and he’s trending in the right direction in regards to earning his first Major win. Hovland is one of the premier ball strikers in the world and he has put that on display in his last three Major Championship appearances -- 2nd (PGA Champ.), 7th (Masters), and 4th (‘22 Open). His primary red flags have stemmed from lackluster play in the short game, however, he has drastically improved in that area. His putter has been on fire, gaining over 12 strokes combined with the flat stick across his last three tournaments. LACC is a layout that should really suit Hovland’s current game.

Jordan Spieth | DK: $9.2k, FD: $10.7k

Odds: 20/1 | GPP Preferred

Key Stats Only Rank: #28

Overall Model Rank: #25

It’s tough to tell how the general public feels about Spieth this week after he dealt with a wrist injury in recent events but posted a sharp T-5 at the Memorial two weeks ago. Spieth gained over 10 strokes tee-to-green at the Memorial so it’s fairly safe to say that the wrist injury is past him. He has looked great off of the tee lately and he’s nearly guaranteed to gain strokes on approach in any given week. Spieth’s ability to implement creative play around the greens should pay dividends at LACC. Since winning the 2015 US Open, Spieth has seen some lackluster results at this tournament, with his best finish since coming by way of a 19th-place finish in 2021. I believe we’ll see Spieth push for a top-10 this week and potentially be a contender on Sunday. His 20/1 odds to win are the best odds out of any golfer in this general price range.

Hideki Matsuyama | DK: $8.6k, FD: $9.9k

Odds: 40/1 | Cash & GPP

Key Stats Only Rank: #22

Overall Model Rank: #10

Matsuyama looks to be in full health and he’s riding a nice stretch of golf where he has finished top 25 in four of his last five starts, with the lone outlier being a T-29 at the PGA Championship. He has gained over two strokes on approach in four consecutive starts and he boasts some strong history at US Opens. His last six US Open finishes have been 4th, 26th, 17th, 21st, 16th, and 2nd. Matsuyama is one of the best around-the-green players on the PGA Tour and now that his ball striking is rounding back into form, he’s looking like a legitimate threat at LACC this week.

Justin Rose | DK: $7.7k, FD: $9.7k

Odds: 35/1 | Cash & GPP

Key Stats Only Rank: #12

Overall Model Rank: #9

Thanks to some generous DFS price tags and some sharp recent form, we should prepare for Rose to perhaps be the highest-owned golfer in the entire field. He owns the 14th-best odds to win this week yet is priced as the 26th most expensive golfer on DK and 23rd most expensive on FD. Rose has five consecutive top 25s and three straight top 12s. His iron play has been world-class and his form around the green has not been too far behind. The only negative to speak on Rose’s game at the moment is his subpar off-the-tee performance (67th in SG: OTT) but the fairways at LACC will provide some leeway in that regard. It all sets up for Rose being one of the top cash game plays on the board, but there will be some merit in lowering exposure (or perhaps outright fading) to him in GPPs.

Patrick Reed | DK: $7.5k, FD: $9.3k

Odds: 70/1 | GPP Preferred

Key Stats Only Rank: N/A

Overall Model Rank: #21

Reed punched in a poor T-35 outing at the most recent LIV Golf event in Washington D.C. but we won’t put too much weight on that result. He has finished T-13 or better in his four LIV Golf starts prior to Washington and, more importantly, he’s shown up with a T-18 finish and T-4 finish at this year’s PGA Championship and Masters Tournament. Reed has made six consecutive cuts at US Open, featuring four top 20s. He’ll be a LIV golfer worth targeting in DFS this week.

Ryan Fox | DK: $7.1k, FD: $8.9k

Odds: 150/1 | GPP Preferred

Key Stats Only Rank: N/A

Overall Model Rank: #57

Fox has routinely shown up as a strong value play with top-30 finishes in nine of his last 11 worldwide starts. He’s fairly fresh off of a T-23 at the PGA Championship and his T-26 Masters finish was nothing to sneeze at either. Fox has demonstrated a strong ability to compete at these tougher course setups where scoring will be difficult. Another top-30 result would represent some solid value this week.

123rd U.S. Open DFS Cheat Sheet 📑

Click the Cheat Sheet above for the direct image link

Alternative Cheat Sheet Direct Image Link

Cheat Sheet QR Code:

That will do it for our PGA preview! Best of luck this week and, once again, feel free to hit me up in the LineStar chat or on Twitter @Ryan_Humphries with any questions.