The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
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The Field
The field for the U.S. Open is 156 players and includes several players (pros and non-pros alike) who have gained entry through local and international qualifying. With the start list stretched to the max and the cut this week featuring just the top 60 and ties, we’re about to start the toughest four-day event of golf on the planet. For daily fantasy golf purposes, that means getting all six of your players through the cut this week will be even harder than usual, as (potentially) over 60% of the field will be dusted by Friday night.
The 2025 version of the U.S. Open sees us head out East to one of the true gems of the U.S. Open rotation, in Oakmont Country Club. Situated just outside Pittsburgh, PA, Oakmont has hosted the U.S. Open nine times in the past and last hosted the event in 2016, an event won by Dustin Johnson.
Scottie Scheffler is entering as the undisputed number-one player in the world after winning two of his last three starts at Quail Hollow (PGA Champ) and at Muirfield Village (Memorial). There will be numerous LIV golf players making an appearance this week, including past U.S. Open champions Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau. Joaquin Niemann will also be playing after winning his fourth event on the LIV Golf Tour in 2025 last week.
Some other notable late entries (thanks to movement in the OWGR or their alternate status) include Eric Cole (alternate), Ryan Fox (via OWGR), Doug Ghim (alternate), Chase Johnson (alternate), Takumi Kanaya (alternate), and Riki Kawamoto (alternate).
The Course
Oakmont CC – Pittsburgh, PA
7,372 yards, par 70; Greens: Poa (bentgrass overseed)
Oakmont will be hosting the U.S. Open for the 10th time in its history this week. The course has a lot of distinguishing factors, including massive greens and thick rough, but the most noteworthy design quirk is undoubtedly the Church Pew Bunkers on Holes 3 and 4 that act as a sort of semi-penalty area for wayward drives. The Bunkers have mounds of wild grass set up horizontally in the sand, that stretches over 100 yards and makes the bunker look like a Church Pew from the sky.
On top of bunkers and thick rough to contend with off the tee, players will have to deal with some of the most severe and complex green structures they have seen all year. While some of the greens at Oakmont have been widened or enlarged, that has only opened up more pin placements for the USGA, and you can expect a ton of “tucked pins,” especially if the course plays soft to start.
Shots into greens have an easy chance of rolling off the green and into a bunker or rough area, so both approach play and short games will be tested here. It’s worth noting that while a big hitter in Dustin Johnson eventually took home the trophy in 2016 (the last time a U.S. Open was played at Oakmont), the leaderboard was littered that season with short game and iron specialists; including Jim Furyk, Scott Piercy (T2) and Kevin Na (7th). The fact that Furyk, one of the most precise iron and short game players in the game during his prime, also finished T2 at Oakmont in 2007, is a good indicator that power isn’t all that will be needed to contend this week.
Some of what makes Oakmont more quirky in this regard (from other U.S. Open setups) is its layout. While the course is still long for a par 70 at 7,372 yards, a lot of that length comes from just a few holes. The two par 5s measure in at well over 600 yards, and the par 4 18th is a traditional nail-biter for anyone needing a par, as it’s set to play over 500 yards as a par 4. There is also the par-3 8th hole that could play well over 300 yards this week.
However, outside of 4-5 holes, the rest of Oakmont is fairly manageable. There are five par 4s that measure under 410 yards in length that will require more brains than brawn to get around. There are also only four par 4s that measure over 480+ yards, which is somewhat low for a US Open.
While that means that the course may be easier to manage for the field, players will still need very accurate iron shots into the greens, and I would still expect the GIR% to be extremely low this week and short games to be tested. That could move the needle back towards a different style and provide a different U.S. Open experience than we’ve seen the last couple of seasons, one built more on survival around the greens and fearless iron play.
2025 Weather Outlook: The weather for the US Open this week could see a wild split between the first two days and the final two days. There isn’t much to report for days one and two. Wednesday is set to be sunny, which should dry out the course, and winds for Thursday and Friday are set to be under 10mph for the most part with gentle gusts. It’s hard to see there being a huge advantage for either wave, but early starters should see very calm conditions and some softer greens. Saturday looks more like Open Championship weather as we have rain in the forecast (all day) and wind gusts up to 15-20 mph. It’s hard to say how this will break down, as stoppages are possible. If they play Round 3 on Saturday, early starters could gain some serious ground as the wind picks up as the day goes on. Sunday has more rain and potentially worse winds. Monday is clear and calm, so if they have to sit out a day, we could see a soft course and lower scores if the final round gets pushed to Monday.
Last 5 winners
2024–Bryson DeChambeau (-6 over Rory McIlroy -5)
2023—Wyndham Clark -10 (over Rory McIlroy -9)
2022—Matthew Fitzpatrick -6 (over Will Zalatoris/Scottie Scheffler -5)
2021—Jon Rahm -6 (over Louis Oosthuizen -5)
2020—Bryson DeChambeau -6 (over Matthew Wolff E)
Winning Trends
– Eight of the past 18 U.S. Open winners had a win on the season before claiming their U.S. Open title.
– 11 of the past 13 winners of the U.S. Open had recorded at least four top 10s on the season before their U.S. Open victory.
– Five of the last six winners of the US Open all placed inside the top 10 at the PGA Championship (the month prior) and gained over 7.0 strokes tee to green at that event.
Winners Stats and Course Overview
Bryson DeChambeau — 2024 U.S. Open (5-under; **Pinehurst)
Lead-in form: (T6-T26-T27-2-T18)
SG: OTT—+4.5
SG: APP—+3.7
SG: TTG—+12.4
SG: ATG—+4.4
SG: PUTT—+4.7
- Bryson did a lot of his work off the tee and on the greens. His approach game was alright, but he gained more in other areas.
- His approach game lacked precision but he also managed to get up and down at a very efficient rate which made up for the lack of accuracy with his irons.
- In terms of style and how his stats may fit with Oakmont, it’s possible that we see the strokes gained numbers from Off the Tee and Approach flip this season, with Oakmont likely being a more approach-driven venue.
- The venue does play slightly shorter and in 2016 it saw many short iron specialists in the top 10.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Joaquin Niemann +3500 and $8,600
Comparables:
Shane Lowry +4500 and $7,800
Comparables:
Recent Form
1. Scottie Scheffler ($14,400, Recent finishes: win-T2): Not much needs to be said about Scottie Scheffler at this point. He’s won three of his last four starts and has gained over 7.0 strokes on approach in all three of those starts. He has finished outside the top 40 at the U.S. Open twice in his last five appearances at this event, but did finish T2 in 2022 and T3 in 2023.
2. Sam Burns ($7,100, Recent finishes: 2nd-T12): Burns is starting to heat up. He grabbed a top 20 at the PGA Championship, a top 15 at Memorial, and then lost in a playoff last week at the Canadian Open. The American gained over 4.5 strokes on approach last week and continues to pour in putts at a high rate.
3. Sepp Straka ($7,700, Recent finishes: T3-MC-win): Straka continues to perform. The Austrian has two wins on the season after he took down the field at the Truist and posted another big finish at Memorial a couple of weeks ago. From an approach perspective, he’s one of the only players in the world who can rival Scheffler at the moment.
4. Joaquin Niemann ($8,600, Recent finishes: win-T8): Niemann grabbed his fourth win of the LIV golf season last week in Virginia. Despite playing against fields with retirees in it most weeks, Niemann is still one of the best players in the game and is coming off his best finish in a major at Quail Hollow (T8).
5. Ben Griffin ($7,200, Recent finishes: 2nd-win): Griffin is on a legacy run at the moment. He took Scheffler to the wire at Memorial and grabbed his second win of the season at Colonial three weeks ago. The somewhat shorter U.S. Open yardage in play does help him.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Rahm, a good starter
Salaries stretch from 14.4k down to 5k this week, so there are a lot of ways you can go about making lineups. That said, I would not hesitate to start with Jon Rahm this week at $10,200. The Spaniard has played well all season despite not coming up with a win on LIV, but has seemingly also played very high-level golf all year as well. He’s built for a more brute test that the U.S. Open provides, and has finished top 10 at two of his last three major starts. Below him, I also like Ludvig Aberg ($9,600) this week (see below), but there is some great value in the 7k range with Shane Lowry ($7,800) and Sepp Straka ($7,700) we can look to for building lineups, as well. Both men have had great lead-ins and look undervalued. Below them, names like Si Woo Kim ($6,900) and Harris English ($6,700) are appealing in the 6k range.
Tournaments/GPPs: Ortiz and Leishman interesting punts
With so much roster flexibility thanks to the 5k salaries, I’m not anticipating overly chalky ownership on most big names. I expect Bryson DeChambeau may be a very popular pick, though, so contrarian builds may want to avoid him or use an extreme approach (if you’re using him) with multiple 6k players and below. Marc Leishman ($6,000) is a cheap name I’d gravitate toward for big fields this week as he’s coming off a T10 on LIV and has already won on a very tough course in Miami. Emiliano Grillo ($5,700) is another name set at a bargain price point to potentially consider. Further up, I mentioned Taylor Pendrith ($6,500) as a potential sleeper below and would also consider Carlos Ortiz ($6,400), who is playing in his first major in over a year.
MY PICK: Ludvig Aberg ($9,600)
This build-up for Aberg in this year’s U.S. Open is far better than the ones he had for the year’s first two majors. Before Augusta, he missed two cuts in a row, but still managed to be tied for the lead somehow on Sunday with four holes to play (a great indicator of his talent). He struggled again before Quail Hollow with two poor outings and missed the cut there.
Since then, he’s finished top 20 in two straight starts. His T16 at Memorial included a final round, bogey-free 66 on the toughest setup we have seen on the PGA this year, and his T13 at the Canadian Open saw him shoot weekend rounds of 65 and 66. He’ll need to avoid the silly mistakes that cost him a top 10 or better last week in Canada, but his ball-striking has taken a huge tick up of late as he’s gained strokes on approach in two straight starts (and gained 7.8 strokes ball-striking alone in Canada).
Aberg is already a proven major contender and still managed T12 at the very tough Pinehurst last season, with a knee that was less than 100%. He’s a core player I’d not hesitate to build around this week, and for betting, he offers good value at +3000 right now on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
MY SLEEPER: Taylor Pendrith ($6,500)
Pendrith is a name that could threaten this week, especially if the weekend weather throws the event into chaos and we get a softer course. The Canadian is on a nice run at the moment and is coming off a T5 from the PGA Championship in May, his best finish ever at the major. While he stumbled to a T27 in front of his hometown crowd in Canada last week, he still showcased a very sharp short game that gained him 3.1 strokes ATG. Overall, his game has been in great shape.
He gained 9.8 strokes Tee to Green at the PGA Championship and followed that up by gaining 7.8 strokes on approach and 9.9 strokes Tee to Green at the Memorial, on the hardest setup of the season. While the putter stopped him from contending that week, it was nice to see him get on track with that club again in Canada, and any rain could neutralize the advantage better putters have on him this week.
As one of the biggest hitters in the game with a high ball flight (24th apex height), he also sets up very well for Oakmont and the US Open, an event where he managed a T16 last season, and a T23 in 2020. He looks like a great value add for DFS at just 6.5k and a player worth ladder betting in the top 10/20 markets (+700/+300) this week on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
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